Carefully considered colour schemes for commercial buildings such as offices can benefit users by assisting with wayfinding, wellbeing and even productivity. With the majority of people still working from home at the moment, now is the ideal time to refresh workplaces to create an inviting interior that staff will look forward to returning to. Here, Crown Paints’ Colour Consultant, Kathryn Lloyd, addresses how to style a fresh and on-trend colour scheme which will tick all the right boxes.

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is the importance of the outdoors – the spaces between and around buildings, as well as the public realm – to our health, safety and wellbeing. But a fresh approach is needed to designing and selecting paving for multifunctionality, sustainability and the ability to adapt to changing needs over time – as Chris Hodson of the trade association Interpave explains.

Surfaces have a big role to play in the overall look and feel of a space. In the kitchen and bathroom, in particular, practical considerations need to be made while also bearing in mind the visual impact of such visible fixtures as worktops, countertops, splashbacks and even flooring. Here, Simon Boocock, Managing Director of C. R. Laurence of Europe, takes us through the key trends in surfaces to look out for.

The latest RIBA CPD theme focuses on the ‘bubble’ that surrounds us as we live, play and work indoors. It suggests that as the physical boundary between the conditioned and unconditioned environment of a building, the building envelope must keep its users safe while also addressing the practicalities of day-to-day living. Many of the manufacturers and service providers which these CPDs feature are industry leaders in providing that protection. It reminds us that many of their popular seminars are still available online. Below are a selection of other pre-spring observations.

The Grenfell Tower tragedy exposed fundamental and deep-rooted issues over competency, highlighting major skills and knowledge gaps amongst those responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and day-to-day operation of buildings. In this article, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director of the Fire Protection Association (FPA), explores whether the issue of competency has become clearer since Grenfell, and argues that a greater degree of focus must be placed on fire safety competence and accountability for those responsible for building design.

Designed by Mecanoo, The National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts symbolises the transformation of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. What was once a major international harbour is now a modern, diverse city with a rich cultural climate. The design is located on a former military site, as an integral part of the adjacent subtropical park and has a positive social impact on the residents of Kaohsiung, whose population counts almost three million.

Baca Architects has released visuals of a floating island, the design of which was inspired by the water lilies that abound in the surrounding lake. The island will comprise units of holiday apartments and forms part of Baca’s master plan for Ashwicken Lake, a proposed new eco-resort in Norfolk, UK, which has recently been submitted for planning.

Sally Lewis describes the start of her career as an exploration of what architectural education could offer. She was a practicing Architect in South Africa by the mid-‘90s, but turned to urban design thanks to a scholarship to study in the UK. By the turn of the millennium, she had completed an MA in urban design and was in the UK for good, building up her career with roles at the likes of Llewellyn Davies, John McAslan + Partners, CABE and HTA. Here, we find out about Sally’s time in South Africa, discover the designs she’s worked on here in the UK and learn more about the opening of her firm, Stitch Architects.

The April 2021 edition of Future Constructor & Architect.

In the construction industry, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the importance of a simple classroom block. The latest addition to Ty Gwyn Special School may look like a normal school building, but it is packed with interesting features and was delivered using modern methods of construction.