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Theatr Clwyd is a cornerstone of North Wales’ arts scene, operating as a major producing theatre and regional cultural hub with a diverse estate of performance, rehearsal and support spaces. Developed incrementally over time, the aggregated buildings on the site are representative of many complex cultural and educational campuses across the UK, where varied construction types and intensive occupancy place significant demands on building services. Assembly spaces in particular present challenging environmental requirements, balancing audience comfort, performer needs and energy efficiency.

This presentation explores how the project team approached the retrofit of Theatr Clwyd to future-proof the building, improve thermal comfort and significantly reduce operational costs. It will focus on the strategy and delivery of targeted thermal fabric upgrades alongside the electrification of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Attendees will gain insight into working within an operational theatre environment, coordinating interventions across a complex estate, and delivering a low-carbon retrofit solution that supports both artistic ambition and long-term sustainability.

Chairperson

Chris Foges, Contributing Editor - RIBA Journal

Speakers

Stephen White, Director - Skelly & Couch

Will Mesher, Associate Director - Haworth Tomkins

Commercial interiors are stripped and refitted every five to seven years. The industry has developed serious tools to respond — materials passports, embodied carbon targets, circular economy frameworks. These matter. What they don’t address is whether a space is designed to last — and whether the people inside it would miss it if it were gone.

This panel brings together three perspectives on a different approach. Piercy & Company make the design case: that a mentality shift — from optimising for the first day towards designing for the project’s whole life — produces spaces that are more sustainable, more humane, and more genuinely expressive of the organisations that commission them. Derwent London offers the client view: their Savile Row headquarters, designed nearly a decade ago, remains their base today — long-life, loose-fit, and still working. Kinda Studios provide the scientific evidence: neuroaesthetics research shows that our material choices, and their design within a space have measurable effects not only on the brain and body but also on the planet we share. Detailing impacts across our human nervous system they explore the power of intentional design across individual and societal health.

The sustainable choice and the humane choice are the same choice. The most sustainable interior is the one worth keeping.

Chairperson

Sofia Steffenoni, Head of Research - Piercy&Co

Speakers

Robyn Landau, Co-Founder & Director - Kinda Studios

Tim Hyman, Group Architect - Derwent London

As ESG commitments move from aspiration to obligation, real estate investors face growing scrutiny around governance, disclosure and accountability. This session examines: 

• the evolving legal landscape of ESG compliance 

• the risks associated with inaccurate disclosure, inadequate oversight and poorly defined transition plans 

• director-level liability for ESG and transition planning and expectation of the  

• board oversight of delivery rather than just intent 

• the extent to which greenwashing claims are being pursued, particularly where transition plans are overstated or unsupported 

• whether enforcement is driving meaningful change across the sector 

Bringing together legal, investment and ESG expertise, the discussion will provide practical insight into how robust governance, transparent disclosure and defensible transition plans can help manage risk, ensure compliance and maintain investor confidence in an increasingly regulated market. 

Chairperson

Sebastian Wood, Managing Director - Whitby Wood

Speakers

Ryan Ray, Principal, Performance Solutions - Y Analytics

Ruth Knox, Partner and Practice Chair - Paul Hastings

UKGBC’s Regenerative Places programme aims to shift built environment practice towards more regenerative, place-based outcomes. Focusing on both retrofit and housing-led regeneration, the emerging Framework considers the pathways, actions and stakeholders needed to realise the long-term potential of regenerative approaches, and support healthier, more fulfilling, and resilient places for all. 

• How does thinking through the context of “place” support regenerative outcomes?
• How can communities, local councils and industry work together to realise interconnected benefits across health, wellbeing, economic vitality, and biodiversity?
• How do we create the enabling conditions that ensure every project fosters long-term, positive outcomes for people, planet, and place.

Chairperson

David Steen, Senior Policy & Commercial Advisor - UKGBC

Speakers

Brendon Harper, Principal Climate Emergency Officer - Westminster City Council

Becky Ritchie, Head of Sustainability - Clarion Housing Group

Jaime Blakeley-Glover, Head of Regenerative Futures - Lambert Smith Hampton

This session explores how demountability can move from aspiration to standard practice across development, design and construction. Drawing on live project experience, we examine the fundamental barriers to reuse, including inaccessible fixings, adhesives and vertical transport constraints, alongside the critical role of informed, ambitious clients willing to programme additional time for recovery.

