Fire safety issues flagged by Dame Judith Hackitt after Grenfell were tackled by smoke control experts at a recent roundtable sponsored by Colt. Liza Young follows an in-depth debate on competency, guidance and whole life fire strategy
Category: General
Bright spark – SLL’s Iain Carlile on the importance of light
The Society of Light and Lighting’s new president, Iain Carlile, aims to spread the word on good lighting and show how exciting a career in the sector can be. Liza Young finds out more
Sporting highlights – how daylighting slashed energy use at Oriam Sports Performance Centre
The services design for the CIBSE award-winning Oriam Sports Performance Centre minimises energy use while maintaining optimum conditions for playing sport. Andy Pearson finds out how Max Fordham was able to maximise daylighting and natural ventilation, and – at the same time – meet strict requirements for lighting and overheating
Make way for the revolution – inside SES Engineering Services’ M&E factory
With contractors increasingly turning to offsite construction, we speak to some of the pioneers delivering prefabricated M&E. In the first of a regular series, Alex Smith visits SES Engineering Services’ factory, in York, to find out how its factory focus is helping to change the culture of construction
Fit for purpose – how best to keep cool in exercise spaces
Current design guidance for fitness spaces is not always optimised for comfort, according to Max Fordham’s Henry Pelly, who says people exercising keep cool more effectively when air movement is maximised
Room service – cooling guests at the Strand Palace Hotel using Hybrid VRF
The Strand Palace Hotel in London is having air conditioning installed in 785 guest rooms – but, with occupancy rates of 87%, the owners are keen to keep disruption to a minimum. Alex Smith looks at the Hybrid VRF system specified by Elementa Consulting
Alight here for Crossrail – lighting design on the Elizabeth Line
The use of LED lighting in Crossrail’s subterranean infrastructure will result in reduced energy consumption. Andy Pearson spoke to one manufacturer to find out how its designers met Transport for London’s exacting specification requirements
How lower carbon factors in SAP will change heating design
A new draft version of SAP has more than halved the CO2 emissions factors for electricity. Alex Smith looks at how changes to the energy use calculation could accelerate a move from gas to electric heating in homes
Making history – Heritage Group symposium
The first Heritage Group symposium explored ways to bridge the gap between academia and practice. Liza Young reports
What’s cooking – measuring PM2.5
To ensure indoor air quality measurements in homes are accurate and repeatable, we need standards that clearly define sensor types, calibration methods, sampling frequency, averaging periods and measurement locations, says the University of Nottingham’s Benjamin Jones