What Specifiers Want 2017 articles

If you're called upon to undertake a structural survey or inspection, how exactly should you go about approaching the task? How do you analyse the assortment of information you collate?

Given that dry rot is one type of rot - Serpula lacrymans - and all the others are white rots, our contributors explain why increasingly fungal rots are being classified as either brown or white.

This programme looks at the trials and tribulations of one particular project in north Wales, as well as the financial motivations and benefits that accrue.

The provisions of the 2009 Act mean that a construction contract will pertain not only to written contracts but also to contracts entered into orally or contracts that are partly oral and partly written. The 2009 Act also makes amendments to Sections 110 and 111 of the previous Construction Act and provides a new regime for payment provisions in construction contracts.

Will the widespread adoption of BIM result in the reduction of the design fees that architects pay? Dr Stephen Hamil argues they could actually increase.

The Royal Institute of British Architects has launched an invaluable new sustainability guide for architects.

Most people have heard the phrase Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, but what does it mean? Is it charity runs and pro bono work, or working to a sustainable agenda? Rachel Woolliscroft from Wates, joined us in the studio to help cut through the jargon and to outline the business case for CSR.

The much talked about, but apparently little understood, Green Deal is due to come into force in October 2012.The initiative will see millions of pounds loaned to building owners in a drive to make their properties more energy efficient. In this studio programme we look at how the Green Deal will work in practice, and identify opportunities it may offer to architects and other construction professionals.

According to the CIOB, procurement is 'essentially a series of calculated risks'. Well now a new British Standard, BS 8534, has been produced to help guide those involved through those risks. Davis Langdon’s John Connaughton joins us in the studio to talk through the guide.

Significant uses of nanotechnology have surfaced in the last few years with applications for architectural design and the construction of built environments. The programme contains several interviews with experts.

We are pleased to say the results for the latest 2012 National BIM Survey are now available.

The newly installed Energy and Climate Change Secretary has picked up his broom and hit the ground running. We assess some of the issues he needs to grapple with.