Investigates the origins of building control in England and Wales, tracing the evolution of the system through various Acts of Parliament, regulations and bye-laws. This book also looks at social and political issues which influenced the development of building control.

As existing buildings age, nearly half of all construction activity in Britain is related to maintenance, refurbishment and conversions. Building adaptation is an activity that continues to make a significant contribution to the workload of the construction industry. Given its importance to sustainable construction, the proportion of adaptation works in relation to new build is likely to remain substantial for the foreseeable future, especially in the developed parts of the world. Building Adaptation, Second Edition is intended as a primer on the physical changes that can affect older properties. It demonstrates the general principles, techniques, and processes needed when existing buildings must undergo alteration, conversion, extension, improvement, or refurbishment. The publication of the first edition of Building Adaptation reflected the upsurge in refurbishment work. The book quickly established itself as one of the core texts for building surveying students and others on undergraduate and postgraduate built environment courses. This new edition continues to provide a comprehensive introduction to all the key issues relating to the adaptation of buildings. It deals with any work to a building over and above maintenance to change its capacity, function or performance.

This scholarly and well-researched study of the building industry documents the interplay of new materials and technologies, costs and the changing social and economic forces that affected the decision-making about our built environment over the last two centuries. The author provides a succinct and readable survey of the growth and development of British building which will be of interest to all building specialists and those training for a career in the construction industry.

Powell introduces and describes two centuries of building activity and the building industry, addressing such questions as why and what was built, who decided to build, and how they did so.

Originally published in 1961, is the report into an investigation of the forms of organization used by local authorities of many varied types, populations and areas for the design and erection of new buildings and the maintenance of existing ones. It discusses the relations between Government departments and local authorities in the control of building design, standards and costs and the part played by Council committees in the control of building operations; it examines the division of functions between Chief Officers responsible for different aspects of building work (architects, engineers, surveyors and housing managers) and studies the use made of private architects and surveyors as well as the scope and organization of direct labour in local authority building.