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Thursday, August 3, 2017

The folly of build and design

David Frise, BESA Head of Sustainability

Assembling buildings as a single, integrated system For a building to be a 'product', you have to start the process off correctly by designing it before you start.  Not rocket science, but rarely achievable in the “crack on” world of construction.  Most projects start on site far too early and well before the design is fully completed. This means that we end up not in design and build mode, but...

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Grenfell - what else are we missing Part 4

David Frise, BESA Head of Sustainability

Part 4: The Symptoms vs. the disease - a solution  The simple solution to addressing regulation and enforcement does not requires rafts of legislation (except perhaps in fire safety), but the simple enforcement of simplified regulations, which are designed to give us a safe, healthy built environment that we can enjoy in a sustainable way.  For this to work Building Regulations and Planning...

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Grenfell - what else are we missing Part 3

David Frise, BESA Head of Sustainability

Part 3 - The symptoms vs. the Disease After considering fire safety in a previous blog, we now turn to look at the issues caused by regulations and lack of enforcement. There are rightly calls for wholesale change and after years of sniping at ‘unnecessary regulations’ we may have to reverse the attempts at cutting red tape.  But what were those regulations that were consigned to history,...

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Grenfell - what else are we missing Part 2

Part 2 - Fire Stopping Systems   Having previously looked at the fire risks associated with the poor cleaning of ventilation systems, this week we turn to look at fire stopping systems. Passive fire protection, which includes compartmentalization of the entirety of buildings through fire-resistance rated walls and floors, prevents or slows the spread of fire from the room of origin to other...

Friday, July 7, 2017

Grenfell - what else are we missing?

It goes without saying that many lessons will have to be learned as a result of the horrifying Grenfell Tower tragedy, but improving the way Building Regulations are applied and enforced should be at the top of the list, according to Tim Rook* of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). The investigations over the coming weeks and months must address apparent systemic failures...