Rain fences are designed to store rainwater, reducing pressure on drainage systems during heavy downpours and preserving water for gardens during dry spells. This innovative approach is gaining attention in neighborhoods like Veldhoven, where residents are eager to learn about the costs and benefits of such installations.
Offsite construction has delivered measurable environmental gains, with a peer-reviewed study showing an average reduction of 78.8% in construction waste compared to conventional methods. Under controlled factory conditions, reductions can reach up to 90%, highlighting significant improvements in sustainability.
Research from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety consistently identifies wind-borne embers, firebrands carried well ahead of the fire front, as a dominant cause of residential structure loss in wildfires.
Wright created a sculptural masterpiece, but he was pushing the boundaries of residential construction. He didn't put enough reinforcing steel in the cantilevers of the house over the waterfall, so as soon as they removed the formwork, the house started to sag. Wright was always assuring the Kaufmanns it was natural, but it was the house failing.
Stress-skin panel construction is probably the most energy-efficient and cost-effective building method available today. With super-high insulation levels and airtightness, a stress-skin panel house should have extremely low heating and cooling costs. A reduction of 50% on utility bills as compared to a typically constructed house is reasonable.
The rods are the central element of a novel seismic-responsive structural system that is designed to help the building snap back to its original shape in the event of a major earthquake. Their trick is an embedded cluster of taut cables made from a highly flexible compound called a shape-memory alloy that's capable of bending under tension-like the lateral shaking in a California earthquake-and then straightening out.
When the Woolworth Building was constructed in 1910, owner Frank Woolworth and architect Cass Gilbert wanted to make the structure fireproof. With the recent tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the memory of the Great Fire of New York City in 1835 in mind, every precaution was taken to ensure that the "Cathedral of Commerce" would not succumb to a similar fate.
In the past, roof inspections mostly focused on what could be seen from the outside. Contractors looked for broken shingles, worn flashing, or areas where water might enter the roof. The problem is that roof damage does not always show clear signs right away. Water can move through roofing layers before it becomes visible inside the home.
So many homes now have high efficiency sealed combustion boilers and furnaces that do not vent out through the chimney at rooftop height. These units typically will have their intake and exhaust going out through the side of the house. These do need to be high enough off the ground to allow for typical snow patterns, but snow drifts due to high winds can pile pretty high, and this next storm is coming with very high winds.
A bridge failure might sound like something from a blockbuster, but real damage usually creeps in slowly. Across the nation, engineers watch thousands of bridges that remain open, yet are far from their best condition. "Structurally deficient" is not a death sentence, but it signals repairs can no longer wait. These 10 bridges handle massive traffic and are a serious concern nationwide today.
Rather than representing a simple return to the past, this renewed interest reflects a broader reconsideration of how architecture engages with materials, local resources, and environmental conditions.
In fact, it acts as an insulator that protects the shingles. And, even when it's deep, the snow's weight is less than what the roof is designed to bear; the average roof is built to carry loads of 65 pounds per square foot. Even flat roofs, which seem more vulnerable to snow loads than pitched ones, are pretty tough. In fact, residential flat roofing is stronger than commercial roofs.
Work to fix hospitals built using unsafe concrete will not be completed in time to meet the government's target, a new report has warned. Seven hospitals built using Raac, or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, were prioritised for remedial work last year, with the government setting a deadline of 2030. The new buildings are now expected to open in 2032 and 2033 - but some are already facing pressure to meet the revised timetable, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
Over decades, concrete, block, stone, and brick foundations naturally weaken as mortar joints decay, tie-rod holes rust out, and block cavities collect moisture, creating new leak paths that didn't exist when the home was built. When looking at a concrete foundation, it isn't a matter of IF it will leak, but WHEN it will leak.
When a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar last year, roads buckled and thousands of buildings collapsed. But a group of small, ultra-low-cost homes made from bamboo survived without any damage. Finished just days before the quake, the houses are emergency shelters for some of the millions of people displaced by Myanmar's ongoing civil war. Myanmar-based architecture studio Blue Temple worked with its spinoff construction company Housing Now to make the simple prefab homes as low-cost as possible while still able to withstand natural disasters.
This is the one and only paint that's on the market that's designed to actually absorb moisture. If you take Lilypad paint and apply it to the wall, the film will actually absorb excess humidity as it starts filling the room, and then, when it dries, it resets itself by slowly letting it back into the space. So it's regulating humidity, Dr. Stein said.
Cedar Street just came out victorious in a multi-year saga with the city of La Canada Flintridge, winning the first successful builder's remedy case in California Superior Court for its 80-unit mixed-use project at 600 Foothill Boulevard and setting a path for other developers to build. But the fight may have left its scars, in time, stress and now soured relationships with some officials.
Having explored adaptability at the city scale, we are now zooming in on the building itself-and, crucially, on practice. How can architects, developers, and consultants embed adaptability as a measurable, mainstream outcome? This question will be on the agenda at the Adaptable Building Conference (ABC) on January 22 at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, where architects, engineers, policymakers, and industry leaders will explore the potential of adaptable buildings-and how to deliver them at scale.
Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
As the weights touch, they get a bit musical and there's a kind of harmonic ring in your wall. It's like the house is alive. But with soulful age come other sounds: rattles, wind whistling through gaps and a homeowner's curses because the blasted contraptions won't open and close properly.
When it comes to protecting your home, the roof is your first line of defense against the elements. For decades, asphalt shingles have been the go-to choice for homeowners due to their low upfront cost and ease of installation. However, as building technology has advanced and extreme weather events become more frequent, many are starting to look at their roof as a long-term investment rather than a recurring expense.
For many years, bamboo has been mostly known as the favourite food of giant pandas, but a group of engineers say it's time we took it seriously as a building material, too. This week the Institution of Structural Engineers called for architects to be bamboo-ready as they published a manual for designing permanent buildings made of the material, in an effort to encourage low-carbon construction and position bamboo as a proper alternative to steel and concrete.
We have clients who have looked at property in the city or town where they live, but simply can't afford what is coming onto the market. Instead, they are considering using the considerable equity they have built up with those soaring real estate valuations in recent years. Many of these people can invest money into their properties and still have equity left after a major remodel and addition.
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