Thank you to all our Industry Insider Newsletter guest editors.
See below their Opinion Pieces on key and topical issues facing the built environment now. Register for the Industry Insider newsletter to see opinion pieces and news stories from our upcoming guest editors.
Opinion Piece Towards Regenerative Architecture Co-founder of UK Architects Declare, Michael Pawlyn explains the thinking behind the Regenerative Architecture Index and explains why why need a paradigm shift to move from conventional sustainability towards regenerative design. The idea for the Index emerged from discussions in the Architects Declare Steering Group. Our strategy for change has
Opinion Piece The Legacy of Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management: Transforming the UK’s Heating Landscape As the Programme Director for two major heat network funding schemes over the past six years, I have had the unique privilege of witnessing firsthand how effective collaboration, sheer hard work, and innovative solutions can bring about transformational change.
Opinion Piece Why the construction industry needs to adopt radical transparency in environmental communications The construction industry is at a pivotal moment where sustainability has transitioned from being a buzzword to an imperative. With increasing scrutiny from regulators, clients, and the general public, the industry faces a unique challenge: how to communicate its environmental efforts
Opinion Piece The future of the built environment: embracing a purpose-driven, technological revolution I remember my first Futurebuild—then called Ecobuild—like it was yesterday. The lively conversations and visionary presentations back in 2009 set the trajectory for my career. Since then, the construction industry has made strides in ways we couldn’t have imagined, but we seem
Opinion Piece Five initiatives to achieve major change for people and the environment We have a new Government, with new beliefs, policies and plans, even if with an inherited and deeply constraining budget. Much ink has already been spent trying to predict what Labour will do in power given its focus on economic growth, building
Opinion Piece Becoming the change Opinion piece by Dr Olli Jones, Associate Director Sustainability & Innovation, Cundall. As the planet warms past 1.5 degrees for its 12th consecutive month, murmurings of change appear to be afoot. A new government is welcome, to slowly begin restoring the flow of public sector projects and private sector confidence that
Opinion Piece Liverpool Green Lanes: place shaping a new urban critical path Opinion piece by Dr Graham Kelly, Managing Director, Okana In many cities, large parts of the built environment are comprised of outdated urban assets and infrastructure that are not yet future ready. The challenge is to make these urban neighbourhoods more liveable, resilient,
Opinion Piece Making the built environment visible – how do we better connect with young people? Opinion piece by Mark Southgate, Chief Executive, MOBIE Crisis, crisis, crisis! We have housing, climate and biodiversity crises and the built environment has a labour crisis! One on its own is difficult, all at the same time is a
Opinion Piece No home left behind Opinion piece by Derek Horrocks, Chair of the National Home Decarbonisation Group The national housing crisis and worldwide sustainability mission are inextricably linked, but not how you may think at first. Much of the housing discussion is focused on new homes, but as anyone involved in retrofit will appreciate
Opinion Piece Harnessing digital innovation for landscape-led solutions Opinion piece by Carolin Göhler FLI, President-Elect, Landscape Institute Advances in digital technology are changing the way we operate across both the built and natural environment, and providing increasingly impactful landscape solutions to the challenges we as a sector face. Digital innovation in the landscape sector is
Opinion Piece Revolutionising the Construction Industry: Embracing an Iterative and Integrated Future Opinion piece by Mina Hasman ARB, RIBA, FRSA, LEED, BREEAM, WELL AP TIME 100 Climate Leader, Sustainability Director, SOM | Founder, Climate Framework The construction and buildings sector, a powerhouse of the global economy, is at a critical juncture. Despite its significant contributions
Opinion Piece It’s time to act now People’s Pavilion unpacked! by bureau SLA & Overtreders W with Arup ©Jeroen van der Wielen Opinion piece by Duncan Baker Brown, Architect, Academic & Environmental Activist, Founder at BakerBrown I want to thank Futurebuild for giving me the opportunity to write an opinion piece. I’ve been a big
Opinion Piece NABERS UK partners with CIBSE as new UK scheme administrator Opinion piece by Kieran O’Brien – Director of CIBSE Certification ltd CIBSE has recently been appointed as the new scheme administrator for NABERS UK, and this is widely viewed as an essential and welcome step in both the re-energization of the NABERS scheme
