Constructive Voices

To kick off this third special episode, Steve Randall spoke to Josie Cadwallader-Hughes about Zero-Carbon homes

As Sustainability Director at Thakeham Group, Josie Cadwallader-Hughes is responsible for keeping Thakeham at the leading edge, building partnerships with distinguished organisations with a long history of championing change, and advising on a number of cross-industry programmes enabling zero carbon placemaking.

“The homes that we deliver by 2025 will be zero carbon, none of this tricky transition period”

Next up, Steve Randall spoke to Martin Hale about EV charging.Martin Hale is the Sales Director for RAW Charging. 

Electric charging is a trending topic as we move from fuel sources such as diesel and petrol to more environmentally friendly sources such as electricity. More people are demanding these EV chargers on company sites. As with most new inventions challenges exist such as location and sources of power.

“The big case is the power because that is the showstopper, where is the power coming from?”

Pete the Builder spoke to Mike Harrison about concrete and their new innovative product ConcreteneMike Harrison is the Delivery Director at U+I. He was a chairperson at the event. His talk was entitled Concretene: Graphene-enriched concrete lowering cement and carbon emissions.

Developed by the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, Concretene is a type of concrete that is significantly stronger. This allows designers to propose concrete mixes with lower cement content driving down the embodied carbon of one of construction’s most relied upon materials.

Encouraging people to adopt something new always has its challenges, how can we overcome these challenges?

“What it does is it gives you a lot greater strength in the concrete for the same cementitious content.”

Next up, Pete the Builder spoke to Nick Hillard about modular construction

Nick Hillard is the ESG lead at Tide Construction. He was a keynote speaker at the event. His talk was entitled MMC delivers massive carbon savings.

“45% saving against the traditional reinforced concrete method of construction”

Our next guest is Paul Sullivan. Pete the Builder spoke to him about the challenges of labour shortages in the construction industry

“The work needs to be done out there by 2030, we are just concerned whether there is the trades to do it. We have estimated that there is probably a shortfall of about 130,000 tradesmen.

Pete the Builder spoke to one of the event’s speakers, Stuart McLaren about low-carbon estates. Stuart McLaren is the Net Zero Director for Infrastructure at Atkins. He was a chairperson at the event. His talk was entitled Decarbonising your estate. All the challenges to achieving a Net-Zero carbon future are present in a mixed-asset estate.

“The more we come together and see what good looks like or what bad looks like the more chance we have at succeeding at this monumental challenge.”

The f

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Pete the Builder and Steve Randall along with this special’s guests are transporting you back to Footprint+! And if you weren’t there, this is a great way to be in the know!

Pete the Builder spoke to Wendy Bishop of Architype about retrofitting and the Entopia BuildingWendy Bishop is an associate of 

Architype and Passivhaus designer. She was a keynote speaker at the event. Her talk was entitled Retrofitting a historic building: CISL’s Entopia Building.

" What might work for a 1930’s building like the Entopia Building in Cambridge won’t work for a 1980s built school up in Scotland."

Read more on our episode page here.

Next up Steve Randall spoke to Catherine Dewar and David Tomback from Historic England about the importance of reusing old buildings.

Our next guests are two young people in the Construction industry, Shane Orme and Serena Gugliotta of WSP. Pete the Builder spoke to both about the goal of net zero and the importance of collaboration in order to achieve it.

"But I think that the biggest point here is that we as consultants, can do more than just advising. We can really push for a circular economy and all these concepts that we’re discussing today. Because it’s a really collaborative approach, the one we have to push forward. And so we’re doing our best to work together."

Steve Randall spoke to Sophie Cole of Mikhail Riches next about retrofitting and achieving zero carbon housing at a scale.

Sophie Cole is a senior architect at Mikhail Riches. She specialises in housing design and her priority lies in sustainability. She believes that now clients are demanding a green agenda, and everyone is on the same page to achieve it.

" Now our clients are asking us to do it, whereas before I think we felt that sometimes you had to push a green agenda."

Next Pete the Builder talks to Steve Hearn, the Chief Executive Officer at Mid Group about using timber wood in construction

Mid Group is a dynamic Construction, Investment and Development company, focused on providing enhanced value to its clients and partners.

