Parametric optimisation and real-time modelling guided early design choices at a new luxury hotel in Spain, cutting embodied and operational carbon. Aecom’s Inés Idzikowski Pérez on how performance, cost and client aspirations were aligned
Category: Technical
Removing the blind spots: hybridised pipework
Hybridised construction products, such as polyethylene pre-insulated MLCP pipes, are slipping through the regulatory gaps. Chris Ridge, from the Thermal Insulation Contractors Association, believes informed specification and rigorous scrutiny may be the only safeguard against performance shortfalls and hidden compliance risks
Tackling the global drive for decarbonisation and energy efficiency in HVAC systems
Advanced monitoring and measurement tools are transforming HVAC systems into smarter, greener solutions.
Down the plughole: heat recovery from shower wastewater
Wastewater heat recovery systems can reclaim up to 60% of shower energy. With showers using 20–30% of hot water, a new Rehva guide – summarised by Tim Dwyer – highlights their efficiency potential
Pushing the cooling limit: CIBSE Natural Ventilation Group
The limits of passive cooling, healthy learning environments and mitigating overheating were the core subjects of a topical summer event hosted by the CIBSE Natural Ventilation Group in July. Chair Chris Iddon reports
Net zero’s mission possible? testing the UK-NZCBS pilot
Max Fordham has been testing the pilot version of the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard to see if its projects would hit the carbon limits. The firm’s Henry Pelly reveals which building types are providing the most difficult challenges
Getting it right: simulation tool for integrating environmental design
A new integrated simulation tool aims to close the gap between architectural form-making and environmental performance at the earliest stages of design. Joel Callow, founding director at Beyond Carbon, explains how it works
Making compliance work smarter: AI tools for building regulations
A new AI Platform aims to solve the ‘information crisis’ in building services engineering. Dr Carl-Magnus von Behr explains how sector-specific AI tools can help building services professionals manage rising compliance pressures, fragmented guidance and growing documentation demands.
Hot-water boost to heat network efficiency
Jacobs has designed a Generation 4.5 heat network that uses an innovative boost electrode to deliver domestic hot water, allowing the system to operate efficiently at a 45°C flow temperature for 80% of the year. The company’s Adam Selvey FCIBSE explains how it works
Gateway to failure: building safety flaws uncovered
The Building Safety Regulator has published a case study that demonstrates some of the failures that are causing 70% of all designs to be rejected at Gateway 2 of the building control regime for higher-risk buildings