An independent architecture and landscape practice. Our work ranges in scale from country park down to the door handle but remains consistent in its approach to sustainable construction and materials. We believe that good design is an opportunity not a luxury and should be available to all, regardless of scale or budget.

Our practice website is an open resource glossary of terms, materials and techniques that we believe to be important to the future of construction. If there is anything that interests you and you’d like to know more about please get in touch and we’d be delighted to discuss it further. If there is something that you’d like us to add please feel free to send us an email and we’ll get to it as soon as possible.

mail@michael-lee.co

44 (0)1428 712359

Longwood House, Churt Road, Churt

An air source heat pump (ASHP) captures heat from outside air and upgrades it via a vapour‑compression cycle to supply low‑temperature space heating and domestic hot water. Common configurations are air‑to‑water (feeding wet systems) and air‑to‑air (space heating/cooling via fans). Modern ASHPs operate efficiently in sub‑zero conditions and can achieve seasonal performance factors around three, depending on design and insulation. The most common residential heat‑pump type in the UK, ASHP units are sited outdoors - noise, siting and planning considerations apply.

A balloon frame is a light timber framing system used primarily during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It features long, continuous wall studs that run unbroken from the sill plate at the foundation up to the roof eave. Floor joists are then attached to these tall studs, creating a uniform structural skeleton. This method greatly simplified construction compared to traditional heavy timber framing, allowing faster building with less‑skilled labour. However, balloon framing also created vertical cavities that could enable rapid fire spread, leading to its gradual replacement by platform framing in most modern wood‑frame buildings.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) store electrical energy chemically and release it on demand, enabling homes, businesses and grids to shift renewable generation to times of need and respond rapidly to demand peaks. Batteries deliver fast frequency response, balancing and reserve services, can contribute to black start, and increasingly support local networks. National Grid and the Electricity System Operator describe BESS as a pivotal enabler of a low‑carbon, flexible electricity system. At building scale, systems enable self‑consumption, peak shaving, backup power, and local resilience.

Biobased materials originate from renewable biological resources such as plants, algae, agricultural residues and microorganisms. In construction they displace fossil-derived materials lowering embodied energy and greenhouse-gas emissions while storing biogenic carbon during service life. Examples include timber, hemp, straw, cork, linseed oils, casein binders, bioplastics and wood-based composites. Sustainability depends on responsible land stewardship, biodiversity protection and clean processing. Biobased products may be biodegradable, compostable or durable depending on chemistry and design. When specified within circular economy strategies they enable low toxicity interiors, healthy moisture buffering and end of life valorisation through reuse, recycling or safe biodegradation.

A biodiverse roof is a type of roof designed primarily to support ecological habitats, often using varied substrates, recycled materials (e.g., rubble, logs, gravel), and native wildflower seed mixes. Compared with a standard extensive green roof, its aim is to recreate lost ground‑level habitats, supporting insects, birds and small invertebrates. Biodiverse roofs are commonly used to meet ecological planning conditions or Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.

Biodiversity is the richness and variability of life, spanning genes, species, and ecosystems across land and water. Diverse systems are more resilient, providing essential services: pollination, soil formation, nutrient cycling, water purification, climate regulation, and cultural value. Construction and land use can fragment habitats, introduce pollution, and accelerate invasive species, reducing ecological health. Regenerative design seeks net gains in biodiversity by protecting priority habitats, restoring connectivity, and integrating native planting, nature‑based drainage, and lighting sensitive to wildlife. Measuring biodiversity net gain encourages accountability through baselines, metrics, and long‑term management. Conserving biodiversity safeguards food security, wellbeing, and adaptive capacity under accelerating climate and landscape change.

Biogenic describes substances processes or carbon originating from living organisms. In buildings biogenic carbon is absorbed during plant growth and stored long term in materials such as timber straw hemp cork and woodfibre. Biogenic carbon is seen as distinct from fossil carbon reflecting short cycle sequestration when forests or crops are sustainably managed. Biogenic processes also include microbial mineralisation, bio‑based binders, and biologically mediated treatments. Designers leverage biogenic materials to reduce embodied emissions, moderate humidity, and deliver healthier interiors. Accurate assessment considers land use, harvest rotation, durability, end‑of‑life scenarios, and potential biogenic carbon release, ensuring climate benefits are real, durable, and aligned with responsible ecological stewardship.

A blue roof is a flat‑roof system designed to temporarily store rainfall at roof level and release it slowly through controlled drainage. Unlike green roofs, blue roofs do not rely on vegetation; instead, they act as an attenuation feature, helping reduce peak runoff rates where ground‑level SuDS space is constrained e.g., dense urban areas. They can be combined with green roof build‑ups to form “blue‑green roofs,” offering both water‑management and ecological benefits.

A brown roof - also called a biodiverse or wildlife roof - is a roofing system designed to support natural colonisation by local flora and fauna rather than intentional planting. Substrates typically include recycled materials such as crushed brick, rubble, sand or brownfield soil, creating conditions similar to disturbed ground habitats. Brown roofs are left largely unmanaged, allowing seeds to arrive via wind and birds. They prioritise biodiversity, supporting invertebrates, pollinators, and species associated with post‑industrial landscapes. They require minimal maintenance, provide stormwater attenuation and insulation benefits, and often help meet ecological planning requirements and BNG targets.

