The Building Envelope

From July this year, the closure of Wren Insurance Association marks a pivotal shift in how professional indemnity (PI) risk is managed across the construction sector. While the immediate impact falls on architects, the implications extend well beyond design practices affecting contractors, developers and the wider supply chain at a time when building safety and compliance remain under intense scrutiny.

Valcan, manufacturer of cladding systems, works with project teams navigating façade design, fire performance and regulatory change. In collaboration with Consort Insurance, and drawing on insight from Daniel White, we’ve explored what Wren’s closure means in practice, why it matters now, and how firms can respond more resiliently.

Metal-web and I-Joists are two popular choices for new builds and both play an important structural role in buildings – supporting floors and roofs to transfer their weight evenly to the walls and beams below.

Metal-web and I-Joists are engineered joists that offer greater span lengths, improved strength and rigidity and more consistent quality when compared to their solid timber counterparts.

When deciding which joist type may be most appropriate for your project, the starting point is that each must deliver the required structural performance.

Located in Camberwell, South London, this residential refurbishment project focused on upgrading the building façade to support longterm performance, durability and visual renewal. As part of a wider external improvements programme, façade materials were carefully selected to meet modern expectations around safety, longevity and architectural quality, while remaining appropriate to the surrounding urban context.

Selecting the right rainscreen cladding for housing, public buildings, schools and regeneration projects has never been more important. With rising expectations around safety, durability and longterm performance, specifiers and local authorities need confidence that façade materials will stand up to real world use.

One of the most effective ways to demonstrate this confidence is through impact testing, which assesses how a cladding system behaves when subjected to sudden force under realistic installation conditions.

The performance capabilities offered by today’s advanced window and door systems, glass, and hardware help create warmer, safer, more energy-efficient, and more secure homes. But for all of these great products to deliver on their promise, the fasteners needed to hold windows and doors together and ensure they stay securely in place during their lifetime must be equally well designed and made.

Fasteners, though often not detailed in window and door specifications, are being increasingly scrutinised by specifiers to identify potential weaknesses. Our team can assist by recommending suitable metal grades to meet project specifications and local environmental conditions.

Awareness of the potential health problems caused by lead in the water supply, particularly in infants and children, is growing.  In redevelopment of properties the quality of the water supply pipe should be you first priority.