1000 articles and counting
We’ve reached a huge milestone. There are now 1,000 articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
We started out with a simple vision – to put all construction industry knowledge in one place and make it available to everyone for free. This was a direct response to the persistent problems of poor dissemination, single-discipline silos, adversarial behaviour and reluctance to innovate which have blighted the industry for as long as anyone can remember. As far back as 1944, the Simon Report recommended better training of construction managers and a more collaborative approach to design and construction. More recently Construction 2025 highlighted, "lack of collaboration and limited knowledge sharing" and proposed that, "best practice must be disseminated across the industry... so that the vast amount of research is translated into real improvements."
We imagined a different sort of industry; where every individual, every organisation and every discipline had access to all industry knowledge; where clients could find out what ought to be happening on their project; where consultants could access the latest research; where we all had a better understanding of other disciplines and specialisms; where we could share best practice and prevent mistakes. It's both simple and revolutionary.
Now we have 1,000 articles, ranging from general introductions to subjects like planning permission, right through to uber-detailed articles for specialists, like the resonant column method for measuring the dynamic response of soils. We even have an article on notation which tells me I should have written 1000 not 1,000 to avoid confusion with the continental decimal marker.
250,000 people have benefitted from free access to the articles on Designing Buildings Wiki, helping them to operate more efficiently, innovate more effectively and avoid problems.
There’s still a long way to go. We're reliant on you to keep adding new articles and improving what’s already there. It’s really easy to do – just click on the big orange button. If you’re not sure where to start, have a look at the list of articles we know we are missing, or the list of articles needing more work.
Next stop 2,000.
Featured articles and news
Read about RSHP's British Museum extension which has been shortlisted for the 2017 Stirling Prize.
Read our introductory article to building a house extension.
More updates from DCMS about the large-scale testing of cladding systems and the number of buildings affected.
UandI secure resolution to grant planning consent for major new regeneration project.
Infrastructure and the historic environment
IHBC article considers how heritage is dealt with when infrastructure schemes are authorised.
It was the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years, but to this day the exact construction techniques are a mystery.
Shortlist for the industry's most coveted award announced.
Government responds to Mark Farmer's review of industry, rejecting the call for a levy on clients.
Peter Hansford to examine what wider lessons can be learned from the fire.
Every project is subject to uncertainty. How can construction better understand uncertainty for performance improvement?
MAD Architects reveal their designs for a futuristic campus for electric car manufacturer.
Homebuyers could borrow more with better forecasting of energy bills, according to industry consortium's new report.
Read our introductory article on carbon capture and storage.
Grenfell Tower articles updated daily