Circular construction applies circular‑economy principles to the built environment by minimising waste, extending material life cycles, and maximising resource efficiency. It is based on strategies such as reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling, alongside designing buildings for disassembly, adaptability and long‑term material recovery. The approach seeks to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials at their highest value, and regenerate natural systems. Emerging UK guidance links circularity to reduced embodied carbon, improved resilience, and reduced reliance on raw material extraction.

Cross‑laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered mass‑timber panel formed by stacking layers of boards in alternating directions and bonding them with structural adhesives under pressure. The cross‑lamination yields high in‑plane stiffness, two‑way spanning action, dimensional stability, and predictable fire performance through sacrificial charring. Panels are CNC‑cut off‑site for rapid, quiet, low‑waste assembly of floors, roofs, and walls. CLT stores biogenic carbon and offers markedly lower embodied carbon than concrete and steel when sourced from responsibly managed forests.

Community is a network of people connected by place, culture, interests, or practice who share resources, responsibilities, and decision‑making. Strong communities cultivate belonging, mutual aid, resilience, and health. In planning and architecture, meaningful engagement gives residents agency to shape projects, balancing needs for housing, livelihoods, nature, and heritage. Community wealth building retains value locally through social enterprises and circular economies. Design considerations include inclusive access, safety, intergenerational spaces, and stewardship of shared assets. Feedback loops—assemblies, charrettes, and participatory budgeting - build trust. Community‑led housing, co‑operatives, and commons governance demonstrate how spatial decisions can enhance equity, identity, and long‑term prosperity.

Contact describes points of interaction between people, materials, and systems. Socially, it includes communication, care, and collaboration across communities and stakeholder groups. Physically, contact is the interface where components meet—joints, membranes, connectors, and finishes—governing load transfer, air‑tightness, moisture control, acoustics, and durability. Ecologically, contact zones occur where habitats intersect, shaping species exchange, adaptation, and edge effects. Designers choreograph contact to manage touch, privacy, hygiene, accessibility, and maintenance while encouraging convivial gathering. Technical detailing emphasises robust tolerances, differential movement, capillary breaks, and compatible materials to prevent decay, corrosion, and mould, ensuring safe, healthy, and long‑lasting assemblies.

The countryside encompasses rural landscapes beyond towns and cities, including farmland, woodlands, wetlands, moors, and villages. It provides food, raw materials, recreation, habitats, and cultural identity shaped by centuries of stewardship. Pressures include agricultural intensification, fragmented ownership, biodiversity loss, climate stress, and dispersed development. Sensitive planning reconciles productive land use with public access, carbon storage, and ecosystem services through hedgerow restoration, regenerative farming, peatland recovery, and nature‑based flood management. Design in the countryside respects character, dark skies, and traditional forms while enabling low‑impact livelihoods, energy generation, and affordable housing. Partnerships between landowners, communities, and authorities sustain living rural economies.

Ecology is the study of relationships among organisms, their communities, and the physical environment. It examines energy flows, nutrient cycles, population dynamics, and interactions across scales - from soil microbiomes to biomes. Applied ecology guides habitat creation, invasive species control, and nature‑based solutions that deliver flood attenuation, cooling, carbon sequestration, and wellbeing. Built‑environment practitioners use ecological surveys, protected species assessments, and seasonal constraints to safeguard wildlife. Designing with ecology means minimising fragmentation, enhancing connectivity, using native species, and managing light, sound, and water. Long‑term management plans, monitoring, and adaptive stewardship are critical to maintain ecological function under changing climate conditions.

The total greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, transport, installation, maintenance and disposal of a construction material or building element. Embodied carbon is distinct from operational carbon and represents a growing proportion of whole‑life emissions, particularly for low‑energy buildings.

An extensive green roof is a lightweight, low‑maintenance green roof system with a shallow growing medium (typically 60–150 mm) supporting drought‑tolerant vegetation such as sedums, mosses and hardy grasses. Designed for ecological and environmental performance rather than public access, these roofs provide rainwater attenuation, thermal regulation and habitat creation while adding minimal load to the roof structure. They require limited irrigation and upkeep, making them suitable for retrofit applications and large roof areas. Extensive green roofs are widely used in both residential and commercial settings seeking cost‑effective green infrastructure.

Fabric first is a design strategy prioritising the building envelope’s inherent performance—insulation, airtightness, thermal bridging, glazing, and orientation—before relying on mechanical systems or renewables. By reducing heat demand and uncontrolled ventilation losses, it lowers energy consumption, operational carbon, and running costs while improving comfort and resilience during outages. Key tactics include continuous insulation, high‑performance windows, thermal‑bridge free details, controlled ventilation with heat recovery, and moisture‑safe assemblies. A rigorous fabric-first approach complements Passivhaus principles, enabling smaller plant sizes and simpler controls. It also future‑proofs buildings against energy price volatility and climate extremes, supporting health, durability, and lifecycle value.

