profile

First In Architecture

5 Useful Things for June

Published 3 months ago • 2 min read

5 Useful Things

Welcome to our June edition of 5 Useful Things. In these mid monthly emails we share with you 5 useful things we have come across during our work and personal time that we hope you will enjoy.

This month we have a variety of discoveries that we hope you will get some value from. If you have stumbled across something that you think our readers would find useful, please let us know!

1. Something To Explore

London Planning Data App

This planning data map provides easy access to the latest spatial data about planning policy. This includes London wide layers, grouped under ‘Protection’, ‘Good Growth’ and strategic ‘Context’, and local plan policy layers from each London Planning Authority under ‘Borough Layers’.

2. Something to Try

EcoCocon Straw Panels

If you are interested in natural materials and low carbon construction, EcoCocon is a great company to look at. They offer a prefabricated straw wall system along with plenty of technical downloads, guidance and support, making them a useful resource if you want to learn more about straw-based construction.

3. Something Beautiful

House Made By Many Hands

Explore this beautiful project that features materials from Low Carbon Industrial. This project by Cairn Architects is a really interesting read, showing how careful reuse, timber structure and lower carbon material choices can shape a thoughtful and beautifully resolved home.

4. Something to Learn

ACAN Retrofit Webinar

Insulation is often seen as a simple solution, but when applied incorrectly it can lead to moisture issues, performance gaps, and long-term building damage. This webinar takes a practical, honest look at how insulation really works in retrofit, with a focus on natural materials, detailing, and real-world outcomes.

5. Something to Watch

1960s Camden Home

What does it feel like to finally live in a house you have admired for decades? This lovely film visits a 1960s Camden home bought by an architecture enthusiast after dreaming about it for 50 years, and offers a thoughtful look at the quiet joy of living with great design.

We hope you find something here that perhaps you haven't stumbled across before. We'll continue to keep our eyes open to anything we think you will find useful or enjoy, and keep you updated every month with our 5 Useful Things.

This month's selection comes from Aida, Valanne and Emma. Thank you, as always, for reading our emails and showing us your love and support. It really means a lot.

All our best,

Emma and the First In Architecture Team

​First In Architecture

How We Can Help You

Explore some of the ways we can help you
on your architecture journey.

🧱

Detail Library

A vast library of construction details to download. Join with 20% off from FIA. Use code FIA20

​Join now →​

📖

Detailing Books

A range of detailing books from Residential to Passivhaus to Extensions.

​Learn more →​

🚧

Detail Clinic Series

A new video series breaking down one detail at a time.

​Check it out now →​

🎓

Essential Student Guides

Our favourite student guides to help you in your studies.

​Join now →​

📐

Design Process

Our guides to help you better understand the design process.

​Learn more →​

🌳

Architecture & the Environment

Building fabric, low energy, sustainable materials and more.

​Learn more →​

Unit 42059, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

Our emails may occasionally include affiliate links for which we may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase.

First In Architecture

Resources and guides for architects and students. We help you get results!

Join 85,000+ active members of the FIA community and sign up to our newsletter to get all the latest news.

Read more from First In Architecture

FIA Journal I sat down to write an email about focus and made it about ninety seconds before getting distracted. There's a joke in there somewhere. It's almost too obvious to make. But it did rather prove the point. My attention span isn't what it used to be, and lately I've been thinking seriously about what I can do to change that. What I’m Doing About My Shrinking Attention Span Hello Reader, September always feels like the start of something, even years after my studying days. If you're...

9 days ago • 3 min read

5 Useful Things Welcome to our August edition of 5 Useful Things. In these mid monthly emails we share with you 5 useful things we have come across during our work and personal time that we hope you will enjoy. This month we have a variety of discoveries that we hope you will get some value from. If you have stumbled across something that you think our readers would find useful, please let us know! 1. Something to Watch Archwalks - Canary Wharf Take a walk through Canary Wharf and explore how...

23 days ago • 2 min read

FIA Journal How do you know when a set of details, a drawing, or a piece of writing is actually finished? I still don't have a clean answer to that, and my laptop is still full of files called "final," "final v2," and "ok this one is actually final." Hello, I hope you're well! This one's been on my mind for a while. I touched on it briefly in the June newsletter, when I wrote about the House Extension Details book and how hard it was to know when it was truly finished. I enjoyed that little...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read