As part of our new series about the future of the UK's building stock, we take a look at the past. Making new homes sustainable is already a massive issue, but with one in five houses more than 100 years old, bring them up to standard is key to meeting sustainability targets. CIBSE Technical Director Dr Hywel Davies takes a look at one such project. If the UK is to meet tough carbon reduction targets for 2050, then it will have to tackle the emissions from the country’s 10,000 Grade 1 listed buildings. These buildings are notoriously difficult to refurbish because changes require listed building consent and because the interventions have to be removable to allow the building to be returned to its pre-intervention state. And often the refurbishment needs to understand the original design principles to ensure that the work enhances the building and does not cause longer term effects, for example by installing heating and changing the moisture balance in the fabric.  Speakin...

With the Green Infrastructure Challenge over for another year, member of the judging panel FM Group Vice Chair David Stevens takes a look at what made the competition's winner stand out, and what it might mean for the future of Facilities Management . OpenCity’s Green Sky Thinking week (15-19 May) is designed to get people thinking about green issues in new ways. As the name implies, it’s an ‘anything goes’ opportunity to look at green principles and technology free of any baggage, and how they can be applied to make our lives more sustainable. CIBSE and the ARCC Network take part by, among other things, running the Green Infrastructure Challenge – a specific look at the way green technology can be applied to building services. Green technology impacts just about every industry and profession connected to buildings, from the structure to the lighting and the drainage, but in my opinion it is facilities managers who got by far the most food for thought out of what we learned fr...

As the medallion is passed to new SLL President Richard Caple , he sets out his vision for the Society during his year in charge and sets his sights on an inspirational term for young lighters, as well as a return to the design-led roots of lighting   Like most “lighters” I accidently got into the industry about 18 years ago. Having finished college, I realised that I needed to get a ‘proper’ job, so having studied Design Technology and Graphic Design at A-Level I set about finding something that utilised the skills I had learnt. I applied for a job at Thorlux Lighting who were advertising for a Trainee Lighting Design Engineer. Many courses are a route to lighting, including graphic design and STEM subjects At the time of course, I didn’t have a clue what one of these was, but the job description sounded quite interesting. To my surprise they offered me the job and, unbeknownst to me at the time, my lighting career had started. I went on my first lighting course in 2001...

Build Studios recently hosted the 2017 Green Infrastructure Challenge awards, held by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the ARCC Network. Helen Santer, Executive Director of Build Studios , London ’ s first co-working space for the built environment sector in Waterloo -  writes about the recent installation of a living wall to the work space , and the benefits she hopes it brings. To coincide with the awards, we were delighted to see the installation of a Botanic ART living wall in our reception area, kindly provided by Biotecture. Build Studios is a work space that promotes collaboration across the different disciplines within the built environment sector and it has been fascinating to see the responses it has provoked from the different companies based in the building - from an interest in its air purifying qualities, to questions about its ability to absorb sound, to a simple appreciation of its aesthetic qualities and the colour and lif...