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

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