Come and meet us
Opening times
Visit the School
Guide to localism: Opportunities for architects
Posted on: 1 November 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
As the Localism Bill makes its final passage through Parliament, the RIBA has published two new guides for architects, outlining how the role of the architect can change under the new approach to planning and highlighting the crucial role that they have to play in helping communities understand the potential of their local built environment and prepare neighbourhood plans.
Guide to localism – Part 1: Neighbourhood planning
The first guide introduces the proposed changes to the planning system and outlines how this will affect architects, before highlighting how architects can use their design skills to get involved in the development of neighbourhood plans.
Guide to localism – Part 2: Getting community engagement right
The second guide shows how architects can enable local communities to participate fully in shaping the way their local area looks and feels, highlighting key principles of successful, meaningful engagement.
National Planning Policy Framework: Written evidence
Posted on: 1 November 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
This is the written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Selection Committee on Communities and Local Government as part of their inquiry into Government proposals for a National Planning Policy Framework.
Posted on: 27 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
Providing the evidence base for local housing need and demand assessment
This research was commissioned and conducted while housing and planning policy was going through a significant amount of change. As yet, there are no statements on whether new guidance will be issued to ensure consistent assessments of housing need, on the new areas of neighbourhood planning or on the duty to co-operate. The research captures a ‘snapshot’ of time and aims to feed into how future guidance on estimating future housing requirements might develop to support local authorities in their duty to assess housing need and demand within the new policy context. In light of this research, the housing charity Shelter has linked with the Town and Country Planning Association, Home Builders Federation and many others to establish the Local Housing Requirements Assessment Working Group to work with practitioners to demystify estimating local housing requirements and is calling on the government to work with them in doing so. The group aims to produce a toolkit in Spring 2012.
Place visioning in Scotland: Lessons learned
Posted on: 27 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
The issues of ‘place’ and ‘placemaking’ are central to the reform of the Scottish planning system. Since 2009, the Urbanism team at Architecture and Design Scotland have been working with five planning authorities and communities across Scotland to explore what visionary and ambitious plans are, and how they can be achieved. This work took the form of partnership working on place visioning, using a variety of participatory techniques. The results of these exercises have been written up by Andrew Guest to share learning as a series of short reports. The visioning exercises worked at different scales of place, from strategic development plan scale to small city, small town and city district.
Action plan for energy-efficient housing in the UNECE region
Posted on: 27 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
To address the challenges of improving energy efficiency in the housing sector, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has published an Action Plan for Energy Efficient Housing. It outlines three policy areas for action: energy efficiency governance; energy performance standards; and access to energy efficiency.
Keeping the country running: Natural hazards and infrastructure
Posted on: 26 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
The Infrastructure and Corporate Resilience Programme, under the auspices of the Cabinet Office, has published a guide which aims to support infrastructure owners and operators, emergency responders, industry groups, regulators, and government departments, to work together to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services. The Guide provides advice on: identifying and assessing risks from natural hazards; standards of resilience; business continuity and corporate governance; guidance for economic regulated sectors; information sharing; and understanding dependencies.
Guides on low impact building materials
Posted on: 26 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
A series of five information papers for architects, specifiers, materials suppliers and building contractors on low impact building materials is being launched on 31 October 2011. The introductory guides published by IHS BRE Press provide an overview of the benefits and limitations of using various low impact building materials in construction projects. Materials covered in the series are hemp lime, straw bale, unfired clay masonry, cross-laminated timber and natural fibre insulation. Each publication examines the key properties of the respective materials and features research carried out at the University of Bath alongside input from industry experts with commercial experience of the materials’ application in major construction projects.
Read more online
Specification survey: Summary of findings
Posted on: 26 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
In early 2011 NBS carried out a research project to find out how people were creating and using specifications in the UK, and how people saw specifications developing in the future. The research followed on from NBS’s research into BIM (Building Information Modelling), which confirmed that specifications were an integral part of BIM.
Landlord Accreditation Report
Posted on: 26 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
In May 2011, the Mayor commissioned a piece of work to consider the growth of landlord accreditation in the capital. This study considers the current mechanisms for delivering landlord and agent accreditation in London and presents potential options for the most cost effective, long term and sustainable ways of delivering landlord and agent accreditation in the capital. Accreditation is a mechanism for helping landlords or agents to meet agreed standards of competence, skills and knowledge about the business of owning, managing or letting a private rented home, and a public recognition of having met that standard.
Build now or pay later? Funding new housing supply
Posted on: 26 October 2011
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News
In this paper, the third in IPPR’s series of briefing papers as part of its fundamental review of housing policy, the authors consider a question that is vexing policymakers in government and elsewhere: ‘If we are to increase housing supply, how are we to pay for it?’
What’s new
What’s new and Events presentations archive
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011