Displaying 91 - 120 of 185 in total
Unsustainable ambition and the absence of content
Events conspired against us this week and we didn't manage to get a recording together. Sorry.In lieu of having something ready for you, we decided that we'd recommend...
Learning from our mistakes? Looking back at ten retrofits, ten years later, with retrofit pioneer Marion Baeli (PDP, Passivhaus Trust)
This week we're with Marion Baeli, an architect who is a retrofit pioneer, a partner at PDP London, a board member of the Passive House Trust, and the author of semina...
Systems design for passive houses, radon research as a proxy for ventilation, and some further education. With Dr. Barry MCarron (PHAI, CREST)
In this episode, we had the pleasure of Dr. Barry McCarron's company, from his car, during a break in the conference he was attending. If you’re looking for an inspiri...
Passive house can lead to more than just houses: community engagement, control pathologies. and propagating systemic change. With Helena Fitzgerald (Department of Economics at the University of Limerick)
Our guest on this episode is Helena Fitzgerald, a passive house designer, and architect whose experience of building her own passive house led her to move beyond archi...
Unconventional approaches to space heating: infra red, ceramics, and the necessity for good design. With John Morehead (Wain Morehead Architects)
This week we’re talking space heating, with John Morehead of Wain Morehead Architects. Last week Jeff had hoped to talk about the absurd space heating assumptions in t...
EPCs are just a ritual (pt. 2): what could we be doing in order to do better, with Adrian Leaman and Bill Bordass (UsableBuildings.co.uk)
Here we go, part two of last week's recording with returning guests, Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman. This continues our response to that Times article that was doing t...
EPCs are just a ritual (pt. 1): fundamental flaws in how we assess energy performance and how we got here, with Adrian Leaman and Bill Bordass (UsableBuildings.co.uk)
This week we've got a two-parter for you with returning guests, Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman. At first, we thought we'd do an episode in response to that Times artic...
Retrofit, energy ratings, and improving Europe's energy performance, with Ciarán Cuffe MEP
With the EU closing in on a major revision to perhaps the single most important legislative driver for decarbonisation of buildings, the Energy Performance of Building...
Passive house doesn't cost more to build, with Dr. Shane Colclough (UCD, Ulster University, Passive House Association of Ireland)
All new homes in Scotland are set to be built to a Scottish equivalent of the passive house standard, under plans announced by the government recently. But at what cos...
Industrialising retrofit: how do you say Energiesprong and what's it all about? With Ele and Emily from Energiesprong UK.
We sat down with Ele George and Emily Braham to talk about all things Energiesprong and how they're making things happen for other people in the retrofit industry. The...
Reflections of a Treehugger: talking green building with Lloyd Alter
For almost two decades transatlantic commentator Lloyd Alter has been the rarest of creatures: a popular writer of insightful articles about green building, mainly vi...
What motivates retrofitters? With retrofit researcher Dr Kate Simpson (Imperial College)
We like Kate Simpson, a doctor and a Research Associate at School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London. It was a bit of a weird episode where the convers...
Lazy thinking and unsustainable myths: how expensive is low-carbon construction? A conversation with the authors of 'Building for 2050: low cost, low carbon homes' Alison Crompton (AECOM) and Tom Dollard (Pollard Thomas Edwards)
Insidious misconceptions, false myths, and the lazy thinking pervades the green building sector, we're not happy about it, and nor are the authors of 'Building for 205...
More bridges than the River Clyde: unpicking the quality of a retrofit and RIP Paul Doran
Today we saw a LinkedIn post today that Dan wanted Jeff to explain to him. At the centre of it was an image of a retrofit job that looked dubious. We also took a littl...
Hybrid heating: a place for fossil fuels alongside renewables? (Stephen Kelly, OYA Energy)
We had a contentious discussion last Friday about hybrid heating systems, a transition technology that could play a role in the decarbonisation of home heating. Ste...