"I think the answer is probably not doing enough. There’s more we can do but we are constrained by legislation and the market conditions."

Read more on our episode page here.

The penultimate interview on this second special episode is Steve Randall speaking to Paul Lincoln, Editor from Landscape

The Landscape Institute is the body that represents landscape architects in the UK. With over 6000 members consisting of landscape designers, landscape managers and landscape planners or students.

"Landscape archi

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Pete the Builder and Steve Randall make you feel like you are at FOOTPRINT+ yourself!

This first FOOTPRINT+ Special kicks off with an insightful catch-up interview with Emily Day, the Co-Founder of Footprint+. Speaking to Pete, Emily, who believes that through connections people can learn from each other and come up with new ideas, talks about how she feels about the first ever FOOTPRINT+

Emily Day is co-founder and director at Footprint+, she is an award-winning architect and urban designer with a particular focus on global development and social responsibility. As founder of Footprint+, she has taken the opportunity to redeploy her knowledge to make a positive social contribution, helping all parties make progress towards a Carbon Zero future.

Qualified as a chartered architect , Emily has over 20 years of experience working on large-scale projects. She has worked with many key players within the industry; local authorities, developers, and financial institutions which have given her a unique insight into the needs of the different parties

Here are some of the questions we Pete asked Emily:

Do you think the Footprint Plus+ event went well? Do you wonder what the founders of the event think about the state of the industry and prospects for future? If so, you will enjoy this interview with one of the founders of Footprint+.

 
Read more at Constructive Voices Radio special episode page.

Steve Randall spoke to Prof. Greg Clark about the role of cities in our quest towards NetZero.

Prof. Greg Clark is Chair of the Connected Places Catapult and UK Cities Climate Investment CommissionGreg is a world expert on cities, urban investment, and sustainable urban transition. Over a career of 35 years he has advised more than 300 cities, 40 national governments, 20 multilateral institutions, and multiple global corporates and investors.

Next up Pete the Builder talks to top engineer, Tom Holbrow, who specialises in public sector projects.

Tom Holbrow is the Business Development Director at Mace Group. He is a senior Board level professional with expertise in Engineering and Construction Business Development. He leads the Business Development function for the Public Estates, Research, Education, Arts and Culture and Healthcare Construction team at MACE.

Our next guest touches on one of the most important things right now when it comes to achieving our goals around NetZero…collaboration

Katie Clemence-Jackson, MENG CENG MCIBSE, Senior Engineer & Partner, Max Fordham

Katie is a senior project engineer and sustainability consultant, experienced in delivering varied and unique projects at all construction stages. She is chartered with CIBSE and actively involved in the Institution, including chairing the CIBSE Technology Committee.Katie coordinates the activities of Max Fordham’s Net Zero Carbon (NZC) working group, and was key to establishing the Practice’s NZC design service. She is also co-chair of the Practice’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion group. Plus she was an NLA Expert Panellist for Net Zero Alum

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Don’t miss this fascinating interview with Henry Mc Donald talking to top architect, Dr Joe Jack Williams, whose specialism is understanding the impact of the built environment on schools.

Ever think about your school days and wonder how you managed to learn anything in a cold, depressing classroom? Or maybe you were more privileged and sat in an inspiring space surrounded by nature?

Either way there’s a good chance you will enjoy this great interview with one of the speakers at FOOTPRINT+

About Dr. Joe Jack Williams

Dr Joe Jack Williams is an Associate and researcher at FCBStudios and, alongside Ian Taylor, leads environmental research at the practice, identifying, developing and enabling research across sectors and projects.

His specialism is the influence of the school building on the students studying within, measuring perceptions, environmental performance and building forms as well as predicting, measuring and mitigating carbon impacts of architecture.

He has taught at a number of universities in the UK and is part of core research groups within Architects Declare, CIBSE and LETI.

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We are delighted to reach another milestone on the 17th May 2022 – when we publish our 30th episode. It’s been a wonderful journey so far and we are very happy to have a great guest to mark this special occasion.

