Opinion & Analysis
Office-to-housing conversion needs more than empty floors
Vacant offices may offer useful structure, but a desk floor is not automatically a healthy home.
Built Report
Opinion & Analysis
Clearly labelled expert opinion and analysis.
Opinion & Analysis
Procurement transparency should continue after award
Publishing an award does not explain later variations, extensions, payments or performance.
Opinion & Analysis
Embodied carbon belongs in ordinary material decisions
Operational energy matters, but construction begins with emissions already carried by materials and site work.
Opinion & Analysis
Artificial intelligence should assist estimators not replace judgement
Automated quantities and rates can speed work but also repeat hidden assumptions at scale.
Opinion & Analysis
Drones need a privacy rule before the first flight
A drone can improve progress evidence while also capturing neighbours, workers and private spaces.
Opinion & Analysis
Local architecture should respond to local climate
A copied international image can ignore rainfall, heat, wind and maintenance conditions that determine performance.
Opinion & Analysis
Apprenticeships need real supervised work
Attendance records do not prove that a learner gained competence.
Opinion & Analysis
Informal-settlement upgrading should protect social networks
Physical improvement can cause harm when relocation breaks access to work, schools and mutual support.
Opinion & Analysis
Worker dignity should be visible in site facilities
A project cannot claim professionalism while workers lack clean facilities, drinking water or respectful supervision.
Opinion & Analysis
Safety is part of production not a pause from it
Safety is weakened when it appears only as a meeting held before the real work starts.