GGBS concrete isconcrete in which a proportion of Portland cement is replaced with ground granulated blast‑furnace slag (GGBS), a latent hydraulic binder byproduct of quenching and grinding ironmaking slag. GGBS concretes reduce embodied CO₂ compared with traditional mixes, lower heat of hydration (beneficial in mass pours), enhance sulfate and chloride resistance, and can improve long‑term strength and durability.

Green construction applies principles that reduce environmental harm and enhance human health across a project’s life cycle. It addresses site selection, low‑carbon design, efficient structures, responsible materials, water stewardship, circularity, and indoor environmental quality. Tools include life‑cycle assessment, environmental product declarations, whole‑life carbon targets, and commissioning. Strategies prioritise fabric performance, passive design, modularity, adaptability, and nature‑based solutions. Construction logistics minimise waste, noise, and pollution while protecting habitats and neighbours. Certification frameworks such as BREEAM, LEED, or Home Quality Mark can structure targets, but outcomes focus on real‑world performance, transparency, post‑occupancy evaluation, and equitable benefits for communities and ecosystems.

Green oak is freshly felled, unseasoned oak used structurally or aesthetically while its moisture content remains high. Its workability enables traditional carpentry—mortise‑and‑tenon joints, pegs, and expressive frames—without energy‑intensive kiln drying. As the timber seasons in situ, sections shrink tangentially and radially, developing checks that are accommodated through detailing and joint design. Green oak’s density and durability suit external structures, porches, and frames; stainless fixings and moisture‑shedding details prevent staining and decay. Sourcing from well‑managed forests maintains biodiversity and long‑term yield. Green oak stores biogenic carbon, providing longevity, cultural resonance, and a tactile, warm material presence.

Grey water recycling refers to the collection, treatment and reuse of non‑foul wastewater from showers, baths, bathroom sinks and washing machines for non‑potable uses such as toilet flushing, irrigation, or process water. By diverting greywater from sewers, buildings reduce potable water demand, wastewater volumes and associated energy use. Treatment may involve filtration, sedimentation, biological processes and disinfection to ensure safe reuse. Properly designed systems can reduce water consumption by 30–40%, but require controls to prevent bacterial growth and comply with local water‑quality regulations.

Ground screws are helical steel foundations installed by torque rather than excavation and without the use of concrete. They transfer loads to competent strata with minimal soil displacement, enabling rapid, low‑mess installation and immediate loading. Particularly suited to use on sensitive sites or where tree roots and archaeology must be protected. Benefits include reduced embodied carbon, reusability, and ease of decommissioning. Design checks cover corrosion protection, pull‑out capacity, lateral resistance, frost depth, and settlement. Accurate site testing, torque correlation, and quality control ensure predictable performance as a practical alternative to pads, strip footings, or piles.

A ground source heat pump (GSHP) extracts low‑grade heat from the ground via buried horizontal loops or vertical boreholes containing an antifreeze ‘brine’. Through a refrigeration cycle, the heat pump upgrades this energy to provide space heating and hot water, typically to wet systems (radiators or underfloor). GSHPs are electrically driven and, when well designed, can deliver multiple units of heat per unit of electricity (high seasonal performance). Their installation requires suitable space or geology with boreholes suiting more constrained plots. Low operational noise.

Hempcrete is a bio‑aggregate composite made from hemp shiv, a lime‑based binder, and water, cast or sprayed around a frame to form insulating, vapour‑open walls and roofs. It provides excellent moisture buffering, thermal mass, and acoustic absorption, creating stable indoor environments with low embodied carbon. Hemp sequesters CO2 during growth; lime binder mineralises over time, further absorbing carbon. It resists mould and fire due to high silica content. Prefabricated blocks and panels accelerate construction while maintaining the system’s breathable, healthy building physics.

Heritage encompasses tangible and intangible assets inherited from the past—buildings, landscapes, artefacts, traditions, and memories—that communities value and wish to pass on. Conservation balances significance with adaptation for contemporary use, employing minimal intervention, reversibility, and like‑for‑like repair. Heritage practice assesses fabric, setting, and social meaning, considering energy upgrades compatible with historic performance: vapour‑open insulation, secondary glazing, gentle airtightness, and sensitive services routes. Skilled craft, documentation, and consents protect authenticity. Inclusive heritage recognises multiple narratives and living cultures, enabling places to evolve while retaining identity, environmental value, and embodied carbon locked in existing structures.

Infrastructure comprises the fundamental systems that enable society to function: transport, energy, water, wastewater, communications, green networks, and social facilities. Good infrastructure is reliable, inclusive, safe, and adaptable, supporting economic activity and wellbeing. Climate‑ready planning emphasises redundancy, distributed energy, flood resilience, nature‑based drainage, and digital connectivity. Whole‑life costing and carbon assessment guide investment decisions, while design quality ensures accessibility and context sensitivity. Integration with blue‑green infrastructure delivers multiple benefits: cooling, biodiversity, recreation, and risk reduction. Community engagement and transparent governance sustain legitimacy and long‑term stewardship, aligning infrastructure with place‑based needs and just transition goals.

An intensive green roof—often referred to as a roof garden—uses a deep substrate layer (typically 150–600 mm or more) capable of supporting a wide variety of vegetation, including shrubs, perennials, and even small trees. These roofs provide usable amenity space and high biodiversity potential but impose significant structural loading and require irrigation, fertilisation and regular landscape management. Intensive systems provide strong stormwater retention, thermal mass benefits, and opportunities for urban greening at scale.