Bryan Oknyansky is an international award-winning product architect known for inventing pioneering products that have taken him around the world as a lecturer and speaker. With 15 years of experience in the architecture, product and footwear design industries, Bryan has worked for leading architecture and design firms in the US, UK and China and has been invited as Guest Lecturer at design schools in the US, UK, Russia and China.

Bryan talks to Henry McDonald about what shoes, western and oriental architecture have in common as well as many other important topics!

Bryan is able to bridge the gap between technology and design because of his unique specialty in using the latest robotic manufacturing technologies like 3D printing to reinvent the world around us one product at a time. Setting his sights on reinventing the footwear industry, Bryan founded Shoes By Bryan in 2012 – a London-based fashion and technology start-up pioneering mass-market 3D printed footwear unique to every single foot in the world while also looking, and feeling, great.

Being committed to visionary and technologically forward design, Bryan has picked up numerous awards including an American Institute of Architects Design Excellence Award, a Bernardo Footwear Sole Perspective Designer Award, and an Honorable Mention in the highly coveted Red Dot Product Design awards. As an internationally recognized thought leader in his field, Bryan’s award-winning works are regularly exhibited around the world in galleries and museums.

In addition to directing a ground-breaking footwear brand, Bryan is a visiting lecturer at Regent’s University London School of Fashion and Design and consults to individuals, businesses and communities to foster new generations of designers and manufacturers.

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Henry McDonald speaks to Tim Rose, the Program Lead for the Energy Super Hub Oxford Project.Tim Rose is one of the speakers at FOOTPRINT+. He is a low-carbon consultant with 25 years in the renewable energy and aerospace sectors. And now through his role at Pivot Power, Tim is the program lead for the Energy Super Hub Oxford Project, a joint venture, combining the technologies for charging electric vehicles, large scale energy storage, and electrification of heat, which together form a core element of the city of Oxford’s ambitious decarbonisation plans

What is Energy Superhub Oxford?

About Energy Superhub Oxford

Our Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network – connected to the National Grid’s high voltage electricity transmission network – will bring an unprecedented amount of power to Oxford for rapid vehicle charging, the charging of big vehicle fleets, and the addition of new chargers as demand grows.

Our hybrid battery is the first of its type in the world to explore the synergies of lithium-ion and vanadium flow technology from flow specialists Invinity Energy Systems, who will incorporate a new Overdrive (extra power) mode into the battery.

Innovative, small ‘shoebox’ ground source heat pumps will show one way in which we can help to eliminate the carbon associated with heating our homes and businesses.

Our Optimisation and Trading Engine underpins the whole project. This will control the activity of the battery and the EV chargers so that they automatically use cheaper, cleaner electricity when available. The heat pumps will also use newly developed smart controls to optimise comfort and cost for residents.

The Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) is one of three demonstrator projects part-funded by the UK government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund under its “Prospering from the Energy Revolution” (PFER) programme. The PFER programme is about delivering innovation in smart local energy systems.

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We are delighted to announce that we will be going to FOOTPRINT+ as a media partner for this exciting event which takes place in Brighton on 7-9 June 2022. Our three guests will leave you in no doubt about the value of attending FOOTPRINT+.  In our opinion, this event is a much-needed model that should ideally be replicated around the world.

What is FOOTPRINT+ 

FOOTPRINT+ will gather representatives from every sector of the UK construction and property market to discuss and discover how to action state of the art methods to achieve Net Zero in construction and real estate.

The exhibition space enables stakeholders and experts to meet face-to-face, learn from each other and build the relationships required for putting sustainable solutions into practice.

Emily Day, an award-winning architect and one of the founders of FOOTPRINT+

Emily speaks about how the event came about, what you can expect of it, and who will be there.

About Emily

Emily Day is a chartered architect with over 20 years of experience working on large-scale projects. Emily has worked with many key players within the industry; local authorities, developers, and financial institutions which have given her a unique insight into the needs of the different parties

Local authority clients have included:

City of Nottingham
London Borough of Hackney
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Rutland Council
North Devon District Council
Cornwall Council

Projects completed include major residential developments and urban planning, mixed-use developments, speculative office, hospitality, educational estates, and community developments up to £6bn in value.

