2017 will be a year forever etched in the built environment’s memory. The Grenfell fire tragedy in June woke the world up to the importance of fire safety in construction, but also shone a spotlight on construction quality and what many had called continuing falling standards for some time.
Although it will take years for any definitive answers and conclusions to be found, the effects and changes to procurement, safety, costing and general standards are sure to be felt for decades.
From our top list of stories for the year, our readers have shown their eagerness to learn about and engage on some of the hard-hitting issues but also new and exciting innovations within the industry.
While Grenfell coverage dominated most of the top spots, the issue of falling quality was already on our radar in our coverage of the Edinburgh Schools debacle and the subsequent Cole report.
2017 also saw construction lose some of its influential figures. The recent death of Michael Latham, considered one of the leaders of modernising the industry with the Constructing the Team report in 1994. Elsewhere former Laing O’Rourke chief, Anne Stewart, passed away and we also lost two past CIOB presidents. Sir Brian Hill and Professor Li Shirong.
On a more positive note, our readers also displayed their curiosity and eagerness to read about new innovations and breakthroughs in the industry, as well as changing cultures.
Modular and offsite stories remained popular, while the growing digital trend in construction and the willingness of companies to hire gamers also tickled readers.
With that, below are some of our top stories for the year and we look forward to informing and entertaining you in 2018.
