What has the Building Safety Regulator been up to?
So the HSE emailed out a BSR governance change article which was nice highlighting the changes at the top, and if you scrolled down the Building Control Management Data which was some spicy reading, I’m all for change and improvement but I do hope it’s not another reset whilst they get their house in order as we have just about got to a stable point with the BSR team where people know whats required. So The BSR has Published its first comprehensive set of management information data for the building control function for higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England, from the the data they have provided I have picked out some of the stats: October 2023 to March 2025 The number of building control approval applications received And at the end of March 2025 they were dealing with 1019 new applications (From our group teams call with the BSR in June the number was still about the same) Determination times Possibly the most shocking part of the spreadsheets was the Median time taken in weeks for building control approval application decisions in England by quarter, 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2025 Looking at this data is nothing that we didn’t know but is a clear signal to all in the industry that the process is slow and will have a significant impact on any HRB program, so tell your clients additional time required to get through the process, and thats without the additional design time upfront. Decision outcomes Again nothing new here and we have been working with others and using feedback from the BSR to refine submissions, from the learning we have seen it’s submissions that are not clear, What is the building? And what is the work? And where is the data you are providing? these are the things that have been causing the BSR head aches. The BSR did not provide any guidance about what they expected so obviously they got a mixed bag of whatever people thought was required to start with and they definitely missed a trick by not at the very least providing an overview of the requirements and problems they have encountered in the first 6 months. This week we have heard that the Construction Leadership Council is going to provide guidance for BSR submissions, hopefully this will help people submit applications in a way that will help the BSR and help the industry. We have had the benefit of working with a large London Developer and getting a lot of feed back on all there applications and feedback from the BSR, so we are hoping that the new governance change doesn’t mess with the process to much as it’s just got bedded in! “If you’re working on HRBs, the message is clear: allow more time, make your submissions watertight, and stay close to the evolving guidance, because the BSR isn’t slowing down anytime soon.”
Collaborative Learning for Safer Buildings
Collaborative Learning for Safer Buildings & lessons learnt from recent Building Safety Regulator (BSR) submissions.
Building Safety Act & Building regulations: A Year of Change
The landscape of building regulations and safety standards in the UK has undergone significant changes over the past year. These changes, largely driven by the need for increased safety and sustainability, have implications for developers, homeowners, and industry professionals alike. The tragic events of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 served as a stark reminder of the critical importance of building safety. In response, the UK government introduced the Building Safety Act 2022, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at transforming the way buildings are designed, constructed, and managed This blog looks at the most notable updates to UK building regulations and the Building Safety Act, and provides a comprehensive overview of what has changed and how it affects various stakeholders: The Building Safety Act Over the past year, significant strides have been made in implementing the Building Safety Act, with far-reaching implications for the construction industry, building owners, and residents alike. Some of the key changes introduced include: New Rules for High-Risk Buildings (HRB) The Act has introduced a new regime for high-risk (residential) buildings (those 18 metres or more in height or with at least seven storeys and containing at least 2 residential units). It includes: Wider Building Safety Reforms Beyond high-rise buildings, the Act also impacts other building types. Notable changes cover: Challenges and Opportunities While the Building Safety Act is a significant step forward, its implementation presents challenges. The construction industry is adapting to new regulations, and there is a need for a larger skilled workforce to meet the demands of the new regime. We have seen and heard a lot of stories in the press with regards to a lack of building control surveyors getting the new accreditation, which has in some instances stopped work on site. We have also had issues of availability for the ones that are accredited and, with the new Gateway process, there is an additional timeframe to be added to High Risk Buildings, so that validation and checking of compliance can be carried out by the newly formed building safety regulator. Furthermore, every project now has a legal requirement for the project to appoint a Principal Designer for Building Regulations. (Why they called it Principal Designer as we already have a Principal Designer for CDM we’ll never know – they just want to confuse people!) The Principal Designer for Building Regulations is required to plan, manage and monitor all design work during the design