• What do we know about the successes and failures of built environment policy?
• Can we learn anything from recent experience?
• What role should professionals play in influencing policy-making and its effective delivery?

In July 2015 the refereed journal Building Research and Information (BRI) published a Special Issue, “Closing the Policy Gaps: From Formulation to Outcomes”, guest edited by Simon Foxell and Ian Cooper. This Edge event used the BRI Special Issue as the basis for an in-depth examination of the relationship between built environment professionals and the policies and politics that underpin so much of what they eventually design and build.

The editorial of the Special Issue notes: “it is apparent that built environment professionals need to develop and maintain an informed knowledge base on why and how policy initiatives work. Such a knowledge base would both assist professionals to input into and work directly and effectively with those policy processes that define their ability to deliver successful projects and professional bodies to better fulfill their public interest obligations in relation to built environment policy.”

The debate examined policy for the built environment from the perspective of recent experience and consider proposals for new approaches with responses from invited commentators before the discussion is opened to the audience.

Chair: Simon Rawlinson, Head of Strategic Research and Insight at Arcadis UK and member of the Construction Leadership Council

Speakers:
Dr. Richard Simmons, Bartlett School of Planning at UCL. Author of ‘Constraints on evidence-based policy: insights from government practice’, BRI Vol. 43, No. 4

Dr. Kathryn Janda, University of Oxford. Co-author of ‘Telling Tales: using stories to remake energy policy’, BRI Vol. 43, No. 4
John Alker, Policy and Communications Director, UKGBC
Professor Fionn Stevenson, University of Sheffield
Clare Devine, Director Design Council Cabe
Ian Cooper, Eclipse Research Consultants. Co-guest editor
Simon Foxell, The Architects Practice. Co-guest editor

Date, Time: 5.30 – 9.00pm Tuesday 10th November 2015

Venue: Design Council, Angel Building, 407 St John Street, London EC1V 4AB

Reference:

Building Research & Information: The Special issue of Building Research & Information Vol. 43, No. 4

Downloads:

1. Edge debate 70: Does built environment policy work? - Event sheet

2. Introduction presentation - S Foxell

3. R Simmons presentation 151110

In 2014 the Edge invited Paul Morrell to chair a Commission of Inquiry into the future of professionalism in the built environment/construction industry.

The Edge is very proud to launch the resulting report, which explores the key issues facing professionals and their institutions at this ‘moment for change’ and hopes you will join us to discuss this critical issue for the industry and its professional institutions.

If you would like to attend please register here. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis.

The report will be downloadable from the Edge’s website from the 18th May on, along with précis of the presentations to the Commission, notes on debates etc.

6.00 – 8.00pm Monday 18th May 2015

Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 4BJ

Downloads:

- Collaboration for Change: Summary sheet

- Collaboration for Change: Press release

Press coverage:

- Building, 15th May 2015 - Morrell: Ten years to save industry professions or here

- Infrastructure Intelligence, 11th May 2015 - Morrell’s Edge Commission to set out view on future of professionalism

- RIBA Journal, 7th May 2015 - We will if you will

- RIBA Journal, 19th August 2014 - A united front to tackle the future

The Edge is very grateful to The Ove Arup Foundation who have generously sponsored the work of the Edge Commission.

Copenhagen regularly tops city comparison charts as the world’s most liveable city and the widespread adoption of cycling is seen as being integral to this success. However the process of making Copenhagen a cycling city required top-down push factors as well as bottom-up pull factors and many of measures imposed were deeply unpopular and thought to be unworkable when they were first proposed.

London is transforming its cycling provision but the impressive progress has started from a low base and it has been nearly all bottom-up rather than a combination of bottom-up and top down. Is there a case for a more interventionist approach?

Host:
Claus Grube, His Excellency the Danish Ambassador in London

Chair:
Carl Pittam, England Director, Sustrans

Speakers:
Professor Sir Andy Haines, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Riccardo Marini, Director, Gehl Architects
Klaus Bondam, CEO of The Danish Cyclists Federation and former Mayor of The Technical and Environmental Administration in The City of
Copenhagen

We would be delighted if you could join us at this by-invitation only event.

If you would like to attend please register here. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis.
For security purposes sign-up is essential and participants must present picture ID. Bags may be searched.

Venue:
Danish Embassy, 55 Sloane Street London SW1X 9SR

Timing:
Arrival 4.00
Debate 4.15 - 6.00 pm
Drinks and networking – 7.00 pm

Downloads:

Edge Debate 69: Invitation sheet

Green Sky Thinking Spotlight Green Debate

In collaboration with London South Bank University and Open-City

‘Educating the Industry’ is Green Sky Thinking’s spotlight Green Debate in partnership with the Edge Debate Series and LSBU.
Tackling the green-skills gap of mid-career professionals and the ramifications for their leadership in the next 30 years.

