Following a trend across much of the developed world, the population of the UK is growing, and ageing. The UK population is projected to continue growing, reaching over 74 million by 2039. The population in the UK is getting older with 18% aged 65 and over and 2.4% aged 85 and over. In 2016 there … Continue reading “An Ageing Population – Challenges for the built environment”
In 2013, Greg Barker, the then Minister State for Energy and Climate Change officially opened the BRE National Solar Centre, the UK solar industry was flourishing with approximately 8,800 new PV systems being installed every month adding over 1.1GW of capacity within the year. A lot has changed for solar over the last 5 years. … Continue reading “5 years on and the futures bright for BRE National Solar Centre”
Happy national allotment week! With a rapidly growing population, an estimated 90% of our time spent inside, and with increasingly digitalised realities submerging us (you can buy virtual reality head sets in Tesco?!), I think it’s safe to say, we need to get outdoors; look at the trees, swim in the sea and of course, … Continue reading “Happy National Allotment Week! Growing stuff is good for the soul.”
Award-winning Estonian developer Kodasema is launching its revolutionary KODA house to the UK on the BRE Innovation Park. KODA aims to shake up the UK and international property markets by providing a multi-purpose self-build structure that can be used as a city centre home, a lakeside summer house, a cosy café, an office, workshop or … Continue reading “Multi-purpose KODA arrives on the BRE Innovation Park”
Having been around for over 90 years and being at the forefront of the built environment, BRE gets involved in a lot of areas. You may well know of our world leading testing facilities, where we test products and materials against the elements – or perhaps you are aware of the most widely used environmental … Continue reading “5 things you may not know BRE can help you with”
Our climate is changing. We are seeing more extreme weather events which could lead to increases in heavy rainfall and significantly increased risks from river and surface water flooding. A growing population means more houses, which means more people will be at risk. Over 5 million households and businesses in England – that’s 1 in … Continue reading “Building flood resilience into the fabric of Britain”
A recent report from UBS Wealth Management’s “Bubble index” looking at the state of the property markets has found that London has the second most over-valued property market of any major city around the world. At the same time, official figures from the Office for National Statistics tell us that the average wage in the UK is £28,105 annually. If we were … Continue reading “Generation rent vs generation mortgage? There might be a solution…”
[View the story “UK Construction Week 2016” on Storify]
One of the newest builds on the BRE’s Innovation Park in Watford, the Zero Bills Home, was launched earlier this year. It is the brainchild of zero carbon pioneer Bill Dunster, the founder of ZedFactory and creator of one of the first low carbon developments in the UK, the BedZED project. Zero Bills is a … Continue reading “The Zero Bills Home, the house of the future?”
The UK housing market is facing a major capacity challenge and is not building homes quickly enough. Join Barratts, Calford Seaden and Saint-Gobain in collaboration with Build Offsite on 25th May at the BRE Innovation Park Watford to hear how you can help them address this challenge and learn how Offsite processes can really make … Continue reading “Learn how Offsite processes can really make a difference”
