In February 2023 we surveyed architects on the significant updates to the Building Regulations’ Parts L and F and the introduction of a new Part O covering overheating. As well as looking at our readers’ views on the changes for specification, such as building fabric, and the challenges they face, we discovered which solutions architects were specifying to meet the new performance demands on their projects.
A year on from the original study, and a year since the new Regs became mandatory, we are again canvassing readers on their experience, to find out how they are managing in practice, but to also discover their remaining issues, and views on the upcoming 2025 FBS/FHS. We added new questions in part informed by insights from our 2023 industry round table on Parts L, F and O, such as on glazing specification and clients’ expectations, to meeting planning challenges, SAP10, and sourcing performance data on products.
By reproducing a series of questions from the previous study for a direct comparison, we were able to track progress over the year. The varied results gave pointers as to the industry’s readiness to tackle the Future Homes Standard and Future Buildings Standard due to be implemented in 2025, which the Regs updates form a step towards.