Matt Milton

Workmen taking a break on a bright, timber-walled construction site.
Send us your thoughts on the RICS’ new standard for carbon measurement
by Matt Milton|23 March 23|Sustainability
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) will be publishing a new edition of its Whole Life Carbon Assessment (WLCA) guidance. They are now seeking feedback on the current draft. What will the new WLCA guidance achieve? Created by RICS in consultation with internationally recognised construction-industry bodies, they anticipate the...
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Timber fire safety
How to minimise fire risks during construction
by Matt Milton|21 March 23|Build, Design
Are your timber projects as safe as they can possibly be while they are onsite? That’s when they are at their most vulnerable, as many fire protection measures aren’t necessarily in place yet. The new Timber Fire Safety webite - timberfiresafety.org - contains a wealth of essential information about ensuring...
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March house
After the rain: a flood-proof riverside home
by Matt Milton|11 March 23|Design
How a changing riverside landscape became a test bed for forward-thinking modular design. Designed by Knox Bhavan architects, March House was built using a prefabricated OSB cassette system which not only minimized use of steel and concrete but was, impressively, also made without any structural solid timber: the OSB cassettes...
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Top level and roof of timber house, under construction, with scaffolding. Light brown wood against green hills and pale blue sky.
What does the Future Homes Hub mean for the construction sector?
by Matt Milton|03 March 23|Build, Design, Supply, Sustainability
The new plan from Future Homes Hub sets out the construction sector's path to whole-life carbon assessments The Future Homes Hub has published an Embodied and Whole Life Carbon Implementation Plan for 2023-25. This plan follows the publication of the Government’s Net-Zero Strategy in 2021, which set out ambitions for...
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Insulation
Wood fibre insulation: Why use anything else?
by Matt Milton|03 March 23|Design
Don’t just reach for the mineral wool. Wood fibre insulation has many advantages over its synthetic rivals. Insulation is about much more than cost and thickness. While mineral wool is an industry standard, wood fibre insulation is on the rise. In Europe about 10% of the entire insulation market is...
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Timber onsite
How to take care of your timber when it’s onsite
by Matt Milton|01 March 23|Design
Make sure all that lovely timber stays in tip-top condition after delivery. Here is a guide to storing your timber properly – preventing any compromises in its integrity and performance. There are many problems that can result from poor storage of timber onsite. Increased wetting of the timber, for example,...
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Low carbon
Low carbon can be low cost
by Matt Milton|24 February 23|Design
Carver Haggard keep things simple for an award-winning retrofit. The refurb and extension of 198CAL - an arts centre in South London – demonstrates that low-carbon solutions do not have to be expensive. TDUK members Carver Haggard picked up a RIBA Isometric drawing of 198CAL. Key: 1=Gallery, 2=Kitchen, 3=Archive, 4=Office,...
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OSB
Know your wood – OSB
by Matt Milton|24 February 23|Design
Each issue, we take a look at a particular wood species or wood product. This time it’s the turn of OSB, as we look at the past, present and future of this environmentally friendly strand-based engineered board. What exactly is OSB? Oriented strand board is a composite engineered wood panel...
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Architype timber
A practice that puts sustainability at the heart of everything
by Matt Milton|09 February 23|Build, Design, Sustainability
Designing buildings that work for people and planet - that is Architype's ethos. This pioneering architecture practice - and TDUK member - has always championed sustainability. From its early days of self-build houses in the 1990s to its major Passivhaus projects today, Architype has thought long and hard about the...
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old factory
A new life for an old factory
by Matt Milton|07 February 23|Design
How a lightweight timber frame and engineering know-how turned the Gramophone Works into the building it was always meant to be. In its long and varied history, it has been the headquarters of Sanderson Fabrics and British independent record label Saga Records. Today, The Gramophone Works is a landmark commercial...
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