We are now living in an era where different technologies are converging to provide exciting new opportunities and products across almost all business sectors.Construction and building is now a major investor in novel technologies in a number of areas:new materials, often incorporating nanomaterials, offer reduced weight, greater strength and durability, better performance, reduced costs, and the replacement of many environmentally-damaging materials and processes;advanced and enabling technologies underpin a variety of new applications in areas such solar, wind and kinetic energy harvesting, self-cleaning glass and other building components, pollution reduction, energy storage and energy conservation;a wide range of sensor and networking technologies help buildings respond to both the environment and to the needs of their users in “smart” ways.