In his second report on the results of the Innovate UK Building Performance Evaluation programme, Richard John looks at why new homes rarely perform as well as their designers expect
Category: General
Enough is enough – Ecobuild coverage
This year’s Ecobuild conference had plenty to inspire delegates – from electric vehicles powering homes to 3D printing on Mars – but the most important debates were over building performance and how the industry could organise itself to improve its buildings
Money for new hope – apprenticeships
From next year, large employers will pay a levy to support apprenticeships that aim to alleviate the skills shortage – so will they, and their potential trainees, get a good return on their investment? Roxane McMeeken finds out
Cost model – commercial offices, central London
The demand for high-grade office space in London continues to outstrip supply. Aecom looks at the capital cost of building services for the shell and core – and fit out – of a central London office
Leading lights – CIBSE Building Performance Awards 2016 winners
Waterman Building Services was named Carbon Champion after picking up an award for the Everyman Theatre. Liza Young speaks to the engineer and other winners from the event
Brains storm – Digital Catapult’s Hackathon
To mark the launch of a database containing information from the Building Performance Evaluation programme, digital, construction and property experts teamed up to discuss how they could use data to close the performance gap. Alex Smith finds out who stood out from the IT crowd at Hackathon
ISO tonic for energy use – the benefits of using standard ISO 50001
Standard ISO 50001 allows organisations continually to monitor their energy use, and has helped businesses make substantial cuts to their fuel bills. A CIBSE certification briefing discussed the standard’s benefits and how it could be used to comply with ESOS. Alex Smith reports
The road to salvation – what can engineers do to slow climate change?
Guests at the Rumford Club debate last month were given two contrasting visions of the future by Cat Hirst, head of learning and development at the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC). Hirst was the guest speaker at a debate on what the future might look like in a world of advancing technology and finite resources, […]
In the spotlight: 2016 building services salary survey
Building services engineers are currently the most sought-after professionals in construction, with the latest Hays Salary Guide revealing inflation-busting wage rises of more than 7%. Roxane McMeeken asks whether firms can afford the sharp jump in pay
Risky business – the engineers who work for insurers
Insurance broker CJ Coleman has recently joined the CIBSE Patrons – the Institution’s group of ‘corporate supporters’. Ewen Rose ventured into the City of London to meet account executive Christine Shrimpton and director Mark Aspinall to find out why