黑洞社区

Rachel Wooliscroft

What she does As well as driving Wates鈥� sustainability targets, she helps its clients put together their environmental strategies

Ten years ago, a specialist department like Wooliscroft鈥檚 would not have existed. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 have been hard pushed to find an environmental head in any business, especially construction.鈥� Now that she鈥檚 got there, she finds clients are very open to what she has to tell them. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been a cultural shift. I think the industry has shown leadership in that respect.鈥�

Internally, she is working on water resource programmes and is trying to get the industry to think about zero-waste policies. 鈥淭he reaction has been positive,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople realise the opportunities in terms of efficiency and cost-cutting.鈥�

But it鈥檚 not just green targets that concern Wooliscroft 鈥� she wants to use the industry鈥檚 resources and technology to help disadvantaged areas. 鈥淔inancially, we鈥檙e extremely sustainable so we are in a prime position to effect social change.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Heat pump technology that allows a building to be heated and cooled from sources in the ground, air or water. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a cost-effective way to conserve electricity and the technology coming from Scandinavia is superb.鈥�

Myth exploded That companies can do this on their own. Companies setting their own targets and failing to collaborate with others are doomed to failure, she says.

Terry Wyatt

Consultant at Hoare Lea and professor of building services engineering at the University of Nottingham

What he does Gives advice on green and technical issues

Fifteen years ago, Wyatt set up Hoare Lea鈥檚 R&D division, which soon became its environmental unit. 鈥淭he main difference between now and then is that you can hold your head up high when you say you work in sustainability,鈥� he jokes.

Wyatt says clients still need a lot of persuasion and most are in denial. 鈥淭hey know what the regulations are but they are hoping it doesn鈥檛 really apply to them.鈥�

His strongest criticisms are reserved for contractors, however. 鈥淲hen they get hold of a job they write out all the green features. They are scared of technology and will give every reason not to do it.鈥� Wyatt鈥檚 not too impressed with the powers-that-be, either. Public clients are all talk and no action when it comes to the green agenda, he says.

Technology tipped for success Solar wall heating, combined heat and power units, fuel cells and micro turbines

Myth exploded 鈥淭hat the Gherkin and buildings like it represent a blueprint for sustainable building; they don鈥檛. That the government will have the guts to push through legislation in this area; it won鈥檛. That it鈥檚 unaffordable to be sustainable; it is as necessary to a building as foundations.鈥�

Peter Head

Head of planning, Arup

What he does Helps clients in the planning stages. He is also responsible for the construction of a Chinese eco-city, Dongtan

The demand for sustainability skills these days is overwhelming, according to Head. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he team is growing at quite a pace.鈥� But he insists that the sustainability expert must not be pushed forward as someone who can solve all the problems. 鈥淭he day of the guru is passing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about teams now.鈥�

Head thinks the biggest challenge facing the industry is the refurbishment of buildings to make them more energy-efficient. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about retrofitting and refashioning our cities,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n future, it is possible the industry will be focused on refurbishing these old buildings 鈥� not new-build like now.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Bio-mimicry technology, for example, the anaerobic digestion of waste

Myth exploded That sustainability is about green issues. 鈥淚鈥檝e never seen it as a green thing. Sustainability for me is about being responsible for the future.鈥�

Barry Smith

Environmental manager, Simons Group

What he does Makes sure Simons Group鈥檚 projects are as green as they can be Smith had been in the industry for 20 years before he took on his first environment-friendly project: the Earth Centre in Doncaster in the late nineties. Soon after, he was asked to join Simons with the aim of developing an environmental division.

The Gherkin is not a blueprint for the future

But now he says, 鈥淚 honestly don鈥檛 think the industry has changed. It鈥檚 just fudging things around the edges鈥�. Smith wants the industry to have a 鈥渞adical rethink鈥�, including reducing the amount of bespoke designs. 鈥淏espoke buildings like the Gherkin are not sustainable because that technology won鈥檛 be used again.鈥� The answer, says Smith, is to use more standardisation.

Technology tipped for success Fuel cells. 鈥淚 think buildings will have more autonomy for collecting their own energy and water.鈥�

Myth exploded That people know what it means to be sustainable. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than just being carbon-neutral. We need to use less, re-use what we鈥檝e got and waste nothing.