Landscape is the visible, experiential interplay of landform, water, vegetation, wildlife, culture, and human activity. It spans wild habitats, working farmland, and urban green spaces shaped by geology and history. Landscape architecture integrates ecology, hydrology, and social use to create resilient places that store carbon, attenuate floods, provide habitat, and support wellbeing. Techniques include native planting, soil regeneration, wetlands, hedgerows, and green corridors that reconnect fragmented systems. Visual character assessments, access networks, and stewardship plans guide change. Celebrating local materials and craft grounds projects in place, fostering identity and long‑term care across seasons and generations.

Land use describes how land is allocated and managed for functions such as housing, agriculture, industry, transport, conservation, and recreation. Planning frameworks balance competing needs, directing growth to sustainable locations while safeguarding soils, habitats, heritage, and productive landscapes. Strategic land use integrates transport, energy, water, and green infrastructure to reduce car dependency and environmental impact. Tools include zoning, design codes, impact assessments, and community participation. Adaptive land use responds to climate risks—overheating, flood, wildfire—by steering development away from hazards and enabling nature‑based mitigation. Transparent governance and long‑term monitoring ensure fair outcomes and efficient, resilient spatial development.

A systematic method for evaluating the environmental impacts associated with a building or material across its entire lifecycle - raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport, use, and end‑of‑life. LCA supports low‑carbon design, material selection, and planning requirements for whole‑life carbon reporting.

Lifespan is the period a product, component, or building performs its required function before replacement or major refurbishment. It differs from warranty or design life and depends on material durability, exposure, maintenance, and adaptability to changing needs. Clear durability planning sets inspection regimes, tolerance to moisture and UV, and accessible replacement pathways. Extending lifespan through repairability, modularity, and robust detailing reduces resource use and whole‑life carbon. Post‑occupancy evaluation informs adjustments that sustain performance. Transparent declaration of expected service lives supports life‑cycle assessment, circular procurement, and realistic cost planning across portfolios and asset classes.

Lifetime refers to the entire cradle‑to‑grave or cradle‑to‑cradle span of a product or building, from raw material extraction through manufacture, transport, use, maintenance, and end‑of‑life. Assessing lifetime impacts requires life‑cycle assessment, capturing operational and embodied carbon, resource depletion, water use, and pollution. Design for longevity and adaptability spreads impacts over extended service, while disassembly, reuse, and recycling convert end‑of‑life liabilities into value. Lifetime thinking aligns finance, risk, and sustainability targets to deliver resilient assets that remain useful, healthy, and affordable over decades.

A housing design standard developed to make ordinary homes adaptable over time through a series of core criteria covering access, circulation, sanitary facilities, structural allowances and service controls. Typical provisions include step‑free access, wider doorways and hallways, turning and transfer spaces, an entrance‑level WC with future shower drainage, and potential routes for hoists or through‑floor lifts. Originating in the early 1990s, the standard has informed inclusive housing policy. In England, Lifetime Homes aims were broadly superseded by the ‘accessible and adaptable dwellings’ requirement M4(2) of Building Regulations in 2015, though the guidance remains influential for inclusive design.

Lignocellulosic materials are plant‑based composites of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin forming the structural matrix of wood, straw, grasses, and agricultural residues. Their fibrous architecture yields high strength‑to‑weight ratios, machinability, and opportunities for engineered products—CLT, glulam, LVL, OSB, MDF, paper, and biocomposites. As renewable, carbon‑storing resources, they can displace energy‑intensive minerals and metals when responsibly sourced. Moisture management, fungal risk, and fire design require appropriate detailing, protective finishes, and vapour‑open assemblies. Chemical pulping, thermo‑mechanical processing, and bio‑based adhesives expand applications, supporting circular economy strategies through recyclability, reuse, and bioenergy recovery at end‑of‑life.

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) encompass innovative, often off‑site approaches that improve productivity, quality, and sustainability compared with traditional site‑based methods. Categories include pre‑fabricated modules, panelised timber elements or light‑gauge steel sub‑assemblies. It also covers digital design for manufacture and assembly, robotics, and lean logistics. MMC aims to reduce waste, programme risk, defects, and embodied carbon while enhancing safety and predictability. Standardisation with design flexibility supports mass customisation. Successful MMC demands early design integration, collaborative contracts, robust interfaces, and clear tolerances, ensuring transport, cranage, and site assembly run smoothly and deliver reliable performance.

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery is a building‑services system that provides continuous, controlled ventilation with heat recovery from outgoing air. MVHR reduces heat losses, improves indoor air quality, and forms part of fabric‑first, airtight low‑energy building design.

No‑dig describes construction and landscaping techniques that avoid invasive excavation to protect soils, tree roots, archaeology, and drainage patterns. Methods include cellular confinement systems, permeable surfacing, ground screws, lightweight foundations, and raised decks that distribute loads with minimal disturbance. In horticulture, no‑dig gardening builds soil health by layering organic matter, encouraging worms and microbes rather than turning soil. Benefits include carbon retention, reduced erosion, improved infiltration, and biodiversity preservation. Specifying no‑dig requires arboricultural input, root protection areas, and careful construction sequencing, particularly around veteran trees and sensitive habitats.