stage of a project to ensure that the design is compliant with the regulations. The Regulator expects these duties to be taken on by whomever is the lead designer, they must coordinate with other designers to achieve consensus that all design elements are compliant. This requires the Principal Designer for Building Regulations to be competent and to have the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary to fulfil the duties under the regulations. The duties of the Principal Designer for Building Regulations should not be confused with the duties of the designer under this regime (though if only one person is performing both duties their designer duties will still apply). To ensure that this role is covered, one of Cityzen’s Directors, John Smith, undertook the CIAT pilot scheme for Principal designer for HRB and Non HRB to become one of the First registered ‘Principal Designers for Building Regulations’. The Principal Contractor is responsible for ensuring that the building work is completed in accordance with the approved design. No real change there but where design and build projects are concerned there is a need to ensure that clear processes are in place to ensure that compliance is being met and checked throughout the process. The Building Safety Regulator A new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has been established within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The BSR is responsible for overseeing the safety and performance of all buildings, with a particular focus on high-risk buildings. This body has the authority to enforce compliance, conduct inspections, and take action against non-compliance. All projects which are within the HRB criteria which need to be worked on or are newly planned must go through the BSR. This is something that every project delivery team must take into account as this process can take months, and they will require reports from the design team (Via the Principal Designer) to prove what is being proposed is acceptable. The Role of the Accountable Person The Act introduces the concept of the ‘Accountable Person’ for high-rise residential buildings. This individual or entity is responsible for ensuring that building safety risks are managed effectively throughout the lifecycle of the building. The Accountable Person must also engage with residents and maintain transparent communication about safety measures and procedures. We have had instances where clients have contacted us to work on HRBs where they have not been registered, nor do they know that the act is in force. Furthermore, some do not know or understand the role of the accountable person even though it came into force in October 2023. Mandatory Reporting and Record Keeping The Act mandates that building owners and managers keep comprehensive records of safety assessments, maintenance, and repair works. This information must be readily available for inspection by the BSR and other relevant authorities. The goal is to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of building safety. For new projects, this starts with the golden thread information generated during the design phase, the site information (witnessing and commissioning data) and O&M information at handover Developers and Contractors For developers and contractors, the new regulations and the Building Safety Act mean stricter compliance requirements and increased scrutiny. Ensuring that all new constructions meet the updated standards for fire safety, cladding, ventilation, and energy efficiency is paramount. Additionally, the introduction of the Building Safety Charge may impact project costs and timelines. It is the client’s duty to ensure that the people employed are competent for the role that they are undertaking. Homeowners and Leaseholders Homeowners and leaseholders, particularly those in high-rise buildings, will experience
Unanimous Planning Decision Achieved
We’re very pleased to announce that one of our planning applications achieved a unanimous positive decision at Arun Council this week for a new build home to proceed. The client had been recommended to us by a previous client and originally asked us to produce a building regulations pack for their new extension. Although we don’t often do private work, we were happy to do this for them. Once we had started looking at the existing scheme and discussed it with all the stakeholders involved, it became clear that a whole new property would be a more suitable solution. The client’s original team trusted us to take it forward. So we undertook the development of the scheme and put together the Design and Access statement, as well as various reports for planning. We were in constant contact with the planners during the entire process, gauging the responses and providing them with the information required to ensure we had a suitable outcome. While planning isn’t our core expertise, our many years of experience across the architectural and design landscape meant that we could look at what had been originally decided, know that this would not work for the client’s needs, and also provide a more suitable solution. In this way, we were happy to take the project on and we’re also proud that both our client and the client’s original team trusted us to do the right thing, which achieved a result that worked for everyone involved. As a small and adaptable team, we were able to quickly assess and provide solutions for a project that required considerable changes and make sure that the right solution was found for both the client and the planning authorities. Contact us to see how we can help with your projects today.