'Incompetence still reigns supreme' in energy ratings: DPE certification, EPCs, BERs, and a little bit of ESG
It's all about how 'incompetence still reigns supreme' as we discuss DPE certification (the French EPC) and some appalling advice that was sourced by the French versio...
New year, old us: looking back on 20 years in green building (Passive House Plus, Construct Ireland, and Everything is User Experience)
We'd arranged to have a post-Christmas catch-up about a few things and Alex suggested people might be interested in hearing about the genesis of Passive House Plus and...
Talking turkey: the perils of life in a passive house, with Ross Cremin (Cremin Surveying)
On the night before, the night before, Christmas, we spent the morning with Ross Cremin a QS with a lot of experience in passive house building [I know what I wrote – ...
Revealing opportunity with thermal imaging, a chat with Stewart Little of IRT Surveys
We spent a little time with Stewart Little, a former architect who's been working to support energy efficiency and retrofit in the built environment for more than 20 y...
The man who said 'heat pumps are not the answer', with Ryan Philp (Daikin)
This week we're with Ryan Philp from heat pump manufacturer Daikin who caught our attention thanks to his article titled Heat Pumps Are Not The Answer. In truth, he is...
Meeting Muyiwa Oki, talking impact and sustainability with RIBA's incoming president
We were delighted to be able to have an early-doors chat with incoming RIBA president Muyiwa Oki. As one might expect, it was very architecture heavy: we talked about ...
Leading sustainability in Scottish architecture, with Chris Stewart, President of RIAS
Back in the summer Glasgow-based architect Chris Stewart became the new President of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), so a chat with him was r...
BE-ST Fest 2022 - Ep05 - Funding the decarbonisation of the build environment, with Eddie McAvinchey (Scottish National Investment Bank)
In our last episode from BE-ST Fest 2022 Alex and Eddie McAvinchey (Scottish National Investment Bank) explore the funding stages available to companies, from concept ...
BE-ST Fest 2022 - Ep04 - Disrupting the industry to achieve net zero, with Christina Gaiger (former RIAS President)
In episode four of our mini-series, the ZAP team and Christina Gaiger discuss the need for a shift in perception within the industry of the domestic market and how it ...
BE-ST Fest 2022 - Ep03 - A contractor's perspective on the challenges holding back procurement, with Jennifer Phin (A.C. Whyte & Co.)
Episode three of our mini-series from BE-ST Fest 2022, where we spoke with Jennifer Phin, MD of energy-efficiency contractor A.C. Whyte & Co. Following her appearance ...
BE-ST Fest 2022 - Ep02 - Aiming for sustainability at speed and scale?
In ep two of our mini-series from BE-ST Fest 2022, fresh from the BE Inspired panel, we spoke with Ele George from Elevate, Catherine Cosgrove chair of the Scottish Ec...
BE-ST Fest 2022 - Ep01 - Net zero needs more ambition, with Chris Stark (CEO of the Climate Change Committee) and Stephen Good (BE-ST)
In this first BE-ST Fest 22 interview we spoke with Chris Stark, CEO of the Climate Change Committee (or Committee on Climate change, both names appear to be out there...
BE-ST Fest 2022 (a short intro to our ZAP mini series)
Last week, we went to BE-ST Fest 2022, we've definitely mentioned it before. We mention it again because while we were there we took an opportunity to catch up with so...
Getting sustainability into new-build housing, with Robbie McGrath, Head of Sustainability at D/RES Properties
We caught up with friend of the show, Robbie McGrath, Head of Sustainability at D/RES Properties in Ireland. He's a mechanical engineer who meandered his way into sust...
Burnout, bureaucracy, Energiesprong and Ealing (part two), with Tania Jennings Principal Domestic Energy Officer at Ealing Council
Part two of our long, rambling chat with Tania Jennings about delivering public sector projects including an Energiesprong scheme. Go back to part one if you haven't l...