Off‑grid describes buildings and communities operating independently from central utilities for electricity, water, or wastewater. Systems often combine rooftop or ground‑mounted photovoltaics, batteries, inverters, demand management, solar thermal, biomass, or micro‑wind with efficient appliances and fabric‑first envelopes. Water autonomy may use rainwater harvesting, filtration, composting toilets, and reed‑bed treatment. Off‑grid living increases resilience where grid extension is impractical or outages are frequent. Design must right‑size storage for seasonal variation, protect against overheating or freeze, and plan maintenance and redundancy. Social factors—community governance, skills, and load discipline—are as important as technology for reliable autonomy.

Organic farming is an ecological agricultural system that avoids synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and GMOs, relying instead on crop rotations, composts, green manures, mechanical weeding, and biological control. Soil health, animal welfare, and biodiversity are central aims. Certification sets standards for inputs, housing, and traceability. Yields may be lower than intensive systems, but externalities—pollution, resistance, and habitat loss—are reduced. Integration with agroforestry, hedgerows, and wetlands enhances resilience and ecosystem services. Organic supply chains support local economies and transparent provenance. Continuous improvement, research, and fair pricing sustain viability while delivering nutritious food and regenerated landscapes.

Organic materials are carbon‑based substances derived from living organisms, including natural fibres, wood, leather, cork, shellac, plant oils, and many polymers. In buildings, they offer warmth, reparability, and renewability but require moisture‑aware detailing to prevent decay. Their chemistry may be synthetic or natural; toxicity varies widely. Designers select low‑emission products, avoiding harmful solvents and additives, to protect indoor air quality. End‑of‑life pathways should enable reuse, recycling, or safe biodegradation. Properly sourced and maintained, organic materials store biogenic carbon and support circular economy strategies while providing tactile, healthy environments.

Oriented strand board (OSB) is an engineered wood panel made by orienting layers of wood strands and bonding them with resin under heat and pressure. The cross‑oriented structure gives strength and stiffness suitable for sheathing, floors, and roofing. OSB efficiently uses small‑diameter logs and fast‑growing species, improving resource yield. Moisture performance depends on grade and edge sealing; vapour control and airtightness tapes are often applied at joints. Low‑emission resins and certified wood sourcing reduce environmental impact. OSB provides a stable substrate for membranes and finishes in timber construction and modular systems.

Paragraph 55 refers to a former section of England’s planning policy that allowed exceptional, innovative dwellings in the open countryside. Renumbered in later NPPF editions (most recently to paragraph 84 in 2024), the principle remains: permission may be granted for outstanding architecture that significantly enhances its setting. Proposals must demonstrate landscape sensitivity, design quality, and sustainability, often supported by independent review. While rare, such permissions can advance rural design quality and environmental leadership when genuinely exemplary in concept, execution, and contextual response.

Often used as shorthand for criterion of paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This policy provides a narrow pathway for isolated homes in the countryside where the design is of exceptional quality: truly outstanding architecture that significantly enhances its setting and is sensitive to local character. It sits alongside other exceptions, including rural workers’ dwellings, optimal viable use of heritage assets, reuse of redundant buildings, or subdivision of existing homes. Policies were previously numbered 79/80 and renumbered in 2023–2024 NPPF updates without changing the core test for ‘exceptional quality’. Often called the ‘country house’ clause.

A design approach that uses building form, orientation, glazing, shading and thermal mass to capture, store and distribute solar heat with minimal mechanical systems. Techniques include south‑facing glazing (in the Northern Hemisphere), Trombe walls, overhangs, internal mass, and natural ventilation. Effective passive design reduces operational energy and improves comfort.

Passivhaus is a performance standard delivering ultra‑low energy buildings with exceptional comfort. Core targets include very low space‑heating demand, airtightness verified by blower door testing, and controlled ventilation with heat recovery to maintain fresh, filtered air. Thermal‑bridge‑free details and high‑performance glazing minimise losses while optimising solar gains without overheating. Successful delivery requires early design integration, quality assurance, and site discipline. Operational savings and health benefits often justify modest capital uplift.

Permeable paving is a surface system that allows rainwater to infiltrate through the paving layer and into underlying sub‑base materials, where it is temporarily stored, filtered and either infiltrated to ground or released slowly. It functions as a SuDS source‑control measure, managing runoff close to where rainfall lands. Water passes through gaps or porous materials (e.g., gravel, porous asphalt, permeable blocks), which trap pollutants for natural breakdown. Permeable paving reduces surface‑water flooding, eliminates puddling and ice hazards, and provides water‑quality benefits. It contrasts with SuDS‑compliant but non‑permeable pavements, which direct water to separate SuDS features instead.

Permitted development grants automatic planning permission for specified works without a full planning application, subject to limits and conditions set by national regulations and local Article 4 Directions. Typical allowances include minor extensions, outbuildings, changes of use, and certain energy systems. Constraints protect amenity, heritage, flood zones, sightlines, and transport safety. Prior approval may still be required for impacts like traffic, noise, or design. Understanding permitted development helps households and businesses adapt property efficiently while respecting neighbours and place character. Always check current regulations and local guidance before commencing works.

