Unhealthy living
It only takes a winter spent in an old house to convince anyone of the benefits of living in a healthy home. Cold, draughty, and more often than not full of dust mites and even toxic substances such as...
View ArticleHow workplace design affects human behaviour
Design and people are of course inextricably linked. First, one creates the other, but also one defines the other. A bit like an aquarium, say, which needs fish to actually be an aquarium rather than a...
View ArticleTypological [r]evolution of the workplace
Throughout the twentieth century, changes in technology and management theory have resulted in the continual evolution of the workplace. While these changes have stimulated the evolution of new...
View ArticleDoing less is more
In 2011, most architect-designed buildings were ducks. The term “duck,” which Venturi and Scott Brown coined after seeing a duck-shaped poultry shop in Long Island, USA, refers to a building that is a...
View ArticleKeeping warm: insulation, ventilation and heating in homes
It is estimated that without adequate ceiling insulation, 42 percent of household heat is lost through the roof. Walls account for around 24 percent of heat loss and 10 percent of heat is lost through...
View ArticleSitting behaviour in working environments
Have you ever wondered what effect sitting at your desk for eight hours or more a day is doing to your health?Recent studies show it could seriously affect your health. And although we are unable to...
View ArticlePrinciples of highly productive workspaces
Smith, a Scotsman born in 1723, is best known as one of the forefathers of modern economics and the author of “The Wealth of Nations”. The first chapter of Smith’s book argues for the now famous...
View ArticleHow lighting and lighting controls can affect working behaviour
Research by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency (EECA) found that switching to energy efficient lighting is one of the best returns on investment available for businesses looking to reduce...
View ArticleAmerica’s top models: pro bono and beyond
The United States was specifically targeted for this study due to the number and variety of architectural practice models addressing community service needs. Of particular interest was how these models...
View ArticleGlazing and energy efficiency
Currency crises are hardly new. Following the one that befell England at the start of the eighteenth century, the Crown introduced a tax on windows. At the time, taxing income was considered an...
View ArticleFour techniques: Lawrence Nield
“Architecture is the framing of the lives of people and materials in response to circumstance and situation.”In the substance of architecture, there are four critical techniques for the crafting of...
View ArticleArchitecturally exposed structural steel
Architecturally exposed structural steel (AESS) is a mix of art, science and know-how, introducing the issue of ‘personal preference’ for what is considered aesthetically-pleasing, while remaining...
View ArticlePast occupation
The essence of the magic and mystery of any great piece of design lies in the attention to the detail of human scale, just as the thoughtfulness and knowledge of the creator is evident in the smallest...
View ArticleHow to find a job
The talk, So How Do You Become a Registered Architect? A Few Pointers for Graduates, was intended to assist fifth-year students, in the middle of their final-year design theses, with thinking about...
View ArticleSocial Architecture
Whether we are keeping in touch with friends and family or actively engaged with an online community, social media now shape the way many of us communicate. Facebook users now number close to one...
View ArticleMaking more of our relationship to light
“The laws of physics are so benign, so generous. And get this … That rain is our sunlight, Professor Beard. It drenches our planet, drives our climate and its life. A sweet rain of photons, and all we...
View ArticleBio-informed design
Bio-informed design refers to the need to cater for a healthy environment within the confines of the mechanical and physical built landscapes that we create. Air handling systems and physical structure...
View ArticleReassembling biomaterials and modes of praxis
From “morphological computing” to “complexity chemistry,” biology has now taken centre stage alongside architectural design in the construction of hybrid materials that attempt to surpass the original...
View ArticleSound matters
Like water from a bucket with holes, the energy of sound finds every opportunity to annoy, no matter how small.And, because sound cannot be seen, it is often neglected at the design and build stages,...
View ArticlePublish or perish
If you’re going to delve into the murky world of architectural communication and public relations then having the neat, trim Peter Murray – architectural editor, founder of Blueprint, avid cyclist,...
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