Balcony Design, Learn from the past, approach for the future

This CPD captures the key balcony fires that have occurred since the Grenfell disaster and the extensive regulation and advice that has been issued and continues to change. We bring our research to you in a comprehendible CPD that takes you on a journey through the numerous balcony fires that occurred in the past 3 years, the history of balconies, laminate glass and the combustible cladding ban. We then look into the future to see what action each individual can take in the industry to reduce the fire risk and improve balcony design. This is intended to explore the journey of recent balcony fires and relevant regulation and the future of fire safety in construction.

Although balconies only make up a small proportion of a building envelope, carbon reduction in balconies can help reduce overall heat loss and carbon footprint of a building. This will help the industry contribute to the UK Government’s goal to achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2050. But why are considering embodied carbon and carbon during occupancy in balconies so important? How can building stakeholders help reduce the carbon impact? In this CPD we explore the present industry challenges and provide a breakdown of each carbon type and explore why each is important, key considerations for that type, and provide practical steps for reduction of each, embodied, occupational, and operational. We also explore key considerations necessary when selecting suppliers to provide low-carbon balconies.

Fire presentation that purely looks at current case studies of a few recent fires that have happened this year, explores common causes and how these can be designed out. It also gives clarity on the current fire regulations and Sapphire's active product development. These solutions are above what is currently required but will give advice on what regulations we feel balconies will likely need to meet in the future. You may also be interested that we have also recently published a Whitepaper, "Recommendations regarding fire safety on balconies in high rise residential blocks". Further information can be found at www.sapphire.eu.com/fire

Covering a wide range of topics from creating neighbourhoods through thoughtful design to practical guidance on fire safety this book acts as an essential guide for construction professionals. With a balanced view this book will guide decision making, design and specifying. The book includes no logos or advertising and is purely an educational resource. It features 90 articles and is created in association with the Institute of Construction Management.