We unpack how robust pre-demolition audits can set realistic reuse targets, align site teams and engage supply chains early—ensuring progress over perfection. The discussion highlights manufacturing challenges and emerging solutions, from modular internal glazing and carpet tiles to take-back schemes and remanufactured furniture, all requiring a shift in entrenched industry behaviours.

Finally, we consider how installation methodologies must evolve, with designers and clients embedding demountability into briefs, specifications and leasing strategies. Better record-keeping and clearer fit-out intentions can significantly increase material recovery, reducing waste and unlocking long-term value across building lifecycles.

Chairperson

Rosie  Holmes, Group ESG Lead - Cast Group

Speakers

Lyndsey West, Director of Operation - KpH Group

Marc Klus, Managing Director - Cast Contracts

Sandra Sezgin, Sustainability Manager - British Land

Vast quantities of post-consumer glass from commercial buildings are still lost to landfill due to contamination, logistics, and cost barriers. This session shares key lessons from implementing a new, scalable pathway to recover end-of-life architectural glass and return it to new building products. Through strategic partnerships with clients, upskilling the deconstruction supply chain, and stewarding recovered material, Saint-Gobain has developed a cost- and time-effective closed-loop solution.

This initiative is called Glass Forever, illustrated in a six-step circular flow:

• Diagnosis – Classification of glass types prior to dismantling.
• Dismantling – Controlled breaking of glass to prevent contamination.
• Sorting – Identification of acceptable cullet types for recycling.
• Collection – Organizing glass flows to ensure compatibility with flat glass production.
• Melting – Integration of cullet into new glass batches, reducing CO₂ emissions.
• Projects – Reuse of recycled glass in new windows and facades for construction and renovation.

This real-world initiative illustrates how industrial innovation and collaboration can unlock material circularity, reduce CO₂ emissions, and strengthen climate resilience across the built environment.

Chairperson

David Entwistle, Director of Major Projects - Saint-Gobain

Speakers

Gianluca Rapone, Associate Director - FMDC

Damian Rogan, Director - Eckerlsey O'Callaghan

In collaboration with Sano and Atelier One, the Sano Bamboo project is constructing a demonstration house to trial bamboo as a sustainable structural alternative for UK home building, with the aim of setting a new benchmark for healthier homes that align with wellbeing and environmental responsibility.

Bamboo is a rapidly renewable, high-performance material with exceptional strength-to-weight qualities, which can be grown in large quantities and at a rapid rate in the UK. Its cultivation and use in structural systems provide construction and property companies with a practical solution for carbon offsetting while championing circular, regenerative design. Bamboo is a clear alternative to traditional timber for residential homes.

This collaborative project will showcase how Britain can utilise home-grown materials while measuring the environmental performance, embodied carbon, indoor air quality, and resident health outcomes. Above all, the demonstration house will become a proof of concept that can be scaled across the industry.

Speakers

Christopher Matthews, Associate Director - Atelier One

David Jones, Co-Founder - Sano

1 Victoria Street is a historically layered site undergoing transformation into a responsible and future-focused workplace. In partnership with Mitsubishi Estate and architects AHMM, the project reimagines a building last redeveloped in the 1960s into a sustainable office space that responds sensitively to its heritage context in Westminster. 

Originally constructed as luxury flats in the 1840s and later adapted for office use following World War II damage, the building is now being renewed to meet contemporary commercial and environmental demands. Up to 52% of the existing structure will be retained by volume, significantly reducing embodied carbon, while new extensions, high-performance façades, upgraded MEP services and reconfigured cores comply with modern regulations while reducing climate risk to the asset. The scheme introduces active retail at ground level, high-quality office space above, and biodiversity-rich green terraces at upper levels. Together, these interventions demonstrate how adaptive reuse can balance heritage, sustainability and long-term urban vitality.

Chairperson

Helena Morris, Senior Development Director - Stanhope

Speakers

Gilli Hobbs, Director - Reusefully

Aisling Reynolds, Head of Environmental Sustainability - Keltbray

Hazel Joseph, Project Director - AHMM