FOOTPRINT+ podcasts

Breakfast Briefing: The Future is Timber with Built By Nature

Developers seeking to adopt timber on increasingly large and complex schemes are joining forces with architects devising inventive methods of biobased construction. This Breakfast Briefing will spotlight projects by three Built by Nature Frontrunners, using timber and biobased materials for low-carbon health, housing and commercial development.
Built by Nature is a network and grant fund with a mission for our built environment to work in closer unity with nature through the increased use of timber and biobased materials. Our frontrunner network brings together organisations that are leading the way, adopting these low-carbon materials on developments and collaborating to create an unstoppable movement that is transforming the way that buildings are constructed.
Anna-Lisa McSweeney from White Arkitekter will speak about the practice’s proposed design for the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, which aims to be the UK’s “most sustainable hospital” when completed. Turning to commercial buildings, Alexia Laird will present Landsec’s Timber Square in Southwark, central London; a 14-storey partial retrofit and vertical extension that looks set to create a new precedent for urban commercial development in the UK. Kelly Harrison from Whitby Wood will show us how we can build on top of our cities with timber, retrofitting existing buildings and vertically extending them, creating additional floor space and storing carbon on top of our existing built environment.
Finally, Andy Tugby from Human Nature will talk about the developer’s plans for the Phoenix industrial estate in Lewes, where they have employed a phalanx of the UK’s most renowned architects to transform this brownfield site into the country’s largest timber residential development, a car-free mixed-use utopia set against the backdrop of the South Downs National Park.  

NABERS UK - A Tool for Investors to Drive Improvement in Energy Performance of Buildings in association with Greengage

NABERS UK is becoming the rating of choice for property owners to measure and improve the energy performance of buildings. A number of industry bodies in the UK have acknowledged the critical role NABERS UK will play in delivering Net Zero and have since incorporated it within their own standards and guidance. 
What sets NABERS UK apart? 
How are property owners, lenders and investors using NABERS UK to drive and finance change?
Do we need a cultural shift to roll out NABERS UK at scale and what will assist the transition?

Procurement sets the scene for Decarbonisation via a Circular Economy

Despite advances in circularity in some supply chains generally that has been little change in procurement behaviour. We examine what this needs to look like to support the introduction of circularity into construction supply chains covering:
How does circular procurement differ between Tier 1 and Tier 2 contracting?
What are the procurement clauses required to support it?
How do we move from a minimum standard to an optimum standard of circularity?
What lessons learned from the public sector can be transferred?

Carbon estimating for the construction industry

Building modelling can offer very accurate quantities of material used in our designs but carbon calculations rely on accurate data about the embodied carbon in the materials. Different parties are using different carbon factors on which carbon optioneering is being carried out and decisions are being made. 
How can we identify consistent carbon data and establish a consensus on the figures to be used? 
Hear from the team behind the Built Environment Carbon Database and Future Homes Hub on the establishment of this tool.

Countdown to zero - with Hydrock

With an expert panel in situ, join us to debate how we tackle the main obstacles to achieving decarbonisation. As voted by you, our guests, we will have a live countdown of the main challenges to successfully meeting net zero targets.

The future of low-carbon leisure: Decarbonise or build new?

In association with Willmott Dixon Group
Local authorities have been struck hard by the increase in fuel prices especially in the running of leisure centres. These energy-hungry buildings typically run on fossil fuels and the spiralling costs have prompted many local authorities to review the long term plans for these facilities. This panel looks at the business case for different levels of intervention: retrofitting or low-carbon new build utilising worked examples from Spelthorne Borough Council, along with specialist consultants in this field.

Designing out material redundancy

What progress has been made in regards using Circular Economy principles to reduce material use as an intrinsic part of the design process? Including approaches to questioning your brief, themes such as Design for Manufacture, Design for Disassembly, longevity and adaptability. Principles will be explored through the design and delivery process using real life case studies, including findings from innovative R&D projects.
 

Future Homes Standard: Consultation Workshop

MCS Foundation will chair a session covering the implications of the government proposals including the 6 specifications under consideration and the implications these have for new build homes.
With detailed analysis from the Federation of Master Builders, Heat Pump Federation and solar industry, the panel will conclude with a Q&A to help people to respond to the request for consultation responses.

Timber in social housing

Timber construction is used for more than 25% of all housing in the UK, largely using MMC resulting in an increase in build quality, speed of erection and less wastage of materials, driving down both embodied energy and energy bills for tenants long term. 
Timber housing is procured by housing associations, housebuilders and local authorities. This session provides a roundup of new and exciting products and projects embracing all aspects of the efficiency and reduction in carbon these buildings achieve.

Healthcare revitalises the high street

Drawing from the findings of their collaborative white paper ‘ Shopping for Health’ the panel will set out an exciting agenda for the vacant premises on Britain’s high streets delivering:
revitalisation of town centres saving embodied carbon of defunct shopping facilities and repurposing for very needed facilities
easy access for communities to softer healthcare offer such as counselling and other consultations
freeing up space in heavily-serviced acute healthcare facilities for acute services
Join NHS Dorset who can explain how they are putting these opportunities into practice saving carbon, and the designers and consultants who have helped shaped the initiative.