Buildings
Tall buildings are a wind problem before they are a height problem
The objections that stop towers are rarely about the skyline. They are about what happens at the base on a windy Tuesday.
Buildings
Housing, towers, facades and what a building does to the block around it.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Buildings
The first four metres of a building decide the street
Almost everything a pedestrian experiences of a building happens below head height. Most architectural debate happens above it.
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Buildings
A deep floorplate is why your flat has one window
Building depth is settled early, on a spreadsheet about site efficiency, and it determines light, air and layout for the next…
Buildings
Perimeter blocks reach tower density without the towers
Continuous street-facing blocks of moderate height achieve densities people assume require high-rise, and they do it while making…
Buildings
Ceiling height decides whether a building gets a second life
Buildings that outlive their original use share a few dull properties. Generous floor-to-floor height is the one that matters most.
Buildings
Demolition is a carbon decision before it is a cost one
The emissions already spent building a structure are gone whether it stands or falls. Replacing it spends them again.
Buildings
The core is why a tower costs more per square metre
Lifts, stairs, risers and structure all grow faster than the floor area they serve. That ratio, not the facade, sets the economics…
Buildings
Balconies are the hardest cheap thing to build
A slab sticking out of a wall crosses the insulation line, catches wind, collects water and has to hold people up. Almost every…
Buildings
Sealed buildings were a mechanical decision, not an architectural one
Windows stopped opening because the air conditioning could not tolerate it. Everything else followed from that.
Buildings
Cladding is a fire strategy before it is a finish
The outer skin of a building is judged in photographs and tested by flame spread. Those two assessments have almost nothing in…
Buildings
Party walls decide whether your neighbours become a problem
Most complaints about flats are complaints about sound. Sound transmission is settled by construction detail long before anyone…
Buildings
Basements cost more than the floors above them
Every metre dug below ground fights water, soil pressure and the neighbours. The floor area gained is the most expensive on the…