Platform framing is a light‑timber construction system where each storey is built as a platform: short studs support a floor deck, upon which the next level’s walls are erected. This breaks vertical cavities, improving fire compartmentation compared with balloon framing. Standardised components simplify fabrication, allow off‑site panels, and accommodate services within stud zones. Detailing focuses on airtightness, moisture control at sills and plates, racking resistance with sheathing, and thermal‑bridge reduction. Platform framing’s efficiency, adaptability, and compatibility with modern membranes make it the predominant method for low‑rise timber buildings in many regions.

Photovoltaics (PV) convert sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductor materials, typically silicon cells assembled into modules and arrays. Inverters transform direct current to alternating current for appliances or grid export; batteries enable time‑shifting and resilience. Individual system yield depends on irradiance, orientation, tilt, shading, temperature, and module efficiency. Lifecycle impacts are falling as manufacturing decarbonises and recycling improves. Combined with demand reduction and smart controls, PV reduces operational carbon and energy bills, supporting electrification of heat and transport. Robust mounting, cable management, and fire‑safe detailing ensure long service.

Planning manages how places change, coordinating land use, transport, infrastructure, environment, and design quality to create sustainable, equitable settlements. Policy sets spatial strategies and development management criteria; plans are tested through evidence, public consultation, and examination. Applicants submit proposals with drawings, statements, and assessments covering heritage, ecology, flood risk, transport, and energy. Decision‑makers weigh benefits and harms against policy and material considerations. Good planning aligns development with climate targets, housing needs, biodiversity net gain, and healthy streets, enabling thoughtful density and mixed uses near services. Transparent participation and monitoring support trust and long‑term stewardship.

Praxis is defined as the dialectical synthesis of theory and practical activity. It is not merely the "application" of an idea, but a "practical-critical" process where humans consciously act upon and transform their social and material world, simultaneously transforming their own consciousness - as Lenin summarized, "Theory without practice is sterile. Practice without theory is blind".

Prefabrication manufactures building components or assemblies off‑site in controlled environments for rapid on‑site installation. Levels range from sub‑assemblies and panels to fully volumetric modules. Benefits include improved quality, safety, speed, cost predictability, and reduced waste and disruption. Design for manufacture and assembly standardises interfaces, tolerances, and logistics, enabling repeatable yet customisable solutions. Digital models drive CNC cutting and just‑in‑time delivery. Successful prefabrication requires early collaboration among designers, suppliers, and contractors, with attention to transport limits, cranage, weather protection, and commissioning so completed assets meet performance expectations.

A rain garden is a shallow landscaped depression designed to receive and temporarily hold rainwater runoff from roofs or other hard surfaces, allowing it to slow, store, filter and infiltrate into the ground. Planted with vegetation that tolerates both short‑term waterlogging and dry periods, rain gardens reduce peak flows, support water quality improvement and contribute to amenity and biodiversity. Rain gardens are typically small‑scale SuDS features located close to buildings or within streetscapes, often fed by redirected downpipes. Their performance depends on suitable soils, correct siting, overflow design and ongoing maintenance to avoid clogging.

Rainwater harvesting is the collection, storage and reuse of rainwater from roofs or other clean catchment surfaces for non‑potable applications such as toilet flushing, washing machines, garden irrigation or external taps. By reducing demand on mains water and lowering runoff volumes, it supports sustainable water management and can contribute to SuDS strategies. Systems typically comprise gutters, filters, storage tanks (above or below ground), pumps and dedicated pipework kept separate from potable supplies to prevent cross‑contamination.

Rammed earth is a construction technique in which moist sub‑soil, sand, gravel and clay are compacted in layers within temporary formwork to create solid monolithic walls. Once the formwork is removed, the wall reveals characteristic horizontal stratification. The method has ancient origins and remains valued for its low embodied carbon, thermal mass, fire resistance and aesthetic qualities. Walls are typically 300–450 mm thick and may be stabilised with additives such as lime or cement where required for local climate conditions.

Recycling converts waste materials into new products, conserving resources and reducing landfill. Effective recycling requires clean material streams, design for disassembly, and manufacturer take‑back schemes. In construction, metals, timber, gypsum, aggregates, glass, and plastics can be recovered if contamination is limited and fixings are reversible. Closed‑loop systems maintain material value; downcycling reduces performance but still diverts waste. Life‑cycle assessment clarifies when recycling outperforms reuse or energy recovery. Clear labelling, modular products, and adaptable buildings improve future recyclability, embedding circular economy principles from the outset.

Reuse keeps products and components in service with minimal reprocessing, preserving embodied carbon, value, and historic craft. Strategies include adaptive reuse of buildings, salvage of structural steel or timber, remanufactured MEP, and furniture refurbishment. Success depends on documentation, testing, warranties, and design that tolerates variability. Marketplaces, material passports, and flexible specifications unlock supply. Reuse reduces waste and demand for virgin resources, often accelerating programmes and lowering costs while celebrating patina and provenance. Planning policies and procurement can prioritise reuse to mainstream circular practices.

