The story of Detail Library
Contents |
[edit] Experiences from studies
Studying architectural disciplines can be hard. There are so many skills to pick up and so many different topics to learn... it’s just a mass of information to soak up. As an Architectural Technology student at Sheffield Hallam, Emma Walshaw was keen to really get to grips with the technical aspects of the course. Despite spending hours in the library researching theories, she struggled to find examples of details to help explain them in her textbooks. Fast forward several years and Emma has corrected that course and filled that gap through providing students and professionals access to detailing resources that help them succeed both in their studies and in practice.
[edit] How it all started - First In Architecture and the Books
Emma set up First In Architecture back in 2012, with the main goal of helping other students. At that time there were very few online resources dedicated to helping students, so Emma dedicated her spare time to sharing what she was
learning while she worked in practice. She would spend her evenings after work writing guides for students to help them get the best out of their studies and achieve the best results. First In Architecture has now grown into much more than just a hints and tips website, with many helpful resources, not only for students but for professionals too.
While Emma was working in practice, she realised it would be useful to put together a set of standard details for use as a starting point on different projects she was working on. She soon realised these would be useful for the First In Architecture audience too. She released the first edition of ‘Understanding Architectural Details’ and quickly discovered there was a keen need for this kind of content.
Emma has now written six books and is currently working on her seventh, on House Extensions, which she is co-authoring with Aida Rodriguez-Vega (who produces much of the detailing work for Detail Library).
[edit] A new project is born – Detail Library
After the success of the books, Emma wanted to be of more assistance to professionals and new graduates who were working in practice. The obvious step was to create an online resource of construction details that would help Architectural Technologists and architects speed up their workflow and savetime, whilst also providing and sharing as much technical content as possible, so that’s what she did. Detail Library was launched in 2021.
Construction detailing can be a tricky part of a construction project. There are many factors to consider as you move into technical design. Sometimes, having a base point to start from can save so much of the time spent looking at previous projects for similar details and drawing everything from scratch.
Detail Library contains hundreds of construction details. It started with a small collection of around 100+ details taken from Emma’s Understanding Architectural Details Books. Since launching, the library has published new details each month. At the time of writing, it contains just under 600 details.
At present, the library is aimed at sole practitioners and small practices that focus on domestic and small scale residential construction. In the future, we plan to expand into more commercial details as well as other resources for architects and designers.
The details cover different types of construction such as masonry, timber frame, steel frame, and other building assemblies related to small scale residential and domestic construction.
There is a strong focus on technical junctions, such as foundation to wall junctions, window details in sections and plans, floor junctions, and wall to roof junctions, along with the many other technical details in between.
In addition to the construction details, Detail Library also features other useful elements. You can find electrical symbols, Part M bathroom layouts and hazard symbols, or download the construction build up template that consists of all the different building assemblies featured on the library.
To accompany many of the new details, technical studies and design guides that explore the best practices and key considerations for specific construction types and technical detailing are published regularly. These guides provide insight and background to the details and help with an overall understanding of the approach of a specific junction, material or assembly.
[edit] Benefits of using the construction details
The technical design stage of any project can be challenging and time-consuming. Detail Library provides countless resources and construction details to help ATs produce a more streamlined workflow, a knowledge base, and execute their projects more efficiently. Having a library of details to start from saves countless hours of work and research, with every detail easily adaptable to suit your project requirements.
The drawings are produced in line with the Building Regulations and British Standards,as well as using additional guidance from LABC best practice and NHBC best practice. Anyone using the details is encouraged to ensure they carry out their own research and due diligence, adjusting the drawings as required. The details are there to provide a great starting point for your project.
The library’s team of Architectural Technologists and architects have years of experience working in different sectors, specialising in many fields from high-end residential to large scale commercial. Detail Library is constantly striving to improve their service, carrying out detailed research to ensure they produce the most useful content to help architects and designers with their workflow.
To visit Detail Library follow this link https://detail-library.co.uk/
Detail Library is offering all CIAT members and affiliates a discount for membership to the library. Use the code CIAT15 to get 15% off all annual memberships.
This article appears in the AT Journal issue 152 from winter 2024 as "The story of Detail Library, and an exciting opportunity for CIAT membership' and was written by Emma Walshaw, Founder, Detail Library.
--CIAT
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