About Designing Buildings
Put all construction industry knowledge in one place and make it available to everyone for free
Construction in the UK employs 2.4 million people in 340,000 organisations, each one of which is creating and accessing a vast amount of expert knowledge. Everything from how to prepare a brief for a new project, right through to getting tax breaks for water efficient taps. But that knowledge is inaccessible, fragmented and dispersed. If we integrate it into a single resource that is easily accessible by everyone, the construction industry will be more efficient, more collaborative, more innovative and it will make fewer mistakes.
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With 8 million unique users a year, Designing Buildings is the most popular construction industry website in the UK. It gives free access to 14,500 articles about the planning, design, construction and operation of built assets. Users can find articles about things they don't know, and write articles about things they do.
The knowledge it holds is curated, structured and linked together to create a single, growing, evolving resource. 26,000 construction terms and industry acronyms have been defined and hundreds of thousands of internal links help users get to the knowledge they need as quickly as possible.
Designing Buildings is supported by:
- The Chartered Institute of Building
- The Institute of Historic Building Conservation
- BSRIA
- The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists
- ECA
- Association for Project Management
It is owned by Designing Buildings Limited, a company founded by project manager David Trench CBE FCIOB , architect Dr Gregor Harvie, construction law solicitor Richard Winward LLB FCIArb FCInst CES and chartered banker and finance director Martin Cantor.
It's refers mainly to processes and practices adopted in England and Wales, although much of the content is also applicable in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and users in many other countries will find it helpful.
- To get started see our Quick Start Guide.
- For information about using the site see our Help page.
- For guidance about writing style see our quick style guide.
- For terms of use see our terms and conditions.
- You can contact us by emailing [email protected].
IHBC NewsBlog
UK Parliament APPG first Inquiry - The Value of Heritage
Targeted cuts in VAT on listed building refurbishments among recommendations in the UK-wide All-Party Parliamentary Group’s (APPG) first report.
From glorious gardens and priceless collections to outstanding restoration and sustainability
Battle over £1.5bn hotel and office plan for Liverpool Street station
Sellar, the developer of the Shard, wants to build a 16-storey tower block on top of the historic mainline Liverpool Street station.
A Brief History of Reinforced Concrete Buildings
Concrete is explored by Nicky Hughes for Historic England, as the most commonly used man-made substance on the planet and second only to water as the most utilised resource.
New online route to CSCS Card for Built Environment Professionals
CIC has a new cutting-edge e-learning Health & Safety Certification course which on passing, has been agreed by CSCS as an acceptable alternative to the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test.
IHBC Context 173: Aspects of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ in the heritage world
The issue explores ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ ranging from ‘Multiple perspectives’ on heritage; ‘Modernist Women’ and ‘Troublesome statues’ to LGBTQ+ histories.
Damaged cultural sites in Ukraine verified by UNESCO
As of 5 October 2022, UNESCO has verified damage to 199 sites since 24 February – 84 religious buildings, 13 museums, 37 historical buildings, 37 buildings dedicated to cultural activities, 18 monuments and 10 libraries.
This document outlines the principles and competencies that surveyors and contractors should adopt to deliver best practice when investigating moisture-related issues in traditional buildings.
England housing strategy could consume over 100% of the nation’s carbon budget
New research on the future carbon emissions etc. impacts on nature from England’s current housing strategy estimates that by 2050 12% of the carbon budget for 1.5°C could be consumed by newbuilds, and 92% by the everyday emissions from the existing housing stock.
Historic England’s ‘A Brief History of the English Mosque’
Historic England (HE) has published ‘A Brief History of the English Mosque’ on the discovery of the architectural evolution of the mosque in Britain, from the conversion of houses to contemporary expressions of mosque architecture.
Welcome to #IHBC25 – 25 years since we turned professional
2022 will see the IHBC mark a quarter of a century since our incorporation as a professional body supporting and accrediting built and historic environment conservation specialists. We’re kick-starting it by inviting your ideas on how to mark this special year!