Robust describes designs, details, and systems that perform reliably under real‑world conditions, tolerating moisture, movement, wear, and user variation. Robustness arises from simplicity, redundancy, accessible maintenance, and verified performance rather than optimistic assumptions. In building envelopes, this means continuous weathering layers, vapour‑open yet airtight assemblies, protected sills, and durable materials where exposure is high. In operations, clear controls and fail‑safe behaviour support resilience. Robust solutions consider whole‑life cost and carbon, avoiding brittle complexity that undermines long‑term value.

Scale refers to relative size relationships in design—between a building and its context, elements within a composition, and the human body. Appropriate scale ensures comfort, legibility, and coherence across distances and uses. Designers manipulate massing, proportion, hierarchy, and grain to fit landscapes and streets. Material texture, window rhythm, and detail depth mediate perception at eye level. At planning scales, density, blocks, and transport patterns shape walkability and carbon. Multi‑scalar thinking connects components to systems so places feel grounded, navigable, and humane.

Sheep’s wool is a natural, renewable fibre used as building insulation in batts or loose fill. It offers hygroscopic moisture buffering, maintaining thermal performance across seasons while resisting mould when kept within safe humidity ranges. With appropriate treatment, it provides fire resistance and deters pests. Wool is pleasant to handle, contributes to healthy indoor air by absorbing some VOCs, and stores biogenic carbon. Responsible sourcing and binder selection ensure low toxicity. Detailing must prevent wind washing, liquid water, and compression to preserve performance.

Structural insulated panels (SIPs) consist of an insulating foam core - commonly EPS or PUR - bonded between structural facings, typically OSB, forming stiff, lightweight panels. They deliver rapid erection, high airtightness, and strong thermal performance with minimal thermal bridging. Design attention focuses on joint splines, vapour control, services routing, and fire protection. Factory precision reduces waste and defects; cranage may be required for larger formats. SIPs can form walls and roofs or integrate with timber or steel frames. Lifecycle impacts depend on foam chemistry and end‑of‑life options; careful specification and recycling pathways improve sustainability.

A soakaway is a subsurface infiltration feature that receives runoff from roofs or paved areas and allows it to percolate into surrounding soil, reducing peak flows and improving groundwater recharge. Constructed from rubble‑filled pits or modular crates wrapped in geotextile, soakaways are sized to rainfall, catchment, and soil infiltration rates verified by percolation tests. Pre‑treatment with gutters, filters, or silt traps protects performance. Soakaways form part of Sustainable Drainage Systems alongside swales, rain gardens, and permeable paving, managing water close to its source while providing resilience to intense storms.

Solar gain is the heat energy a building acquires from sunlight through glazing and absorbed by materials. Useful gains reduce heating demand in winter when controlled by orientation, glazing ratios, selective coatings, and shading devices. Uncontrolled gains cause overheating, mitigated by external shading, ventilation, thermal mass, and reflective surfaces. Design balances daylight quality with glare control and heat. Energy models predict seasonal performance; occupant behaviour and shading automation influence outcomes. Properly harnessed, solar gain improves comfort and reduces energy use.

In buildings, ‘solar thermal’ refers to systems using roof‑mounted collectors (flat‑plate or evacuated tubes) to convert solar radiation into heat for domestic hot water, transferring energy via a heat‑transfer fluid to a cylinder or thermal store. Because solar availability varies seasonally, systems are normally paired with a boiler or immersion heater; typical contribution can approach most hot‑water demand in summer and a smaller fraction in winter. Solar thermal is distinct from photovoltaics (electricity).

The Nationally Described Space Standard (NDSS) sets minimum internal space requirements for new dwellings, including overall Gross Internal Area tied to bedroom and bed‑space occupancy, minimum bedroom sizes, storage allowances, and floor‑to‑ceiling heights. It is a planning (not building regulations) standard that local planning authorities may adopt through policy. The 2016 clarification notes confirm inclusions for built‑in storage and sanitary provision assumptions and allow a 37 m² minimum for one‑bedroom, one‑person dwellings with a shower room.

Stick framing is site‑built light‑timber construction assembled piece by piece from dimensional lumber, as opposed to prefabricated panels or modules. Carpenters cut and fix plates, studs, headers, joists, and rafters directly on site, allowing flexibility for bespoke conditions and incremental builds. Advantages include accessibility of materials and tools; drawbacks include weather exposure, variable quality, and slower programmes. Robust stick framing requires proper bracing, sheathing, moisture management, and airtightness details, with attention to thermal bridges and fire stops. It remains common for small projects and renovations where adaptability outweighs factory precision.

Straw‑bale construction uses compacted agricultural straw as an insulating building element, either load‑bearing (Nebraska style) or infill within frames. Bales provide excellent thermal resistance, vapour openness, and acoustic absorption, delivering comfortable, low‑carbon buildings when protected from liquid water and excessive humidity. Lime or clay plasters create durable, fire‑resistant finishes that manage moisture and provide diffusion‑open airtightness. Detailing focuses on raised plinths, generous eaves, continuous renders, and careful service penetrations. Prefabricated straw panels enhance quality and speed while retaining biogenic carbon storage and healthy indoor environments.

