The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published its latest set of horizon scans, which highlight the global economic systems and forces that will shape the built environment over the next decade Commissioned by RIBA and written by leading academics, The Economics of the Built Environment scans provide foresight on the topics expected to drive the greatest change by 2034. The four scans are: Interconnectedness and specialisation: the economic geography of the built environment Emerging economies: how architects can contribute to sustainable urban futures in fast-changing context ..read more

Senior leaders from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) visited the ICW Group headquarters in Belfast to learn more about the building warranty and building control provider CIOB chief executive, Dr Caroline Gumble, and Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, research and public affairs, met with ICW managing director Andrew Spratt, ICW operations director Nick Cuffe and other ICW colleagues about the group’s expansion throughout the UK and Ireland. ICW provides developers and contractors with residential and commercial warranties, including a specialist offer for high-value schemes. Its buil ..read more

Produced by Michelmersh, the world’s first 100% hydrogen-fired brick is now on display at the London Science Museum Produced by Michelmersh with expert insight from the Greater South East Net Zero Hub (GSENZH), the hydrogen brick or ‘HyBrick’, produces 81-84% less carbon emissions in the manufacturing process. The design comes from using green electrolytic hydrogen to fire the kiln, a modification John Taylor, energy projects manager at GSENZH, conceptualised and recommended. He said: “Construction is an essential part of our livelihoods. Innovating and decarbonising the industry is vital in o ..read more

A new APM report reveals a 20% growth in the construction project management sector over five years, contributing £33bn annually to the UK’s GVA The Golden Thread Report 2024 was published today (April 25th) at a launch event at the Science Museum, London. It follows the first report in 2019, which assessed the UK project profession’s size and economic and societal contribution. The project management profession contributes £186.8bn of GVA to the UK economy When broken down by individual sectors, construction ranked second highest, with a GVA of £33.19bn—a 23% increase from £27.08bn in 2019. F ..read more

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has launched a new Planning Enforcement Handbook for England in preparation for new Levelling Up and Regeneration Act rules coming into effect The updated Planning Enforcement Handbook for England is aimed at providing local authorities’ enforcement teams with best practice advice on how to effectively deal with a range of enforcement challenges. The handbook has been written by members of the RTPI’s National Association of Planning Enforcement (NAPE) and funded by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The updated handbook is ..read more

One in three of the UK city dwellers believe their home has had a negative effect on their mental wellbeing. Petr Mitev, vice-president of solutions for designers at Chaos, says urban design needs to embrace architectural visualisation and sustainability to build a better future Over 86% of the UK population live in urbanised areas and while cities offer many lifestyle benefits, they can also be chaotic places to live. At a time when the prevalence of mental health disorders in on the rise, the impact city living has on mental wellbeing is often left out of the conversation. Cities are associa ..read more

Digital Construction Today, a new website covering the adoption and application of technology in the global architecture, engineering and construction sectors, is now live At a time when the industry faces the dual challenges of embracing digital transformation and spearheading the decarbonisation of the built environment on the road to net zero, DCT brings you daily news from around the world, as well as thought leadership, opinion and insights from experts and insiders working across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. We look at everything from BIM, digital twins and IoT to th ..read more

EvolveLAB has joined the Vectorworks Partner Network, delivering an additional AI visualisation resource to designers Bringing a mature AI technology fine-tuned for high-quality visuals straight into Vectorworks, this seamless integration of EvolveLAB allows customers to enhance their creative workflows, gain efficiency using predefined prompts, and perfectly balance AI flexibility and precision in creating impactful visuals. The Veras integration joins Vectorworks’ recently released AI Visualizer and will provide customers with additional options to harness AI’s potential, specifically for vi ..read more

Problems with recruitment and retention in the construction industry have been a topic of discussion for some time, with 83% of the sector reporting difficulties. It’s the kind of thing that we at Re-flow look at with sympathy, and never more so than when we hear related stories from our clients on the topic, or when we visit trade shows and listen to some of the experts Our mission, to provide companies working in infrastructure with a world-class field management solution, has one clear eye on the future – on helping companies streamline and improve compliance and general profitability. But ..read more

GE Steam Power Systems has awarded BGEN a £84m electrical and instrumentation solutions contract at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset BGEN, will provide electrical and instrumentation solutions to Hinkley Point C, which when complete is expected to deliver 7% of the UK’s CO2-free energy for the next 60 years. The plant is projected to generate 3.2+ GW to the grid – enough to power 6m homes, whilst saving 9m tons of CO2 emissions a year. GE Steam Power will supply the two conventional power islands for HPC, which include the Arabelle steam turbine, generator and other critic ..read more