We have to completely rethink the way we live and work.鈥�

Guy Battle

Founding partner, Battle McCarthy

What he does Designs low-energy buildings and tells clients how to green their businesses

Unlike some of the other gurus, Battle believes the UK is leading the world in sustainable construction. He says this is the result of strong leadership from the government and the Greater London Authority, such as obligatory on-site renewables for London projects. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e set the ball rolling,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he people who have been in this business for a long time, like me, can now hit the ground running.鈥�

But like other members of the group, he believes the next big challenge is to go beyond carbon-neutral buildings. 鈥淚f we stay carbon-neutral, we鈥檙e standing still,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he new has to be significantly better than the old 鈥� that鈥檚 carbon-negative buildings.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Battle declined to name a specific technology but suggested carbon pricing would kick-start a dramatic cut in emissions

Myth exploded 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 cost more to be sustainable. We very rarely go over budget. It鈥檚 about shifting the money around 鈥� taking it out of one area and re-allocating it.鈥�

Rab Bennetts

Director, Bennetts Associates Architects

What he does 鈥淎 mixed bag: building design, client contact and design criticism.鈥�

Bennetts read EF Schumacher鈥檚 Small is Beautiful as a student and it stayed with him. 鈥淚t struck me even then that we needed to design with minimum impact,鈥� he says.

In his practice, working with eco-friendly rules and technology is not a burden, but an inspiration. 鈥淯sing solar shading and timber instead of aluminium makes buildings more environmentally sensitive,鈥� he says. Clients are generally receptive. 鈥淲e make sure it works for them. If it matches what they want most clients say yes.鈥�

According to Bennetts, what鈥檚 really standing in the way of a sustainable industry is the commercial property model. 鈥淭he separation of landowner and tenant is a big problem. When the owner is not the user, you don鈥檛 get the same level of social responsibility.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Better design methodology will make practice simpler. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just look to new products,鈥� he says.

Myth exploded There are too many to count. 鈥淎 phrase we often use is 鈥榞reenwash鈥�. It鈥檚 shorthand for bullshit.鈥�

Isabel McAllister

Director of management consulting at Cyril Sweett

What she does Tells public sector clients how to push sustainability targets and works with private designers and architects on greener concepts

McAllister started her career at BRE under Nigel Howard, later chief technology officer of the American Green 黑洞社区 Council. Now she鈥檚 at Cyril Sweett she finds persuading people to invest in green technology is no longer such a challenge. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not selling a concept any more. The information out there is more complex and challenging, so when you show them that, things tend to get built.鈥�

Although zero-carbon policies are taking off in the industry, zero-waste policies are going to be harder to implement: 鈥淭he next step is getting people, whether they work in building sites or offices, to recycle or re-use every piece of waste they produce,鈥� she says. This will mean educating people from the ground up, but McAllister says individual responsibility is growing: 鈥淧eople take sustainability personally now. Even senior characters are practising what they preach.鈥�

Technology tipped for success 鈥淭he products that are coming out now haven鈥檛 been monitored in the long term. Until we have facts rather than predictions, we won鈥檛 be able to tell what鈥檚 worth investing in.鈥�

鈥楽ustainability鈥� means using what natural resources remain to preserve our consumer lifestyles

Myth exploded 鈥淲e鈥檙e not all bearded, sandal-wearing types,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 still a stereotype that all we do is wander around hugging trees.鈥� What did she make of our leafy cover shoot, then? 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 mind that. It was quite kitsch. It鈥檚 irony, isn鈥檛 it?鈥�

Jon Broome

Architect and consultant, Jon Broome Architects and Sustainability Works

What he does Designs social housing schemes and advises other businesses

Broome began by designing low-energy buildings in the eighties before branching out into wider sustainability issues. He believes the industry has made progress but that the effort is often misplaced. 鈥淭here are lots of fads. Putting a windmill on the roof is barmy but its visible. The whole microgeneration agenda is low down the priority list.鈥�

Instead he would like to see more effort going into improving the existing building stock. 鈥淭he industry鈥檚 not doing as much as it could be, it鈥檚 notoriously slow to change. There鈥檚 lots of new technology it could embrace.鈥� He doesn鈥檛 let clients off the hook either. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a culture of minimum compliance. People have to be pushed kicking and screaming into doing more.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Vacuum insulated panels and vacuum glazing.

Myth exploded That microgeneration is a priority. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much else we could do.鈥�

Lynne Sullivan

Director of sustainability, Broadway Malyan

What she does Leads the practice鈥檚 designers in minimising environmental impact

Sullivan has been an architect for 20 years, so she has witnessed first-hand the dramatic shift in environmental thinking. She says the biggest change is that clients are actively concerned about sustainability. 鈥淭hey understand it鈥檚 about all kinds of minutiae like energy performance, material specifications and construction quality.鈥�

She bridles at the suggestion that it can be expensive: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not talking about cost, you鈥檙e talking about value. It鈥檚 difficult to say sustainable design equals x pounds, because that鈥檚 not looking at the bigger picture.鈥�

Taking the broad perspective means being realistic, she says. There鈥檚 no point in ignoring the harsh truths of climate change. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e looking to future-proof a building and climate change scenarios going forward 50 years, you have to be ready to say, well, this site might well be flooded in 50 years.鈥�
Technology tipped for success Vacuum glazing

Myth exploded The idea that you have one sustainability person on a project team. Working towards sustainability needs to be a team effort: 鈥淵ou have to implant it in everybody at the training stage.鈥�

Nitesh Magdani

Associate, Aukett Fitzroy Robinson

What he does Heads the architecture practice鈥檚 new sustainability group

Magdani was always aware of green architecture but it was his work on the Adnams hemp distribution centre (10 November 2006, pages 46-50), that ignited his passion. He says working on Adnams was like 鈥済oing back to uni鈥� because all the technology was so new.

