{"id":730307,"date":"2024-02-29T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T08:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=730307"},"modified":"2024-04-22T08:41:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T07:41:39","slug":"the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety","title":{"rendered":"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the past, the detail design of a building envelope would have been the domain of the envelope package subcontractor, usually working for the main contractor. The subcontractor would have worked with an envelope specialist to develop the design, often from an architect\u2019s performance specification, to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations on project completion.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, following the introduction of the Building Safety Act<\/a>, the process for designing the building envelope is changing, particularly on Higher Risk Buildings (HRBs), with more and more responsibility being placed on the architect to develop the design, not as a performance specification but to a much higher level of detail and much earlier in a project.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gateway Two is the point at which the Building Safety Regulator needs to be satisfied that an envelope design meets the functional requirements of the Building Regulations \u2013 before building work can begin on site.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On some projects, pressure to commence construction means Gateway Two approval is being sought long before the envelope package contractor has been appointed, so that responsibility for product selection is instead now down to the architect.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, there is now much more focus on appropriate product selection to make absolutely sure that the actual products specified meet Building Regulations requirements and, in particular, those of Approved Document B: Fire Safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

The architect will need a level of knowledge about the compatibility of products and how they work in combination<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For HRBs, the choice of envelope system is, arguably, even more critical. That\u2019s because, once a design has received Gateway Two approval from the Building Safety Regulator, any subsequent change to the specification may also need approval by the Regulator (a process that can take over six weeks) before work can proceed on site.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This aspect of the legislation will make the concept of \u2018value engineering\u2019 much less attractive, but it also places an onus on the architect to ensure that the exact products specified will be available when required, because last-minute substitutions are not an option.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest challenge faced by architects with this enhanced role is that the design and specification of most building envelope systems will inevitably involve putting together products and components to provide the best possible performance at the most cost-effective price.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Often these components were not originally designed to work together for a specific application nor to deliver a particular level of thermal or fire performance, so the architect will need to have a level of knowledge about the compatibility of products and how they work in combination, which in the past would have been the responsibility of the subcontractor.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Individual manufacturers will have the best and most comprehensive information on their own products but may not have the same level of understanding when it comes to how their solution could work in combination with others or as part of a through-wall system.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is where the unique position of the product-agnostic envelope supplier will become more significant, we believe. Critically, if architects are taking greater design responsibility for the building envelope, they will also need to provide evidence of the envelope\u2019s fire resistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is often far from straightforward when it comes to specifying an envelope assembled from products from different manufacturers. While individually these may have an \u2018A\u2019 fire rating, they may never have been tested together as an assembly to prove that they will actually provide, say, 90 minutes fire resistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Again, this is where a product-agnostic envelope supplier may be able to help. With specialist knowledge and product databases, they can put forward a combination of products which has the test evidence to prove they meet the required fire performance to pass through Gateway Two.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, while the Building Safety Act will in many cases result in architects having to take on more responsibility for envelope design earlier in a project, working with a knowledgable envelope supplier that can provide technical support and commercial insight means that will not necessarily involve a lot more work.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, because the Building Safety Act makes value engineering far more difficult, the envelope solution designed can be supported and retained from its first consideration through to its completion on site.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Clayton Kingman is UK head of building envelope at construction products supplier SIG<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the past, the detail design of a building envelope would have been the domain of the envelope package subcontractor, usually working for the main contractor. The subcontractor would have worked with an envelope specialist to develop the design, often from an architect\u2019s performance specification, to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations on project completion.\u00a0 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17071,"featured_media":730313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[745],"tags":[3166,14379,3147],"yoast_head":"\nThe architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gateway Two of the Building Safety Act gives the architect an enhanced role in the detailed design of complex building elements, says Clayton Kingman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gateway Two of the Building Safety Act gives the architect an enhanced role in the detailed design of complex building elements, says Clayton Kingman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-29T08:00:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-22T07:41:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/02\/14130734\/shutterstock_1736333906_web.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"414\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clayton Kingman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Simon Aldous\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety\",\"name\":\"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-29T08:00:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-22T07:41:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b399847a770a1f70adabee38b87d0cd5\"},\"description\":\"Gateway Two of the Building Safety Act gives the architect an enhanced role in the detailed design of complex building elements, says Clayton Kingman\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b399847a770a1f70adabee38b87d0cd5\",\"name\":\"Simon Aldous\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/aa7292063db9baef19bc2eb94c010ef4\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1beb90aa32d748e35863bb3468acec8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1beb90aa32d748e35863bb3468acec8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Simon Aldous\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/simon-aldous-2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety","description":"Gateway Two of the Building Safety Act gives the architect an enhanced role in the detailed design of complex building elements, says Clayton Kingman","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety","og_description":"Gateway Two of the Building Safety Act gives the architect an enhanced role in the detailed design of complex building elements, says Clayton Kingman","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2024-02-29T08:00:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-22T07:41:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/02\/14130734\/shutterstock_1736333906_web.jpg","width":620,"height":414,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Clayton Kingman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Simon Aldous","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety","name":"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-02-29T08:00:54+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-22T07:41:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b399847a770a1f70adabee38b87d0cd5"},"description":"Gateway Two of the Building Safety Act gives the architect an enhanced role in the detailed design of complex building elements, says Clayton Kingman","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/opinion\/the-architect-is-now-responsible-for-the-building-envelopes-safety#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The architect is now responsible for the building envelope\u2019s safety"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/b399847a770a1f70adabee38b87d0cd5","name":"Simon Aldous","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/aa7292063db9baef19bc2eb94c010ef4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1beb90aa32d748e35863bb3468acec8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1beb90aa32d748e35863bb3468acec8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Simon Aldous"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/simon-aldous-2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17071"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730307"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":738621,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730307\/revisions\/738621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}