Brave new wwworld

Building Services Journal has re-engineered its website to offer a raft of extra content on a vastly superior platform.

The online offering has new sections devoted to energy performance certificates and sustainability. The site – www.bsjonline.co.uk – also has daily breaking news and video and audio coverage, from project reports to interviews and futuristic flythroughs of projects.

The new EPC section offers key basic information on the rollout of the certificates, the latest developments in the market, case studies and information about how to become an assessor. There is also an exclusive search engine that allows users to trawl through the best websites covering EPCs.

The new sustainability section provides green case studies, news, product information and opinion pieces on green topics. There is also a link to a blog site, Zerochampion, which tackles key sustainable issues, and a separate search engine which includes more than 650 of the world’s best green websites

The broad range of exclusive content on the site already includes:

• A technical guide from WSP on its work at the Paradise Street development in Liverpool, one of Europe’s largest retail schemes. Includes details of the practice’s handling of the underground car parks, site-wide electronics and Part L compliance.
• Video flythroughs of Masdar, the new zero- carbon city planned for Abu Dhabi, and the latest plan to redevelop London’s long-redundant Battersea Power Station.
• Interview with a young fire engineer, on how he entered the profession and his experiences.
• Report on Faber Maunsell’s work in creating sustainable education schemes.
• Message from engineer-turned-carbon- coach Dave Hampton to all those who say the economic downturn should put sustainability on the back burner.

The revamped website will make it much easier for users to search for content already published in BSj. The site has been split into 10 separate sections, including technical, CPD, jobs and projects. The archive of project reports is now divided into seven main building types, such as offices, education, housing and sports/leisure.

Andy Pearson, editor of BSj, said the new site was a significant step for the magazine: “The site will offer the same quality of content as the magazine in a web format.

“We also plan to allow readers to debate key issues that are affecting the sector on the site, from the implantation of energy performance certificates to carbon intensity.”