12 THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE ©Sarah Bennett Commercial Photography
housing sector, and says that both commercial and residential designers and developers should be factoring it into their architecture now. Roofs and flat surfaces can now have
more than one function, he continued, and the costs of solar PV panels are getting lower and lower – “so there’s no excuse.” When the chair, Ed Allison-Wright
asked him about the extent to which Government should intervene, Donn said the industry is likely to need the “carrot on a stick” the chair described, but that it shouldn’t slow down on creative new solutions. The audience then presented the panel
RUNNING OUT OF TIME Taking the microphone, Caterina Brandmayr of the Green Alliance opened with a stark warning: “We have only until the next decade to change our trajectory on climate.” She then highlighted the variety of
technologies that are now available to do so, using power from renewable sources to fuel electricity-powered heating systems, as well as promoting offsite technologies, and other options. Prompted by the chair, she outlined the
Green Alliance’s ‘Reinventing retrofit’ report which, among other suggestions, advocates the use of ‘Energiesprong,’ a Dutch method for transforming existing housing into ‘net zero energy’ homes. This is done by the use of technologies
such as prefabricated facades, smart heating and cooling installations, and insulated rooftops equipped with solar panels – and people “don’t even need to leave their homes,” with installations completed within a week, said Brandmayr. The team behind it even claims that this can be costed through the energy produced and lowered bills. This proves a good argument in the
much rehearsed ‘retrofit vs new-build’ debate. The chair asked the audience to vote, in the context of carbon reduction potential, and most deciding that build- ing (new Passivhaus properties) was a better idea than retrofit, despite the compelling case put forward by Caterina. Ed asked a member of the council in
the audience if they could adopt the kind of retrofit techniques used by Energiesprong in the UK, or if they’d need Government aid. The audience member says they would certainly like to, but also noted that there is a lot they can, and already are, doing to their existing stock, citing the fuel benefits of doing so as a great driver alone. Caterina Brandmayr agreed that
councils are already taking the issue into their own hands, saying that 65 per cent of local authorities (LAs) have “already
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declared a climate emergency.” She argued that the industry needs to
look more into embodied carbon, as well as noting that people often forget how much carbon is produced through long supply chains, not just from construction and occupancy phases. She said that technology such as
AI can have a huge role in this area for bodies such as LAs, able to create signifi- cant profit and energy efficiency benefits. And being “relatively cheap,” they are able to offset their costs in as little as a few months. One big issue that she says is standing
in the way of LAs however is the current Future Homes Standard plans, which will reportedly not allow them to set more ambitious standards than the standard sets out if they so wish. A member of the audience mused that perhaps the Government are too involved here, and that councils taking more control over their own stock could be the best option.
CARROT ON A STICK The final panellist was Alisdair Donn of Willmott Dixon. He said that while thinking about all of these issues, it is vital to “focus on people,” and not simply the carbon challenges, despite their importance. An audience member interjected to ask
if Willmott Dixon is still using gas boilers – he answered that for new build residen- tial properties “there’s no reason we can’t be using electrical technologies,” (such as heat pumps) “without huge, or any cost pressures.” However retrofit was “a whole different matter,” he added. Alisdair said that buyers are already
reacting very favourably to such tech – possibly due to them being more educated on the environmental benefits than they are on the benefits of a timber build. He discussed solar power as an example, saying “PV works.” Alisdair argued that there is “a huge opportunity for solar generation” in the
with a range of concerns – including that of mortgage evaluations not reflecting the costs of a sustainable build, and that (as more than one person said) above all developers and builders are going to, and have to, look at their return first and foremost. Another audience member raised what
he called the “damp squib” of the Green Deal, arguing that energy efficient products have been around for a long time, but that policies have never managed to get it right. The idea of efficient new-builds vs
upgrading existing stock was also raised once more, with Brandmayr firmly assert- ing: “80 per cent of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built; retrofit is key.”
CARBON GLASSES Ed concluded by asking each panel member two questions: is their ‘glass half full’ or ‘half empty’ on improving the situation, and will the UK meet its 2050 carbon targets? Alisdair Donn said he was very much
glass half full, saying the built environ- ment has a lot of opportunities to show changes in that time scale. Tom Westwood was similarly positive, celebrating the turnout in Hove keen to explore the issues. Caterina Brandmayr too was ‘half
full’ – though underscoring it with caution, saying: “I don’t think there is an alternative to the 2050 targets.” Brighton, with the only Green MP in
the country – may not be the best measure for the whole sector’s interest in actively progressing solutions actively to low carbon construction matter. However it is clear that from this sample of local business people in this seaside city there is a keenness to adopt practical means to drive them to a greener future – as long, of course, as it can be costed correctly. Tom challenged the delegates in
summing up: “If you didn’t believe we could all do it, why are you even here?”
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