Leading Site Visits with Architectural Technology Students
Enriching their learning by giving them insight into real projects Bringing local Architectural Technology students real-world experiences is something we’re passionate about at Cityzen, after all, they are the future of our industry! In the last few months, we’ve been showing students around a variety of our sites. This has allowed them to connect with and gain a deeper understanding of real projects as opposed to just classroom learning. Being able to visit real sites allows students to put what they’ve learned in the classroom into the context of the real world. As well as help them understand the real challenges the industry faces and what solutions there are to combat them. Most recently, our Director, John, took University of Brighton students to two of our sites that are changing use as part of the University’s ‘retrofit and change of use’ project. John showed them around each site and explained exactly what each project entails. He also took them through the process of looking at a building and pointing out what might be under the facade, what problems there might be and what the opportunities are. More about each site The first site visited was a former Methodist Church in central Worthing, which was turned into a community space and then fell out of use. Now, the Council has decided to repurpose it to provide 5 affordable flats. The other site was an old Debenham’s building which has recently gained planning permission to be turned into 80 flats with retail space. Both sites are completely different in so many ways. From the scale of each of them to the challenges that they have. It was great to be able to show the students these two different projects to demonstrate how varied Architectural Technology is. You can follow the journey of the two projects by looking out for updates on our LinkedIn, Instagram, X or Facebook. Educating the next generation We often find that walking around a building and looking at it as a group brings up lots of questions for students. Which we are of course happy to discuss with them and bring insight into areas of Architectural Technology that they may not have experienced yet. John also finds things much easier to explain when he can gesture to the part of the building that needs work! Course leader, Poorang Prioozfar at the University of Brighton, said, “We’re so pleased that Worthing & Adur Councils are providing local students with access to live projects happening in their area.” Our Director, John, added, “It’s really enriching for the students and we’re happy to work with the local universities and educational authorities to make it happen. In a world where digital learning is becoming the normal, it’s vital to engage with the next generation of the workforce to ensure some real-world experience is added to their education.” Cityzen has mentored many students and has provided sandwich placements to 7 students from Brighton University as part of their course. John continues to support the University with Lectures on Planning, Building Regulations and how the design process takes place together with the end of year Crits offering valuable feedback to the students to ready them for the real world. Cityzen would encourage all companies to take an active role in the future generations of staff coming into the construction industry, by contacting their local universities and seeing how they can ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and experience they need to be successful.
Compliance and Construction Headaches? We Prescribe A Dose Of Cityzen!
Building regulations, construction detailing and M&E coordination can be frustrating. Especially once you have sold your grand design idea to the client and have to deal with contractors asking technical questions about how your design is going to be built. Instead, you want to be out finding more work and not have your design resources tied up in dealing with compliance and detailing. Which is where we can help you – the detailing is the aspect of design that we love! We can take your overarching concept and make it work for you and your clients. There are two sides to the way that we work: Working with architects, designers and contractors We’re like the glue that holds all the stakeholders of a project together. Our unique skill set allows us to work with everyone involved in a project to make sure that the project works for everyone. With 35 years of experience, we have worked on a huge variety of projects. From the public sector and social housing, to education and private clients. We bring a wealth of knowledge to the table. We worked as the executive team for an award-winning architect, providing architecture and building services to the project which ultimately won a RIBA award. On another recent project, we worked closely with Cheesmur Building Contractors to make sure the client’s goals were met. The result was a building that surpassed expectations for air tightness and noise. Which is now serving as emergency accommodation to families that need it. One of the families living there have recently commented on how quiet and stress free it is. Which is brilliant as it’s on the main road and has a train line at the end of the garden! Let us take the pain away If you’re suffering from compliance and construction headaches, we recommend a dose of Cityzen! Get in touch with us today to discuss technical design support for any of your current projects.
The Countdown is on!
