This year’s prestigious iF Design Awards saw Daikin Europe’s design skills recognised as the company scooped five awards for their residential heat pump and commercial control solutions at a ceremony in Munich on 9 March.

Quinn Building Products has announced a new free CPD (continuous professional development) offering for those in Irish construction, entitled ‘Single Leaf Masonry - A Modern Method of Construction?’ A series of open house regional seminars are scheduled throughout Ireland, and available to book via the Quinn Building Products website.

Leading mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) manufacturer Brink Climate Systems has launched a new high efficiency MVHR unit, the Flair 325. According to the Dutch company, the new range comes with some exciting new technologies to boost efficiency, ensure correct ventilation rates and enable easy operation.

Ecocem, Europe’s largest independent specialist producer of key low carbon building material GGBS (ground granulated blast-furnace slag) cement, has announced a re-brand with the launch of a new logo and tagline.

Ecological Building Systems have announced the launch of the new pro clima products Tescon Sprimer, Aerosana Viscon and Roflex Solido to the Irish and UK Markets. These new airtightness solutions “expand pro clima’s market leading range of high quality sealing systems for inside and out”.

The Dutch company Fresh-r has won the passive house components award at the 22nd annual Passive House Exhibition in Munich, for its decentralised residential ventilation system. Fresh-r worked together with the Scottish firm Collective Architecture on its submission for the award, which was presented at this year’s international Passive House Conference.

Concerns have been raised that proposed changes to Irish building regulations — designed to bring Ireland in line with EU requirements that new homes be ‘nearly zero energy buildings’ (nZEBs) from the end of 2020 — could encourage sub-standard approaches to ventilation and airtightness.