Sustainable stone construction uses ethically sourced, low‑impact natural stone to reduce embodied carbon and environmental footprint across the building lifecycle. Stone is durable, recyclable, and has high thermal mass, enabling passive heating and cooling. Sustainable practice includes responsible quarrying with reduced ecological disturbance, energy‑efficient cutting and finishing, minimal‑waste processing, and reuse of reclaimed stone. Locally sourced stone further reduces transport emissions. Compared with manufactured materials, natural stone often has lower embodied energy, long service life, low maintenance requirements, and contributes to healthier indoor environments due to zero VOC emissions.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are surface‑water management approaches that mimic natural hydrological processes by slowing, storing, infiltrating, conveying and treating runoff as close as possible to where rain falls. SuDS integrate components such as permeable surfaces, swales, rain gardens, basins and ponds to manage water quantity (flood risk), water quality (pollution control), biodiversity, and amenity. National guidance describes SuDS as environmentally beneficial alternatives to conventional piped drainage, reducing peak flows, improving water quality, supporting urban greening, and enabling new development where sewer capacity is limited. SuDS design follows principles of source control, infiltration where possible, and multi‑benefit landscapes.

Sustainability is the capacity for human and natural systems to endure and flourish over time without breaching ecological limits. In the built environment, it integrates climate mitigation, adaptation, circular resources, biodiversity, health, equity, and cultural value. Strategies include demand reduction, low‑carbon materials, renewables, nature‑based solutions, inclusive design, and fair procurement. Measurement uses life‑cycle assessment, whole‑life carbon, social value, and performance verification. True sustainability prioritises sufficiency and long‑term stewardship, aligning investments with planetary boundaries and community wellbeing.

A swale is a shallow, vegetated channel that conveys, slows, and infiltrates stormwater as part of Sustainable Drainage Systems. Swales reduce runoff volumes, filter pollutants, and provide habitat and amenity when planted with native species. Design sets longitudinal gradients, check dams, and soil media to encourage infiltration without stagnation or erosion. Pretreatment from catchpits or forebays helps manage silt. Integrating swales with paths, trees, and open space creates multifunctional landscapes that attenuate floods and cool urban microclimates.

Thermal mass refers to the capacity of a material (such as masonry, stone, rammed earth, or concrete) to absorb, store, and release heat. High‑mass materials moderate indoor temperature swings by storing heat during the day and releasing it later, improving comfort and reducing mechanical heating/cooling demand. This principle underpins passive‑solar strategies such as Trombe walls.

Timber frame is a structural system using wood elements to carry loads. It spans traditional heavy frames with pegged joints to modern light framing and engineered panels. Benefits include speed, precision, low embodied carbon, and warm, healthy interiors. Design priorities are racking resistance, moisture management, airtightness, acoustics, and fire strategy based on charring. Off‑site fabrication enables high quality and minimal waste. Responsible forestry and certifications ensure sustainable sourcing. Timber frames pair well with bio‑based insulation and membranes to create breathable, energy‑efficient envelopes.

‘Vapour open’ describes a material or building assembly with low vapour resistance, allowing water vapour to diffuse through while still resisting liquid water ingress. Vapour‑open construction enables moisture within building fabric to evaporate and safely dissipate, reducing risks of interstitial condensation, mould, and fabric decay - particularly important in traditional or solid‑wall buildings. Vapour‑open materials are typically classed as vapour permeable or breathable, meaning they permit moisture movement through diffusion rather than air leakage. Guidance highlights that assemblies should be able to dry if wet, and vapour barriers should be avoided where drying pathways are required to maintain fabric health

Wetlands are ecosystems where water saturates soils permanently or seasonally, including marshes, fens, bogs, swamps, and constructed reed‑beds. They support high biodiversity, store carbon, filter pollutants, and buffer floods. Degradation through drainage, pollution, and development has reduced wetlands globally, increasing climate and ecological risks. Restoration re‑establishes hydrology, vegetation, and peat formation, delivering co‑benefits for wildlife and communities. In design, protecting wetland hydrological regimes and buffers is fundamental, with elevated boardwalks, sensitive lighting, and visitor management to minimise disturbance.

Woodfibre insulation is manufactured from processed timber fibres into boards, batts, and flexible mats. It provides thermal resistance, hygroscopic moisture buffering, and significant specific heat capacity, improving summertime comfort. Vapour‑open characteristics enable healthy, diffusion‑tight envelopes when combined with airtightness layers. Products include density‑graded sheathing boards for racking strength and internal linings for retrofits. Environmental benefits include renewable sourcing and biogenic carbon storage; compatibility with lime and clay plasters supports breathable constructions. Detailing must protect against liquid water and manage wind exposure to maintain performance.

Work encompasses purposeful human activity - physical and cognitive - applied to create value, maintain systems, and support livelihoods. In the built environment, work spans design, fabrication, construction, operation, and maintenance undertaken by diverse professionals and trades. Good work is safe, fairly paid, inclusive, and meaningful, supported by training, tools, and collaboration. Digital workflows, prefabrication, and robotics augment skills while changing roles. Spatial design can dignify work through daylight, acoustics, thermal comfort, and restorative breaks. Equitable procurement and community benefits ensure projects distribute opportunity and build local capacity over time.