Articles

17th September, 2019

Climate Emergency: How can engineers help?

Leah Holmes-Trought, our Utilities and Smart Energy Consultant, wonders what if engineers could strike a chord with the public in the same way non-technical advocates like David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg do?

3rd September, 2019

If electric vehicles are the future, how will that affect the electricity demands of a site?

Our Lead Utilities Consultant Eleanor Wratten explores how EV charge point legislation changes will affect electricity demands for new developments.

31st August, 2019

How can Hydrock help you optimise solar PV generation yield through battery storage?

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, much like other renewables, has a challenge around matching power generation to demand. Taking a typical residential property, we can expect an energy demand in the morning and evening while solar power …

28th June, 2019

Six myths to set the air quality record straight

Hydrock's Air Quality expert Blaise Kelly breaks down six common misconceptions around air quality, and using the latest scientific research, sets the record straight.

17th June, 2019

A digital lifeline for our last living dinosaur: the construction industry

What can the simplicity of innovative ‘smart’ digital domestic products teach the construction industry to make it more efficient? Henry Easterbrook explores.

29th April, 2019

Turning energy into a tradeable asset

How putting together the right mix of the latest energy technology can create an income generating tradeable asset for developers and landowners.

10th January, 2019

Five construction-sector tech trends for 2019

What are the top tech trends for 2019 in the engineering design and construction sector? We name our top 5, including AI and machine learning, robotics and generative design. And we give a shout out to the importance of smart data usage.

2nd November, 2018

What a Fitbit can teach us in creating high-performing, sustainable buildings

We have the capability to design high-performing buildings. But how can we call them sustainable if we have no feedback loop in place to monitor and regulate how they are used. Matt Wynn argues what we can learn from Fitbit technology.

25th October, 2018

Why the BBC painted an unfair picture of integrated transport planning

Did the BBC paint an unfair picture of our industry’s approach to residential planning? We think so. Working with house builders and local authorities our experience is of well-planned developments, integrated with transport networks.

23rd October, 2018

Finding the space: dealing with mandatory SuDS on Welsh development sites

From January 7th 2019, all proposed new developments in Wales must include Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) as recognised by Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. So what does this mean for development sites?

15th October, 2018

Asbestos in soils – addressing the risks

James Macfarlane, Hydrock’s specialist lead on managing the risks associated with asbestos in soils, recently gave a Q&A interview to Brownfield Briefing ahead of his session at the Brownfield Land Wales 2018 conference.

16th August, 2018

The profit-boosting power of wellbeing

Wellbeing in the built environment. Investing in buildings is investing in people. Read our opinion piece on the benefits designing in wellbeing can bring to your business.