Brick has become a highly sought-after building material for individual bespoke homes and housing schemes. Offering lasting value, brick does not rot, dent, or need to be painted, and it will never tear. Its modular units and variety of shapes have resulted in beautiful structures in just about every architectural style, ranging from colonial to Victorian to post-modernist.

3D laser scanning and CAD modelling offer an important resource for design and construction teams. Where complex geometries are involved, more traditional techniques such as dimensional control may be more appropriate advises Peter Field, Managing Director of Warner Surveys.

Construction contractors often face issues of proximity to buildings and infrastructures – but the £31m redevelopment of 71 Queen Victoria Street, London, presented them in abundance.