Are factories the future of construction? Andrew Staniforth of Assembly OSM explores how offsite housebuilding works and how it’s evolved in the digital age.

Having invested £325m in R&D over the last five years, the construction giant is launching an initiative to fund ideas that come straight from its employees.

The built environment has made no progress in reducing emissions related to construction, according to a “hard-hitting” Environmental Audit Committee report calling for mandatory whole-life carbon assessments.

Backed by one of the world’s largest asset managers, Material Bank wants to reinvent real estate supply chains by aggregating hundreds of thousands of design and construction materials.

National planning director Jeremy Hinds of Savills says a debate about urban drainage is urgently needed to ensure cities are not overwhelmed by rising rainfall due to climate change and more extreme weather.

A London-based startup has raised $4m for its mission to digitise the home renovations industry with an online marketplace.

The real estate developer, owner of New York’s Rockefeller Center, looks to invest in early-stage companies to help it “shape and accelerate” transformation in the industry.

Backed by a bevy of global institutions, including Dutch pension provider APG, Argent and Hong Kong-based Sino Group, Pi Labs has raised $90m in its latest fund.

Real estate operations platform Facilio has raised $35m in Series B funding with its aim to make building maintenance “data-driven and agile”.