New research has cast light on the urgent need for more industry education around tall building regulations, with 38% of architects saying they are spending considerable time educating their clients on the Building Safety Act (BSA).

Almost a quarter (22%) of UK architects say clients are confused as to what actually constitutes a high-risk building, while 24% say clients are unsure of the new roles and duties required by the BSA.

Over half of architects themselves admitted to be ‘still trying to get their heads around the impact of changes to building regulations’, while 22% say that the BSA is “confusing”.

Tall buildings have the potential to play a significant role in resolving the country’s housing crisis. However, the findings from URSA UK – which manufactures the only BBA-certified sheathing glass mineral wool insulation approved for ventilated cladding systems – highlights that industry-wide education is now required before the UK can begin building upwards at pace.

The impact of the knowledge gap has already manifested in a large number of high-rise projects being rejected by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) due to missing or inaccurate information, with structures over seven storeys facing lengthy delays at Gateway 2. In URSA’s research, 58% of architects said they’ve experienced hold-ups on one to two projects due to Gateway 2 checks, while 22% said they’ve suffered delays on two to five projects. Only 16% said they haven’t been impacted at all.

Future gazing on what stricter building regulations will mean for the future of high-rise development, more than half of architects said they believe designers will consider taller buildings/adding more floors to increase value, due to higher costs and delays during the planning stage.

Commenting on the research, Kevin Tolson, UK Business Development Director, Insulation Division at URSA, said: “There is a clear knowledge gap across the building sector right now – which is perhaps no surprise given we are experiencing the biggest regulatory shift for a generation.

High-rise buildings will be a vital part of the UK’s building strategy moving forwards, particularly if the Government is going to achieve its proposed housebuilding targets. However, industry must pull together to ensure everyone involved in the development of tall buildings understands the intricacies and implications of the BSA.”

To help the industry build a better and vital understanding of the landscape, URSA has launched the High-rise Hub – an evolving platform dedicated to continually sharing information on high-rise buildings. The hub is continuing to grow and will feature useful resources, blogs and statistics, as well as insights from a recent industry roundtable that URSA hosted on the future of high-rise buildings.

Visit URSA’s High-rise Hub online here: https://www.ursainside.co.uk/high-rise-hub/