About Designing Buildings
Put all construction industry knowledge in one place and make it available to everyone for free
Construction in the UK employs 2.4 million people in 340,000 organisations, each one of which is creating and accessing a vast amount of expert knowledge. Everything from how to prepare a brief for a new project, right through to getting tax breaks for water efficient taps. But that knowledge is inaccessible, fragmented and dispersed. If we integrate it into a single resource that is easily accessible by everyone, the construction industry will be more efficient, more collaborative, more innovative and it will make fewer mistakes.
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Designing Buildings is the most comprehensive construction industry knowledge base in the world. It gives free access to 18,000 articles about the planning, design, construction and operation of built assets. Users can find articles about things they don't know, and write articles about things they do.
The knowledge it holds is curated, structured and linked together to create a single, growing, evolving resource. Thousands of construction terms and industry acronyms have been defined and hundreds of thousands of internal links help users get to the knowledge they need as quickly as possible.
Designing Buildings is supported by:
- The Chartered Institute of Building
- The Institute of Historic Building Conservation
- The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists
- ECA
It is owned by Designing Buildings Limited, a company founded by project manager David Trench CBE FCIOB , designer and project manager Dr Gregor Harvie, construction law solicitor Richard Winward LLB FCIArb FCInst CES and chartered banker and finance director Martin Cantor.
It's refers mainly to processes and practices adopted in England and Wales, although much of the content is also applicable in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and users in many other countries will find it helpful.
- To get started see our Quick Start Guide.
- For information about using the site see our Help page.
- For guidance about writing style see our quick style guide.
- For terms of use see our terms and conditions.
- You can contact us by emailing [email protected].
Featured articles and news
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.
Fire door compliance in UK commercial buildings
Architect and manufacturer gives their low down.




