Just under a week left to get a meaningful start on site! If you got your building in for Building regulations pre June 15th 2022, you only have 10 days to get site sign off that you have started, hey contractors what are you waiting for? If you have not got to site by the 15th of June have you told your client that you need to go back and resubmit the building regulations to meet the new regulations? You have, please tell me you have……. The Building Regs ‘transitional period’ – a quick recap: The transitional arrangements, these onlyapply when the appropriate building notice, full plans application or initial notice was submitted by Wednesday 15th June 2022 and if work has commenced by Wednesday 15th June 2023. I’ll skip the plans submission bit as we are way past that but the legal evidence for this start on site is : And from our understanding of the addendum you will only get the transitional approval if you have started every building, so you can’t dig the foundations for one building under an application for multiple buildings on a site! If you are not going to make the deadline, talk to your client, design team and check your contracts, as you may be liable for meeting building regs approval under the terms of your contract. In addition, this could be costly, as the NEW F,L,O, & S all have design and material implications which will certainly cause redesign and uplifts in cost. Overall, the new regulations are a good thing and will promote energy saving, reduce overheating and create better homes, but this will mean additional costs. Alongside amendments to the Building Regs, five new approved documents are published: · Approved Document L, volume 1: dwellings; · Approved Document L, volume 2: buildings other than dwellings; · Approved Document F, volume 1: dwellings; · Approved Document F, volume 2: buildings other than dwellings; plus an entirely new Approved Document O covering overheating. Approved Document S Infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles Each of the new regulations include higher standards to meet for: All of the above will slow down the design process requiring additional front-end work (cost), additional testing, witnessing and inspections during the build process. This is for good reason, as they are also all good things for the planet. However, if you have a building that is not going to make the June 15th deadline, we would suggest you review the new documents as these could have a significant impact on the design and construction methodology. If you are designing a new building please do get in touch, we play nicely with others and love helping other practices get their concepts through compliance to detailed designs, out to tender and on to site, as well as developing our own projects from concept stage. Compliance and detailing may not be sexy but it’s what makes buildings work.
Maximising existing housing stock for Adur council
Transforming two derelict houses into six energy efficient, future proofed flats for use as emergency accommodation The Cityzen team was appointed post planning for technical design through to tender, and overseeing the works through the construction stage. There were several challenges presented by this project, not least an existing building being held to new build planning conditions. Existing Building Challenges One of the first challenges with this project was that no measured survey had been undertaken prior to the planning permission being obtained, due to the presence of asbestos. As soon as COVID-19 restrictions allowed, asbestos was removed and a 3D survey was obtained. The survey established that achieving the council goals for occupancy was not possible within the existing planning approval. At the same time it was noted that the planning design showed most of the internal structure being removed. The council had a commitment to reusing as much original structure as possible, while also needing to meet National Housing Standards for funding requirements. Thus a redesign was undertaken to achieve the council goals, and due to project timescales while a revised planning application was under consideration, we continued the technical design of the revised scheme at risk. We were able to issue the architectural construction package for tender just 12 weeks after the survey was received. In the meantime Adur and Worthing planning were pragmatic and approved the revised scheme as an amendment to the existing planning permission. The existing planning approval included a block of new build flats, and thus the refurbishment was subject to the same planning conditions as the new build. A stretching requirement in terms of performance (acoustic and overheating) but one the council did not wish to shy away from. Achieving Design Goals Due to the site being on a busy coast road with the railway line behind it, the acoustic specifications that were part of the approved planning conditions, were not able to be easily met within a social housing refurbishment budget, or through the use of refurbishment products on the market. The project had to therefore show that all practicable mitigations had been undertaken and demonstrate the improvements. Cityzen worked with specialist consultants across the project to provide additional expertise in order to achieve the best possible thermal and acoustic results. The council policy goal of no gas, budget, and ongoing maintenance requirements, led to an employer’s requirement for electric storage heating. As this was to be temporary accommodation a key design team goal was therefore to ensure the future occupants of the properties had relatively lower running costs, and this was achieved through developing a design specification with low heating demand. The existing overheating risk arising from existing south-facing large format bay windows was increased by the acoustic planning condition. Environmental night time noise required windows to remain closed. The structure of the buildings and the budget didn’t allow for the favourable solution of a ducted ventilation system. To ensure the specification was optimised the design was interrogated as it was developed by iterative SAP energy assessments by SEA Compliance, and iterative overheating TM59 assessments by XDA Consulting enabling the design team to develop a suitable way forward that addressed the need for high thermal performance and reduction of