Kingspan Insulation has released a new, RIBA accredited CPD providing advice on how designers can use insulation specification to meet the thermal comfort requirements within Building Bulletin 101 (BB101) - Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools. The free CPD provides a comprehensive overview of the recommendations
Old duvets for home insulation!
Reseachers at the University of Brighton recently identified disused stuffed bedding products such as duvets and pillows as a potential material which could be developed into an insulation product. The scoping exercise found that the textile is in plentiful supply but has a problematic waste stream due to its properties, thus the majority of it is being disposed of through landfill.Read more
Also, reuse options are limited due to health and safety concerns, and often the poor quality of used bedding. There are already a number of commercial insulation products on the market that are made from recycled textiles, but the researchers found that none utilise stuffed bedding products. This presents an interesting opportunity to research the viability of developing an insulation product to harness this problem waste stream, which was originally engineered for insulation purposes.
Ambitious vision to create West Midlands National Park unveiled
An ambitious vision to create a National Park in the West Midlands which would span more than seven cities and create hundreds of miles of green space, conservation areas and new cycle routes has been unveiled. The bold proposals have been drawn up by Kathryn Moore, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Birmingham City University, and would make the region home to the UK’s 16th official National Park. Read more
If it could be delivered, a West Midlands National Park could also help create new jobs across the West Midlands region and boost the economy by transforming the image of the area. Landscape Architects working on the vision suggest once detailed case studies have been carried out, a West Midland National Park could see the area categorised as ‘a region of a thousand cycle and footpaths, a thousand parks and a thousand lakes.