The Will Alsop-designed Peckham Library won the 2000 Stirling Prize, wowing the judging panel with its ‘eye-catching’ design. We revisit the library to see how it was built and to remind ourselves of the design ethos behind its Alsopesque features which include the now familiar wonky columns, cantilevered floor spaces and pods. And we ask, 12 years on, does the library continue to have that ‘wow’ factor that so impressed the 2000 Stirling Judges?

Facade retention – the removal and renewal of a building's innards, walls, columns and floors while retaining its original front or outer walls – plays an important role in preserving the architectural character and historic fabric of many city centres. It can, however, be a complex and expensive exercise. This programme takes a look at some of the technical aspects of facade retention through the outline design sequence.

We summarize the requirements of the CDM Regulations, current fire legislation and HSE guidance, and review the implications for the design and specification of projects.

In the first of a two part series Emma Humphrey shares her experience as a budding building detective.

The concluding part of a two part series where Emma Humphrey turns building detective.

This programme takes a look at what "Secured by Design" is for and how they work with architects, explaining the approval process for its "Design and Access Statement", the practical building and planning advice it provides, and showing how designers can gain "Secured by Design" accreditation. The programme also looks at the history and underlying theory of designing against crime, discussing whether it is a positive development for architecture and the built environment.

An understanding of how sound behaves in modern offices, and how to control excessive airborne sound, or noise as it then becomes known, is essential. Through the use of computer modelling, noise mapping and a knowledge of processes including flanking and noise masking, this programme looks at how acoustic engineers tailor to achieve that control.

As part of the series of BITESized talks at the RIBA Village auditorium at Ecobuild 2013, Clair Hillier of RIBA Enterprises discusses intelligent proprietary specification.

The University of Nottingham's distinctive Jubilee Campus is a development that is intended to demonstrate the University's commitment to exemplary standards of energy efficiency in its buildings.

What are the options when a sports stadia comes to the end of its original purpose or natural life? We look to the past to explore some options.

This programme takes a look at the construction of stairs. It will explore the deceptively simple engineering in structurally efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly stairs. A direct lecture by a leading engineer and stair expert looks at how stone and timber stairs can be built without stringers and visible means of structural support.

This programme looks at how the wave-like roof that spans Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre in the 2012 Olympic Park was designed and built.