Writing from the field.

Buildings, technology, and the gap between them. Craig writes about what he sees on site, and what better looks like.

Latest
RAAC Attack: Don’t Panic Edition
Building Materials · Aug 31, 2026

RAAC Attack: Don’t Panic Edition

In 1924 in the city of Yxhult, Sweden, architect and inventor Dr. Johan Axel Eriksson working with Professor Henrik Kreüger at the Royal Institute of Technology patented RAAC:…

Read the article
Inspecting the Queenslander home
Building Inspections Heritage residential Sep 2025

Inspecting the Queenslander home

Homes in Australia come in all shapes and sizes, but none more recognisable than the Queenslander home. The surveyor should be mindful…

Read more
Surveying Safely in the Outback
Health & Safety Sep 2025

Surveying Safely in the Outback

This article first appeared in RICS Built Environment Journal, April-May 2019 The second edition of the RICS Surveying safely guidance note, which…

Read more
Rise of the robot
Technology & AI Jul 2017

Rise of the robot

This one is from the vault. It first appeared in RICS Building Surveying Journal July-August 2017 According to the Q4 2016 Global…

Read more
Featured image
Asset Management Technology & AI Aug 2016

Stock Condition Assessments: A data capture story

This one is from the vault, first published at beyondcondition.com on 16 August 2016 The year is 2008. How do you collect…

Read more
A picture paints 1,000 words
Building Inspections Technology & AI Feb 2016

A picture paints 1,000 words

This one is from the vault: it first appeared in the print edition of RICS Building Surveying Journal March – April 2016.…

Read more
1 2 3
On video
@BeyondCondition
YouTube · Beyond Condition

Watch on YouTube

Walkthroughs, commentary, and explainers from Craig and Ben — buildings, technology, and the things worth paying attention to in the built environment.

Visit the channel
Beyond Condition presenting to an audience
Podcast appearances
A reader with a copy of The Building Detective by Craig MacDonald
The book

The Building Detective

A journey into the hidden stories of property, people, and problem solving.

Craig’s narrative non-fiction draws on two decades of inspections to show how buildings fail — and how a detective’s mind works out why. If you enjoy the writing here, this is where it goes deepest.

Paperback & Kindle on Amazon

Also available globally, wherever you buy books online.