Sustainability 2 min read
Designing for 50 °C: façades that manage heat before machines have to
In the Gulf, cooling is most of a building’s energy bill. The cheapest kilowatt is the one the façade never lets in.
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Notes from the drawing board.
Practical thinking on design, engineering and delivery in the Gulf — written by the people doing the work.
Technology 1 min read
Where coordination pays: what weekly clash detection saves on site
A duct that meets a beam costs minutes to fix in a model and weeks to fix on site. Here is how we find them first.
Engineering 1 min read
Building on salt: foundations and durability on Kuwait’s coast
Chlorides and sulphates in coastal ground can halve the life of ordinary concrete. Durability has to be designed, not hoped for.
Practice 1 min read
Feasibility first: five questions to answer before you commission a design
The cheapest time to change a project is before it has a design. These are the questions we ask every client at the start.
Design 1 min read
Courtyards reconsidered: an old idea for the modern Gulf home
The traditional courtyard house solved privacy, light and heat in one move. With modern tools, it can do even more.
Practice 1 min read
Before the pour: the site inspection checklist we never skip
Once concrete is poured, mistakes are permanent. Our supervision engineers check the same seven things before every pour.