Manchester’s new arts venue, Aviva Studios, features two huge events spaces that can host anything from poetry readings to mega-raves. BDP had the challenge of devising a flexible lighting and services strategy that could adapt to any artistic situation, as the consultant’s Steve Merridew and Nick Meddows explain
Tag: Façades
Reaching new heights: the all-timber Black and White office building
A six-storey timber façade at the Black and White office building in London helped slash embodied carbon and won its engineer an SFE Façade 2023 Design and Engineering Award. Andy Pearson finds out how the winning design was engineered while alleviating safety risks
Clear decisions: whole life carbon for façades
By applying the CWCT embodied carbon calculation methodology to a Croydon office, Patrick Ryan Associates estimated whether selecting a new high-performing façade is better for reducing whole life carbon than retaining elements of the original. Anri Doda and Jill Wang explain
Connecting to country: the Boola Katitjin building in Western Australia
The Boola Katitjin building breaks boundaries with its radical timber design and innovative engineering. Andy Pearson finds out how the project team achieved a 6-Star Green Star rating by working with the bush environment
Fire and façades: key guidance
To ensure the fire safety of building façades, designers should pay special attention to firestopping. CWCT’s David Metcalfe highlights the latest guidance on this key area and rounds up the most recent information on designing fire-safe façades
Case study: Dubai’s award-winning Museum of the Future
Building information modelling and parametric modelling were key to the design and construction of the Museum of the Future, in Dubai, which won a design award for its unique façade. Andy Pearson reports on how the use of technology made the building possible
Framing finesse: Paddington Square’s innovative façade
The façade at Paddington Square in West London is anything but straightforward. Mace’s Ovi Mazareanu, and WSP’s Michele Sauchelli and Serena Gugliotta, describe how the client’s demand for energy efficiency and performance led to the design team taking a collaborative and innovative approach
Facing the challenge: measuring embodied energy in façades
Chris Macey explains how façade engineering will evolve in response to the Building Safety Act and net zero goals
Burrell Collection retrofit: a glazing success
The Grade A-listed Burrell Collection houses important works of art, but poor fabric performance has made the museum unsustainable. Andy Pearson explains how the building’s glazed façade was restored to make the gallery fit for a low carbon future
Facing up to embodied carbon in façades
Façades account for up to 30% of a building’s embodied carbon, which is why the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology is working to produce a new methodology to bring consistency to life-cycle assessments. Buro Happold’s Teni Ladipo reports