The past few months have been a bustling period for the construction sector; from reviews to the Building Regulations, trade show season kicking off and the independent public Grenfell inquiry taking place. While much of the publicity surrounding the sector has been of a pessimistic attitude of late , at the FC&A office we’re celebrating. June signifies the month of our 100th issue of FC&A, and we’re proud to have followed industry affairs through the good, the bad and the ugly. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our readership and contributors for their dedication and support and look forward to continuing to work with you all over the future issues.
Moving onto industry news, May 17th was D-day for Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. Dame Judith’s delivery seemingly failed to start off on the right foot as Chair Clive Betts expressed his disappointment that members were not permitted access to an embargoed copy of the review prior to the session. Many figures within the industry welcomed the review on account of its tighter specifications for material testing, however, what was apparent from the consensus of both the industry and the public was a prominent streak of disappointment across the board due to the review falling short of a ban on flammable cladding.
Five days after Hackitt’s review much of the industry strolled the streets of Islington for one of the industry’s leading events, Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW). This year’s show has proved to be a success for many within the sector and, as always, has been declared as an inspirational day for the industry. While many of you were actively roaming the streets of CDW, the first floor of Marshalls Design Space in Compton Cour tyard on the last day of the show was a hub of ethically-considerate activity. A Marshalls-sponsored event, ‘Changing the Narrative for Ethical Specification in Construction’, brought together several leading voices from the worlds of human rights and ethical sourcing. What was evident from the event was that the construction supply chain urgently needs addressing when it comes to the consideration of ethical sourcing to catch up to other realms.