overheating risk. Anderson Acoustics then interrogated the preferred design specification and were able to confirm that it should address the acoustic needs they had identified, subject to on-construction re-assessment. The final specification of solar control glazing, blinds, system 3 ventilation and purge fans in heat sensitive rooms removed the overheating risk in 25% of the bedrooms and, in the most-at-risk bedrooms, the total overheating hours were reduced by 74%. Throughout the project, the design and constructive teams worked closely together to ensure the project was delivered in the most cost-effective way possible. With the main contractor, Cheesmur, being proactive in not only addressing problems on site, but also drawing on past experience from previous council projects to suggest new ways of achieving the desired results. The cost plan by MGAC (RLF at the time) was firmed up prior to tender thanks to a period of strip out, and further existing condition investigation by ourselves and QED Structures. Above and Beyond Results Acoustic and air permeability assessments were desired to demonstrate the performance of the detailing and build. We are very pleased to say that the acoustic assessment demonstrated that the night-time noise risk had been completely removed. A fantastic result given the location of the properties. The air permeability assessments showed that air permeability averaged 7.6m3hr/m2 an excellent result given 15 would have been acceptable for an existing building, and given that air tightness detailing was not part of the original brief.. After the build, we produced ‘how to’ videos for use within the council welcome package to assist occupants with learning how to use the heating, hot water and ventilation fans. As well as covering health and safety aspects such as hob safety and how to ensure the fire and smoke alarms are working. The council successfully applied for funding through Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) and Rough Sleepers Accommodation Programme (RSAP) and residents from the emergency housing list are now living in the properties. A fantastic result from all of the hard work put in by everyone involved.
What we discovered at Futurebuild 2023
Same old stuff? sort of but…… Futurebuild is where we usually go to see what’s new, what’s changing, what companies are pushing to meet whatever new regulations or compliance documents are just out, or what technology will make our lives easier! This year I was surprised, I was expecting insulation and door / window manufacturers to be front and center shouting about thermal performance and how they have the best new products but this was far from the case. In the last year we have been giving talks on Part L, Part F and Part O of the new building regulations (the regulations around fire are still up for interpretation). It’s a huge issue which will affect almost every product supplier to the building industry. Nearly every window and door manufacturer we spoke to only offered very limited information on product performance. Most door manufacturers were showing great looking doors but could not provide primary test data for fire resistance. As for the window manufacturers, when discussing Part O, it was a case of it’s down to the designer to tell us what you need for a G value as we have no input. When you’re up against the new regulations there is no magic bullet and it’s down to the designers to make the building work. This is no bad thing as that’s what we do, it just means there is less margin for error or change when a contractor wants to change something. The best part of the show was watching Duncan Baker Brown’s thought provoking talk, which asked everyone to do better, in terms of product use, reuse and building lifecycle, as the climate crisis is not going away (I highly recommend his book ‘The Re-use Atlas’). His talk had drawn one of the biggest crowds I’d seen at any of the talks all day which was good to see, but it should have been on the big stage, not off to the side! Some of the things that impressed me at the show were: SSAB steel were there with their Fossil Free Steel . I have been watching this product become a reality over the last couple of years and it’s great to see it become a real product which can change the way steel is made and have an amazing impact on the amount of CO2 created in the manufacturing process. This could be great for future steel frame buildings and steel components. Hemspan products were on show with various Hemp based climate positive insulation products which looked great but when used there would be a significant increase in depth (200mm in the cavity) needed to use them verses a PIR (under 150mm in the cavity) to meet the New Limiting U-Values in part L. In addition, it’s a class E reaction to fire rated product. So yes, it’s innovative and sustainable, but definitely a conversation needed with the client before specifying this one. I liked the RECO tile panels from Reco Surfaces, they would make for some very quick installs and various ones with fire rated certification so great for council and public projects as well as the domestic market. Edilians had some great looking solar tile alternatives, especially their Solar Max tile which is now available in a buff / brown to match more roofs and help the solar to blend in I also had a really good conversation with Armatherm re their current range of products for thermal bridging components and the potential changes to external balconies in the future due to fire risks which may cascade out across the country. Lewis Metal Decks had a good shallow profile deck system that’s worth a look especially if you have a retrofit situation or where you need strength, acoustic and fire performance. I have forgotten more than usual as this year was fairly paper free, all the stands had a scanner to get my details, so I expect to be inundated with emails over the next week and I’ll remember who else I spoke to! As I said at the start, there was nothing really new and a lot of the big players were not there, so either they have enough work that they don’t need to exhibit, or times are tight and they don’t want to spend on events like this! There is always something of value at the show, The Futurebuild exhibitors list is here and is fairly interactive so handy if you are after something in particular. Hope to see you all at the next one.
