Building Insights

James Parker speaks to Debbie Waddington, group head of HR at Keepmoat, to find out how the Top 20 UK housebuilder is putting the work into attracting a new generation of onsite and offsite staff in a difficult construction skills environment. She explains how selling the benefits of a career in a more ‘people-centred’ industry to new entrants is one of the factors behind the company’s enduring success in a challenging market.

In association with Bjelin, James Parker speaks to Emanuel Lidberg, head of design at Bjelin’s sister company, Välinge Innovation. In a very entertaining discussion with the timber flooring design specialist, James discovers why keeping up with fleeting trends may not be as crucial as timeless design and sustainability. 

In association with VMZinc, this episode features Jonathan Lowy, operational marketing marketing manager at the company. Jon’s held several roles in 27+ years at VM, but maintains a really infectious enthusiasm for all things zinc. We explore how the material – the roof covering of choice in Paris in the mid 19th century – is now an increasingly popular specification on aesthetic and functional grounds for UK architects.

James Parker, editor of Housebuilder and Developer, speaks to Chris Carr, who has run his family SME housebuilding company in Grimsby for many years, but has recently seen his industry profile going through the roof as President of the Federation of Master Builders. He is a key figure advising and lobbying Ministers on what needs to change to ensure that SMEs are able to deliver all of the Government and industry targets for housebuilding. He’s also a master of pragmatic, creative thinking to get over the major stumbling blocks such as those around planning. A podcast in association with the FMB.

In March 2024 we hosted the third Building Insights LIVE round table, which was a multi-disciplinary discussion around the impact of the Building Safety Act & the Golden Thread on future construction.

We brought together architects, developers, IT experts and product suppliers at the Building Centre in London, to identify the challenges and solutions for navigating the new regime for professionals. Creating safer high-risk buildings post-Grenfell means taking greater accountability, but with added professional risks for architects and contractors. 

The event explored these issues, as well as how product specification could be made more robust, and the standards that are needed. It was a key debate full of unique insights, and some of the highlights are presented in this special podcast.

Richard Banham, national key account manager, Bjelin UK Ltd, speaks to James Parker about how the company has promoted innovation in flooring for decades, and what makes their hardened flooring products innovative. They also discuss new products in the pipeline, and how receptive the UK market to innovations in flooring.

James Parker speaks to Tom Slater, who founded T2S Architecture during the pandemic and is driving the agenda around retrofit as beneficial for the urban context, developers’ business cases, and sustainability.

In this episode of Builders’ Voices, James Parker speaks to Jeremy Gray, head of policy at the Federation of Master Builders. Jeremy discusses the key takeaways from the FMB’s 2023 House Builders Survey, a key snapshot of the shared challenges across the sector.

In this first episode of Building Insights in association with wood flooring innovator Bjelin UK, James Parker speaks to Simon Darbyshire, managing director of Bjelin UK. He explains how the firm has evolved from pioneering a method of installing wood flooring without using glue.

In the run-up to Futurebuild at London’s Excel (from 5-7 March) James Parker, editor of Architects’ Datafile and Housebuilder and Developer, speaks to Martin Hurn, event director at Futurebuild. Martin explains how, as part of its continued focus on realistic as well as sustainable solutions to construction industry challenges, this year the show’s spotlight is firmly on grappling with retrofit.