Slavonic Studies

At the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, the thermal mass of brickwork plays an important role

Completed this year at a cost of £10m, SSEES has a total floor area of 3,437m2 over seven-storeys, including a research library and a unique book collection

Images from ssees.ucl.ac.uk

A glass atrium rising through the building forms part of the cooling system along with perimeter stacks, roof mounted chimneys, an ingenious architrave for exhausting air from the stair zone and a magnificent brick elevation

Image and text from: Brick Development Association

The massive cavity brickwork of the facade consists of an outer 215mm thick solid brick wall, tied across a 100mm cavity to an inner 215mm solid brick wall that is fair-faced to capitalise on the thermal mass of the construction

Image and text from: Brick Development Association

At 32m long, the brickwork of the main facade is low absorption, machine-made bricks laid in a relatively soft (1:2:9) lime mortar designed to cope with changes in temperature and moisture without the need for movement joints

Image and text from: Brick Development Association

Professor Alan Short, principal of Short and Associates, likens the building to a small urban palace. ‘We looked at Gaudi but also at late Romanesque and medieval European churches. Being Bloomsbury, we could have designed in a Georgian idiom but instead have created a kind of palazzo that expresses the dynamism of SSEES’

Image and text from: Brick Development Association

Intensifying this grandeur are outsized, asymmetric soldier arches – some three courses deep – that oversail reveals by up to 600mm and recall monumental Roman brick architecture. Clear references to both Gaudi and Moorish Spain can be seen in the wonderful stair hall

Eco-Friendly

Architecture in the UK is the biggest contributor to climate change. Fifty per cent of energy consumption
and greenhouse emissions stems from the design of our buildings

Image and text from BBC

Tom Dyckhoff showcases the RSPB Visitor Centre at Rainham Marshes in Essex, the Jubilee Wharf housing project in Penryn, Cornwall and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London

These are three excellent but very different examples
of eco-friendly planet-saving architecture

To view the video-clip, click image or New Buildings

Computers

How does IT help the architects and construction workers involved in designing and building a brand new school?

Image and text from BBC

From computer aided design (CAD) to environmental modelling software and project planning programs,
IT is essential at every stage of the process. To view the video-clip, click image or Computers and Construction

Wooden Structure

A group of volunteers assemble a simple wooden structure using basic tools and materials - and a set of instructions

To start with, the pieces of wood are measured and cut into the lengths needed, using tape measures and saws

The group sets out the corner posts, securing them by digging earth foundations and checking they're upright by using a spirit level

The lengths of timber are joined together using hammers and nails. A technique called 'splicing' is used to join two lengths of wood together to make longer lengths needed for the building

Image and text from BBC

Once the outer frames of the walls are made, diagonal bracing is nailed in position to give added strength and to keep the structure stable in windy conditions

Finally, rafters are added to make a framework for the roof

To view the video-clip, click image or Timber House

Greenfield Site

An illustration of the economic, social and environmental impacts of building on a greenfield site

Image and text from BBC

The implications for business parks, housing and wildfowl parks are explained and the costs of each proposal are outlined. To view the video-clip, click image or Site Development

Hockington

Over the next 15 years, 4 million homes will be built in Britain, with many likely to be on greenfield sites in or close to rural areas

Presenter Charlotte Smith shows us how the environment can be better protected by using cutting edge environmentally friendly house-building technology

Image and text from BBC

This shows how five homes in Hockington in Nottinghamshire are hidden from view by being constructed partially underground with technology
which allows them their own natural water supply
and heat source

To view the video-clip, click image or Hockington

Stone Mason

A stonemason explains why Limestone is used for buildings and statues

Screen shot

To view the video-clip, click image or Stone Mason