Tim Rose, Program Lead for the Energy Super Hub Oxford Project

Tim Rose is one of the speakers at FOOTPRINT+. He is a low-carbon consultant with 25 years in the renewable energy and aerospace sectors. And now through his role at Pivot Power, Tim is the program lead for the Energy Super Hub Oxford Project, a joint venture, combining the technologies for charging electric vehicles, large scale energy storage, and electrification of heat, which together form a core element of the city of Oxford’s ambitious decarbonisation plans

Dr. Joe Jack Williams, associate, and researcher at FCB Studios

Dr. Joe Jack Williams is an associate researcher and Passive House consultant at British architectural design firm FCPS, established in 1978, and known for its pioneering work in sustainable design and the social design agenda, Joe led the development of FCB’s carbon tool that estimates the whole life carbon of a building to inform design decisions prior to detailed design.

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In Episode 27 of the Constructive Voices Podcast, Henry Mc Donald speaks to Craig Applegath, architect, urban designer, and zero-carbon building pioneer, to discuss his work with DIALOG on the “Supertall” Hybrid Wood Tower and the Zero-Carbon Mass Timber Projects.
Craig is internationally recognised for his design and advocacy of zero-carbon regenerative buildings and cities, as well as mass timber design. In the episode, he speaks to us about the urgency in the construction industry to focus on zero-carbon buildings, how we have the technology to do it – we just need the leadership and the will. 
Read more about Craig and his projects here!

“One cubic meter of wood stores one metric tonne of CO2. That’s a lot. So really having a building that 70% made of wood is a way of storing huge amounts of CO2.”

“There has to be the will of the society and our government leadership to drive [a zero-carbon future] down the tracks. We’ve got all the technology we need. And there’s huge opportunities.”

“70% of all the materials used in a tall building are in the floor system. So that was the opportunity to use mass timber CLT. And, and that was also the opportunity for us to design a long span CLT mass timber floor system, which is one of the real innovations here”

About Craig Applegath
Architect, urban designer, and a pioneer in the planning and design of zero-carbon buildings and campuses, climate adaptation, and regenerative cities, Craig is a principal and founding partner of DIALOG’s Toronto studio. 

Trained as a biologist, and then as an architect and urban designer, Craig is passionate about finding planning and design solutions that make sense in a world challenged by climate change and environmental deterioration. Since graduating from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University with a Master of Architecture in Urban Design, Craig has focused on leading complex, sustainable planning and design projects, and is internationally recognized for his design and advocacy of zero-carbon regenerative buildings and cities, as well as mass timber design. Craig’s area of practice at DIALOG includes the master planning and design of institutional and tall mass timber projects. 

In addition to his professional practice responsibilities, Craig writes, speaks and teaches about his research and design explorations at conferences and workshops internationally.This has included recent presentations at conferences, including the UN Habitat III Conference in Prague, the World Future Council Conferences in Munich and Beijing, at the International Living Futures Institute Conference in Portland, and most recently, at the American Institute of Architects Students Conference in Toronto. Craig has just completed teaching a Masters of Architecture seminar course with Alex Lukachko of RDH at the University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty of Architecture that explores architecture and planning fo

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In Episode 26 of the Constructive Voices podcast, Henry Mc Donald speaks to David Burczyk, Construction Robotics Lead at Trimble Connected Construction, and Mark Crawford, Business Manager at Balfour Beatty, to speak about their exciting collaboration, Spot the Robot, who could be our future new co-worker on construction sites.

Robotics platforms such as Spot have huge potential in making construction sites safer, more efficient and more streamlined places of work. From covering repetitive tasks on-site, mitigating health and safety risks to employees, and delivering real-time data, we could be seeing the future of construction sites unfold before our eyes.