How do we educate the construction industry to enable the rapid delivery of low carbon retrofits of existing buildings in order to reach the UK’s 2050 carbon emissions targets?
- What technical skills do mid-career professionals need?
- What non-technical skills do they need?
- How can professionals be motivated to develop the necessary skills?
- What are the best ways to deliver them?
- How should young people already trained in sustainability engage with earlier generations who are not?
- What does the role of a ‘retrofit coordinator’ look like? How do we make it mainstream and what is the role of universities and the industry in developing it?

Introduction: David Ball, Chairman, David Ball Group



Chair: Clare Wildfire, Director, Mott MacDonald

Panel:
Charles Egbu, Dean, School of the Built Environment and Architecture, LSBU
Gavin Killip, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Tom Dollard, Pollard Thomas Edwards, Zero Carbon Hub
David Adams, Willmott Dixon Energy Services

Venue:
Keyworth Events Theatre, London Southbank University
Keyworth Centre, 21 Keyworth Street, London SE1 6NG

Timing:
Debate 6.30pm for 7.00pm – 8.30pm

The debate will be followed by a wine reception and networking.

To attend please register on the Green Sky Thinking website

Download

Edge Debate 68: Invitation sheet

Can Tall Buildings be a Sustainable Solution for our Cities?

There has been much debate recently about the impact of tall buildings in London since the AJ and the Observer newspaper launched their Skyline campaign in March 2014, but so far little mention has been made of the sustainability issues.

• What are the energy implications of the construction and use of tall buildings?
• Are they economically sustainable?
• What are the social consequences?
• What will be the long-term legacy for our cities?

This debate explored these issues with particular regard to the residential sector. These include:
• the projected lifecycle of tall buildings,
• their whole-life carbon footprint,
• the opportunities for using renewable energy,
• how much they cost to build, maintain, repair and retrofit,
• the social consequences for those who occupy them and experience their impact in the city.

Host & Introduction:
• Nicky Gavron AM, Chair London Assembly’s Housing and Planning Committee

Chair:
• Pam Alexander, Chair - Design Council Cabe & Chair Covent Garden Market Authority

Speakers:
• Professor David Fisk, Imperial College London
• Simon Sturgis, Sturgis Carbon Profiling
• Lynne Sullivan, SustainableBYdesign
• Dr Claire Das Bhaumik, Inkling LLP
• Simon Allford, AHMM
• Steve McKechnie, Arup

Downloads:

• Edge Debate 67: Invitation sheet
• Lynne Sullivan’s presentation
• Simon Sturgis’s presentation
• Steve Mckechnie’s presentation
• Claire Das Baumik’s presentation

Links

• Ike Ijeh’s article on the debate in Building 25th February 2015
• Chris Twinn’s article on the debate in the Architect’s Journal - 6th March 2015

Further reading:

• Walking among Giants, Julie Futcher & Gerald Mills - CIBSE Journal Feb 2015

Some £40million+ is invested annually in built environment research. Research into the built environment typically is applied research. Its purpose is to have an impact on society - typically by practitioners harnessing this new knowledge. There are many shared values and goals in both the research and practice communities, for example, delivering an improved built environment (healthier, safer, more comfortable and fun) that minimizes carbon emissions. But a significant gap exists between the production of new knowledge from the research community and its application by professionals and others. Much of the research is relevant to practitioners, so can this gap be bridged?

1. How can practitioners maximize the usefulness of this research?
2. Why does our industry make so little use of existing research? How do we reach SMEs?
3. Did we do this better in the past? Are there exemplars elsewhere?
4. What has been the impact of the privatization of BRE had and why have the KTN’s not replaced this role? What role can professional institutes play?
5. Do the language, governance and funding structure (e.g. the Research Excellence Framework) of academia contribute to the problem?
6. Do construction professionals have the skills to understand and interpret research? Do professional courses provide us with ‘research literacy’?
7. What specifically can we do to change the current situation?

Chair:
• Stephen Hodder, President RIBA

Speakers:
• Tadj Oreszczyn - Director, The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, UCL
• Paddy Conaghan - Hoare Lea
• Richard Lorch, Editor - Building Research and Information
• Bill Gething - Sustainability + Architecture
• Richard Miller - TSB/Innovate UK

Venue: UCL Energy Institute, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN

Downloads

• Edge Debate 66: Invitation sheet
• Tadj Oreszczyn’s presentation
• Bill Gething’s presentation
• Paddy Conaghan’s presentation

Article:
• Panning for Gold, Paddy Conaghan, CIBSE Journal, February 2105