He thinks the industry is getting greener, but its approach is disjointed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough to have green materials and technology. It needs to source materials locally.鈥� And zero carbon, he adds, will have to give way to carbon-negative development. To create a more 鈥渉olistic鈥� approach to construction, Magdani says the architect must be at the centre of the process, as they are the only ones who 鈥渃an have a large impact on sustainability through design鈥�.
Technology tipped for success 鈥淓xisting products have to be made more effective.鈥�

Myth exploded 鈥淪ustainability. We have invented this word to preserve the remaining natural resources of our consumer lifestyles.鈥�

Ant Wilson

Director, Faber Maunsell

What he does Gives sustainability advice to clients to get projects through the maze of green planning regulations

Wilson did a degree in building services, took the environmental options and has been working on things sustainable ever since. These days, he鈥檚 involved with high-profile projects, including Frank Gehry鈥檚 mixed-use scheme in Brighton and the massive Land Securities development in Victoria.

Contractors are afraid of technology and will give every reason not to use it

He says clients recognise that green experts are crucial to securing planning permission for large schemes, which is why his department has increased 50% since last year.

One of the main challenges ahead, he says, is to make sure off-site modules can be recycled. 鈥淭hey have to be to be reusable or we鈥檙e just creating more problems.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Hydrogen fuel cells, wave power and biotechnology

Myth exploded 鈥淭here is a perception that sticking a windmill or PV on your house makes it really green. That鈥檚 greenwash.鈥�

Andrew Kinsey

Head of sustainability, Bovis Lend Lease

What he does Makes Bovis Lend Lease鈥檚 construction process greener by reducing site waste and finding greener building materials. He turns up to the shoot with a piece of hoarding made from printer cartridges

Kinsey may work for a construction giant but he says the biggest task is to get small and medium-sized enterprises on board. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have a clue on sustainability.鈥�

Kinsey is adamant that the subject has lost its fluffiness and is now taken seriously. At Bovis, he has to report directly to UK chief executive Murray Coleman.

He says ideas such as using standardised design module units on PFI projects could help reduce waste: if modules were over-ordered on one project, they could simply be transferred to another. He does acknowledge, however, that architects would probably object.

Technology tipped for success Phase change materials 鈥� substances that change form and absorb and release heat as they do so.

Myth exploded 鈥淲hy does everyone think sustainability costs more? It might be true in capital terms but not for the long term.鈥�

Andy Ford

Founder and director, Fulcrum Consulting

What he does Lectures and advises companies on sustainability planning

Ford has the kind of sustainability credentials companies dream of. He鈥檚 a member of the CIBSE council, a Cabe enabler for sustainability and low-energy design, and his company is a founder member of the UK Green 黑洞社区 Council. In the construction industry, he says, 鈥減eople need to adapt their knowledge to come to terms with sustainability, from the bottom up鈥�. And society at large should be more concerned about the future: 鈥淲e鈥檙e all thinking about how to minimise climate change, but not about what to do when it happens. It will be a completely new world.鈥�

Technology tipped for success 鈥淚鈥檝e put my money on a lot of them,鈥� he says.

鈥淟arge-scale heat storage is probably what we need to look at.鈥�

Myth exploded The idea that we need to burn things to make heat. 鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of heat coming from the sky.鈥�

Riccardo Rizzi

Environmental manager, Overbury

What he does Helps Overbury鈥檚 management and clients to think and work greener

Much to his dad鈥檚 amusement, Rizzi decided he was going to become an environmental consultant at the age of 15. He has spent the past nine years working in this field and watched the industry鈥檚 attitude change. 鈥淚n the past it was regulatory-driven; you had to do it. Now companies are trying to differentiate themselves on the environment and this is leading to innovation.鈥�

Clients are becoming more aware of their green credentials, he says. 鈥淭hey want to know what the implications are if they use green technologies. I tell them everything we can do to make a building sustainable, but it varies as to how much they adopt. Clients don鈥檛 like signing blank cheques but if you can quantify the sustainable elements you want to introduce, most companies will go with it.鈥�

Technology tipped for success Combined heat and power units. 鈥淚t one of the things Ken Livingstone is going to push and they will help people meet Part L.鈥�

Myth exploded That it costs more to be green. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a cost issue; it鈥檚 a knowledge issue.鈥