In this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Will Hurst, the Managing Editor of The Architects’ Journal, based in London. Will has been leading the RetroFirst campaign at the Architect's Journal since late 2019. The podcast covers the origins and ambitions of this campaign, at the heart of which is the idea that "the greenest building is the one that already exists". The conversation touches on the challenges faced by all in construction at a time of climate crisis, the reaction of the architecture profession to RetroFirst, the circular economy and why it makes little climate sense to demolish buildings like the Derby Assembly Rooms in Derby.

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ABOUT WILL HURST

Will Hurst is an award-winning journalist who has spent his career writing about architecture and construction in the building press and for national titles such as the Guardian, Times and Financial Times. Will has written extensively about the built environment’s contribution to the climate crisis and is currently leading the AJ’s RetroFirst campaign for the re-use of existing buildings. His investigation into the Garden Bridge won him a Press Gazette British Journalism Award in 2017 and was shortlisted for that year’s Paul Foot Award.

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Music is by Sinead Finegan, played by the Delmaine String Quartet (Philip Dodd, leader).

The podcast was recorded on Zoom in July 2021.

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