“It can undertake any surveying, monitoring or capture activity on on any site that you know there are certain limitations and restrictions.” Mark Crawford

“They’re there to do the tasks that are the unsafe task, the repetitive tasks, or even, just the the ones that you don’t want to have a person having to do that kind of work on a day to day basis – let the teams on site focus on the higher value tasks.” David Burczyk

“There’s finite availability of labor and resource availability, whether that’s skilled or unskilled, the UK as well as the global market. Spot very much complements that workforce.” Mark Crawford

“I like to call it a “collaborative robot” or a “co-bot”, and it’s there to supplement the teams that are on site.” David Burczyk

“If you look at the full power cycle of it, our energy cycle usage, then it’s a sustainable model as well” Mark Crawford

About David Burczyk, Construction Robotics Lead at Trimble Connected Construction
David Burczyk is the Construction Robotics Lead at Trimble where he is responsible for the business area management and the strategic product development of the Trimble construction robotics solutions. With over twenty years of AEC industry experience promoting technology and collaboration among design and construction teams, David is focused on the development and implementation of tailored construction robotic solutions to advance the field productivity of AEC contractors, architects, and engineers.

About Mark Crawford, Business Manager at Balfour Beatty
Mark Crawford is the business manager for Balfour Beatty and is responsible for looking after digital and survey. He has been with Balfour Beatty for just over two years. Prior to that, he spent a year with Trimble, working with for one of their UK distributor distribution partners in the geospatial side. He started off working in finance, commercial and then his strong forte on survey lead his to where he is now, working one the digitisation of traditional surveys. 

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In Episode 25 of the Constructive Voices podcast, Henry McDonald speaks to Farah Naz, award-winning climate change strategist, in our International Women’s Day special. Farah provides her professional and personal experience, with global insights, into where we stand in relation to the gender gap in the construction, engineering and architecture industries.

Farah and Henry discuss her experience as a woman in the AEC sector, what we all need to do to address gender bias in the industry, and how we can look at gender diversity as an opportunity instead of a problem to solve.

“The pandemic has actually showed us how new way of working and doing business. And we should be taking this approach, taking this is as an opportunity to really address the issues of gender diversity, to really address inclusion and diversity within our workplace, and also address how we can inspire the next generation.”

“So I think it starts from not just women in the industry, but also the men, and anybody who is part of this industry to really engage more time and effort to actually go out and talk to the younger generation, talk to our children. It starts from our homes, to start creating that role model effect. And also explaining the power of this industry in creating a better, more resilient future.”

“We really require a co-creative environment, collaboration and diverse thinking to resolve the climate emergency. It’s not just women, or it’s not just men, it’s together.”

“Because women have to play a lot of roles: a role of a daughter, a role of a friend, a role of a sister, or a mother. I think that wiring of brain kind of helps to women to look at all these climate diversity and challenges we have, and come up with a more collaborative way of co-creating the future.”

About Farah Naz, Award-Winning Climate Change Strategist
Farah Naz is an award-winning Climate Change strategist with over 20 years experience in the construction sector gained in the USA, UK, Southeast Asia and most recently the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

She is a Chartered Engineer (UK), Fellow of CIBSE, LEED and WELL AP and Verified Research Expert for Dubai Future Foundation. Farah chairs CIBSE UAE Chapter and is an advocate of STEM education for the future generation. Farah recently co-authored a book on Net Zero City, which is considered the first book published from the Middle East Region.

For the past few years, Farah has been based in UAE, where she has been steering sustainability and innovation in the built environment covering the entire Middle East, Saudi Arabia and wider Gulf Region. She leads Specialist Services with a focus on Sustainable Cities, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and Urban Resilience for AECOM across the Middle East and Africa.

Farah was a prime mover in creating the Energy Strategy for the first zero-energy building in the UK, which subsequently won the 2015 RIBA Sustainable Buildings Award (UK). In the Middle East, her name has become a synonym for implementable sustainability & energy strategy among others, linked to projects including Museum of the Future, the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, the Bee’ah Headquarters in Sharjah, Expo 2020 Sustainability Pavilion, Masdar Eco Villa, Masdar Housing. Master planning projects like NEOM, Red Sea, Amaala and Hudayriat Master Plan. Her projects, Sustainability Pavilion in Dubai expo, Masdar Housing and Bee’ah Headquarters in Sharjah is the winn

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