Advancements in Indoor Hygiene Guidelines, Fibreglass Window Frames, and European Real Estate Investments

Enhanced hygiene

Finland’s Building Information Ltd. has issued guidelines on indoor hygiene for new build and renovation projects. The guidelines – part of the Finnish RT Building Information File – establish four levels of hygiene for different building types, and various measures to deliver the required standard. Antimicrobial materials for high-touch surfaces are included in the three most stringent categories, with copper singled out as the most recognised and effective antimicrobial material.

Presented at the Indoor Hygiene Seminar in Espoo, the guidelines are among the first to provide a toolset for ‘designing out infection’. They aim to increase awareness of opportunities and solutions for improving hygiene during design and construction, taking account of practicalities and cost efficacy.

Frames arrive in UK

‘The window revolution has arrived’, according to the company responsible for bringing Boavista, Europe’s first full range of fibreglass window frames that set new industry standards in sustainability, durability and performance, to the UK.

Boavista is exclusively available to the UK through Boavista Windows UK Ltd, a company formed by the team behind Meronden Designs. Using the latest in pultrusion technology Boavista’s fibreglass frames are created by pulling resin-soaked glass fibres through heated dies. The result is a frame with high thermal and acoustic properties that enables the window to retain heat whilst providing an effective barrier to sound.

Investors adjusting

Real estate across Europe remains a stable, safe-haven asset class, according to a new report released at MIPIM from Colliers International. The report reveals that the correlation between growth in office-based jobs and office investment turnover during the last economic and investment cycle is absolutely clear. In order to maintain this positive outlook, the priority for major European cities has to be focused on generating more high-quality, value-added office-based jobs to drive occupier and investment demand for assets