Opinion Piece Your planet needs you: a new kind of national service for a carbon-conscious age Opinion piece by Isabel Allen, Editor at Architecture Today Last month, UK Architects Declare presented Parliament with Building Blocks, a manifesto to transform the built environment in response to the threat of climate catastrophe. The document sets out a
Opinion Piece WHAT DOES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MEAN FOR CONSTRUCTION? by Marie Grieve, Founder and Managing Director of Costello Palmer Communications & Global Vice Chair of Women in BIM Digital transformation typically means harnessing the power of digital technologies to make operations more efficient, productive and safe. However the definition of digital transformation differs from person to
Opinion Piece IF WE HAVE THE ABILITY, WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY Opinion piece by David Ing, Managing Director, Fabrick It feels like the industry is in the middle of a perfect storm of skills shortages, changes in regulations, increasing costs, increased scrutiny and complexity, and a lack of decision-making from the Government. The Building Safety
Opinion Piece The next government must get behind the circular economy Opinion piece by Ben Goodwin, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, IEMA There are a range of issues in the environmental space that the next government will have to grapple with and make speedy progress on. We have of course our long-term commitment to
Opinion Piece Driving forward confidence in renewables with MCS Opinion piece by Ian Rippin, CEO of MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme When it comes to investing in renewable technology, consumers can, understandably, feel cautious about transitioning away from their fossil fuel systems, especially when they have relied on those systems for years to heat and power
Opinion Piece A call for an industry route-map -Designing reinforced concrete for climate change resilience Opinion piece by Chris Atkins, Mott MacDonald and Nigel Fraser, BUILDOFFSITE It is widely accepted that climate change is caused by the increasing level of atmospheric CO2 which has increased by 30% since the ISO equations were developed for the
Opinion Piece Driving Prosperity: Innovations in the Built Environment for Connected Communities Opinion piece by Sam Markey is Ecosystem Director for Place Leadership at Connected Places Catapult Places thrive on their ability to connect people – to resources, opportunities, and each other. The better connected a place, the more effective the flow of goods, talent,
Opinion Piece The Joy of Streets – why is it so hard to make healthy streets happen? Opinion piece by Amy Burbidge, Head of Master Development & Design, Homes England Streets are really important. Once streets are laid out, their pattern lasts a very long time – just look at historic cities through time and
Opinion Piece Join our campaign for a better Future Homes Standard Opinion piece by Sue Riddlestone OBE CEO & co-founder, Bioregional, Board Director, Future Homes Hub It is pretty well universally acknowledged by sustainability professionals that Government proposals for the Future Homes and Buildings Standard (FHS) – the next generation of building regulations, released for
Opinion Piece HOW TO SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE HOUSING DECARBONISATION? Opinion piece by Derek Horrocks Owner of Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd and chair of the National Insulation Association (NIA) and National Home Decarbonisation Group (NHDG) There is a golden opportunity in front of us – with much more to gain than simply improving energy efficiency
Opinion Piece The need to make our buildings kinder to the planet is of course paramount, but there is a need for building design to be holistic and human centric. This is where Active House comes in. Active House is a flexible design-led standard that balances the need for energy efficiency, with indoor comfort and
Opinion Piece Tackling Complacency in the Face of the Climate Crisis James Cadman FIEMA, Head of Consultancy and Climate @ Action Sustainability Get in touch with James We increasingly see more stories about climate change and its impacts. At the time of writing, Storms Henk, Isha and Jocelyn have all been in the news, the
Opinion Piece OUR CONFERENCE PROGRAMME Opinion piece by The Edge Team The built and natural environment think tank, the Edge, has taken up the challenge of curating the Futurebuild Arena conference programme again in 2024. Edge members have been involved with Futurebuild since its earliest ‘Ecobuild’ days and have seen efforts to tackle zero carbon