We’re all Doomed!
(or at least AI has nearly caught up with Architectural Design) Time to be worried?Not quite yet, says Cityzen Director John Smith Recently I had the pleasure of attending an exhibition about Artificial Intelligence which highlighted its potential within architectural design (as well as other disciplines). Did I fear for my chosen profession? Maybe a little but ultimately I think there’s a long way to go until AI can really work on a practical level. The exhibition, called ‘S.O.S: Let’s share our dreams for more sustainable futures and healthier communities’ was the brainchild of Dr Poorang Piroozfar and Dr. Eric Farr and hosted by Brighton University. It demonstrated AI’s ability to generate visions of what a sustainable future might look like, and also showed that academically AI is at a point of understanding a wide array of inputs to generate images which do have merit. As an architectural designer, I (of course) went down the AI Rabbit hole to see how doomed we are! The first AI I tried was Midjourney, an AI that creates images from contextual strings. The first simple word string I used below was; ‘Sustainable timber cabin in a forest with an electric car in the drive’ and it produced the image below: Interestingly – since I first found Midjourney I have repeated my request and found that it has already learnt and improved its design. I then used a different scenario; ‘sustainable timber cabin in a desert with a pool and a tesla in the drive, with mountains in the background’ and it produced the following: This is pretty impressive considering that only a few key words have been used. The potential is obviously enormous. I can see we are not far from being able to input building constraints to generate whole buildings, feed the AI the Current building regulations, the site topography and local planning policy, the employers requirements and some key materials info and it’ll do it all for us. I can then relax on a beach knowing the computer overlords are happy looking after our clients. Although the images above are only 2D there already is a Revit plugin software plugin, which, for a small monthly fee, will take the 3D model then you can again give it a context string of text then it will map materials and put it in a context which is pretty amazing: Below is a Revit sample model rendered pretty basically in Revit (Images from Veras by Evolve Labs): These can also be tweaked to show various finishes and settings – as below: This is just on the design side of what we do. There has been a great deal of media noise about AI text models such as ChatGPT and its ability to write contextual answers to questions or create copy. I went to ChatGPT and asked it to create some text about various things. Each answer took under 30 seconds, which was pretty mind-blowing. I did find that the answers it came up with were very generic however. The more technical I got, the less satisfactory the answers were. As it’s AI, I’m sure it will learn, but for now I’m happy that it can’t provide the technical answers to complex topics such as UK Building Regulations. I can see a time in the not too distant future where all the construction regulations and BS and EN Documents are in a system along with Products and Materials, then you just add the location, its constraints and the employers requirements, and it will design and create a building – then you just press buy it now! I will hopefully be retired by then though! My First Job was as a draftsman at a structural engineers. My boss said Computers and CAD would never take off, why did I want to do a course in that? Then the recession of 1990 hit and the practice closed and I walked straight into a CAD job. Since then I have thought ‘whatever is coming embrace it’ and ‘know what’s coming or get left behind’. We all need to keep an eye on the future, it’s coming fast!