Building Design Expert Podcast

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – CDM 2015 with Peter Caplehorn . April 6 2015 saw the launch of the new Construction (Design and management) Regulations, and if the truth is acknowledged also saw a bit of a wake up of the construction design professions, who, hitherto had been able to keep the CDM 2007 Regulations at arms length,... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Energy saving on the next level . You don’t have to be a highly qualified construction professional to get on in the world of construction. Cathy Debenham is a journalist; nothing wrong with that – But she is one with a mission. Having moved into a new house, and clutching her clean sweeping... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – In Conversation with Peter Caplehorn . It is very common for professionals and tradespersons alike, to underline their careers with a reference to how long that career has lasted, and how long they have been doing what they do. I have have been an Architectural Technologist for 30 yrs. for example, and involved... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Carbon Free Concrete with David Ball . A carbon free world is something that perhaps we can only aspire to in our dreams, as one way or another we are going to have CO2 generating energy sources.  It’s a little like asking a lifetime smoker to cut down to four a day –... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Construction Social Media with Su Butcher . Some would argue, and others may reluctantly concede that social media, to one extent or another has taken over our lives. That is, if we have let it. But would you like more control? Would you like it to work for you rather than just seem... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Passivhaus with Elrond Burrell and Chris Herring . Architype Architects are based in Hereford and have a passion for sustainable architecture. Hand in glover with sustainable building design is the need to reduce energy use. Architype have achieved this by adopting the Passivhaus design and building standard; with a growing reputation for use of the standard on a... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Unstabilised Rammed Earth pt.1 This is part 2 and the final part of my interview with Roland Keable and we are talking “Unstabilised Rammed Earth wall construction”. How do you ‘stabilise’ Rammed Earth Wall construction? What would you call a rammed earth wall matrix that contained cement? and what are the processes involved during... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Unstabilised Rammed Earth pt.1 In my introduction to this podcast I describe this type of walling as a “niche” construction. How many times have you seen “rammed Earth Walling” in your recent travels around any building site? – I thought so – not too many then!! Rowland Keable is one of the... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Approved Inspector Some would say that the construction industry’s greatest achievement, never to happen, was the devolution of the planning system to private companies. After all they did it with Building Control and it has worked seamlessly for decades. We spoke with Doug Basen of LABC in a recent podcast, and there... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Concrete eating Robot pt.2 Every now and again someone, somewhere has, what on the face of it sounds like a delusional idea that they will revolutionise the world. Look up a year or so later, and this one just might have. Well at least the world in which this podcast dares to... Read more »

Every now and again you might happen across an idea. If you’re like me the idea’s generally not yours, and you’re thinking that’s so simple why didn’t I rethink of that. I have come to the conclusion that largely it is how our minds have been conditioned to operate. If you have been brought up... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – LABC pt.2 So LABC, and particularly our interviewee Doug Basen, are the first to admit that the ‘dark days’ pre 1984 were not not the best at promoting their organisation as providing a service of which they were proud. But fortunately for us all, things have a habit of changing.With the advent... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – LABC 1 Your time in the construction industry will determine what iteration of Building Control you may have encountered. Prior to the 1984 Building Act there was the largely adversarial system, where Building Control often went out of their way to make life difficult for all involved. We look back upon those... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – BIM and Passivhaus 2 Passivhaus has been around for so long now, it can pretty much take care of itself – in suitably trained hands that is. However, BIM, we discover, is a process that can add value to any design mode. So yes Passivhaus can and does benefit, but not in... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – BIM and Passivhaus 1 We can go back 22 years to find the birth of Passivhaus, and depending upon which expert you speak to, a good many more to discover the grass roots that has blossomed into today’s pursuit of the holy grail of ‘BIM’. So what happens when you combine the... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – BIM pt.2 The construction industry taslks incessantly about ‘doing BIM’, but BIM is as much a mindset change, as a software upgrade. To get different and improved results we must all learn a modified approach to the production and management of our information. In this concluding episode of the BRE subject trilogy... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – BIM pt.1 Building Information Modelling, or BIM as it has become so popularly known, is not new; although the BIM acronymn has been popularised by a well known CAD software industry giant, and so has become the default reference for this hugely developing arm of the construction industry. Infact this arm now... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Grande Designs Live 2013 I was pleased to be invited to be part of the ‘Ask an Expert’ stand at Grand Designs Live. It was rewarding to assist members oif the public who are understandably not versed in the intricacies of building design and construction, either get to on the right track,... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – George Clarke at Grand Designs Live 2013 Grand Designs Live has arguably taken over, or is at least now sharing the mantle, once held by the Ideal Home Exhibition, as the consumer champion for all things to make our lives a more comfortable in a less stressed environment, including the ultimate DIY... Read more »

BuildingDesignExpert Podcast – Passivhaus pt.2 First published Monday 13 May 2013 This is part 2 of the second in a trilogy of podcasts featuring experts in their field from the BRE (Building Research Establishment). We continue our chat on Passivhaus, with Mark Standen – senior consultant in ‘Energy and Low Carbon Futures’ – incorporating Passivhaus.... Read more »