Robin Barry’s Construction of Buildings first appeared in print in 1958 and eventually grew into five volumes. When I took on the task of revising and updating the Barry books, a decision was taken to condense the work into two volumes to make it more accessible to readers. This was a big task and it required the input of a former colleague, Christopher Gorse, and the help of many individuals and companies, for which I remain extremely grateful.

Working on the books continues to be a process of addition and subtraction to keep the content topical and informative to a wide readership. Now as a solo authored work it has been possible to further simplify and clarify the content while making the latest round of revisions. This has resulted in repositioning of material and new features, such as ‘How to navigate this book’ and the ‘At a glance’ fact sheets. The repositioning of material, from one volume to another, and within volumes, has helped to ensure a more logical flow of information that better reflects the process of construction. The main changes to each volume are as follows:

The Introduction volume has retained the same chapter structure, with changes made within chapters to improve readability. The introductory chapter has been rewritten to better explain the process of construction and to place greater emphasis on the environmental impact of construction. The material on timber framed construction has been moved to this volume, which has allowed for simplification, rewriting and renaming of Chapter 5 to better reflect the content on loadbearing wall construction. Scaffolding can now be found in the Introduction volume and the material on foundations has been restructured in both volumes to remove repetition.

This volume has been restructured. Offsite construction has been rewritten and moved to the front of the book (Chapter 2), as the majority of material in the volume is concerned with prefabricated and preassembled construction. There is a new chapter on Framed Timber Construction (Chapter 5), thus the three main materials for framed construction – timber, concrete and steel – are now in the same volume, making it easier for readers to draw comparisons. The material relating to existing buildings, demolition and recycling has been moved to Chapter 11, thus completing the entire building lifecycle.

In making these revisions the original philosophy of Robin Barry – to address the functional requirements of building elements – has been retained. Regardless of building type, the functional requirements for the main elements remain relevant. Similarly, the underpinning construction principles remain much the same, despite ever changing building codes, regulations, guidance and better awareness of the environmental impact of buildings.

The Barry books are presented in two volumes, Introduction and Advanced, with the volumes designed to complement one another. The titles are used to reflect the stage at which these subjects are taught in colleges and universities in the UK. Introduction covers the first year, primarily dealing with loadbearing construction and domestic scale developments. It is also cover the common elements found in most buildings. The Advanced volume includes material usually taught in the second to third year, primarily dealing with offsite techniques and framed construction for larger buildings. Combined, the two volumes take the reader through the entire life cycle of a building, from inception and construction, to the building in use and eventual demolition, recycling and reuse of valuable resources.

An overview of the chapters in each volume is provided in Table 1, as an aid to navigation of the books.

Chapters are designed so that they can be read from front to back or they can be dipped into as the need arises. Each chapter or section introduces the primary functional requirements and then the reader is introduced to an increasing level of detail. The illustrations and photographs are provided to enhance our understanding of the main principles. At a glance sheets are used for each chapter to address the main what, why, how and when questions.

If readers are studying, for example, loadbearing construction, then they will need to read the Introduction volume and focus on specific chapters to supplement their learning in the classroom. In this situation the reader will need to read chapters all the way through in the first instance, perhaps returning to specific issues, such as the position of damp‐proof course. Similarly, if readers are studying framed construction, the Advanced volume will be a valuable resource, supplemented with material on, for example, doors and windows from the Introduction volume. When it comes to revising for examinations in construction technology, the ‘At a glance’ feature will be useful in prompting one’s memory, prior to revisiting key issues within the chapter.

When readers use the books to help detail their building designs, dipping into chapters to see solutions to typical detailing problems will help with understanding. It is, however, important that we understand the principles underlying the construction of buildings – what needs to be achieved and why. Thus the details and photographs provided give an indication of how it could be done; not how it should be done.