Best Heriot Brown Podcasts (2024)

1
Peter Rickaby returns to ZAP: a lot of words about energy, retrofit, and natural building materials, all the way from South Africa 1:20:52

1h ago1:20:52

1:20:52

Jeff and Dan are joined by Dr. Peter Rickaby again. We were due a catch up so we recorded the conversation because he's always interesting. Peter should need little introduction, so we'll just say he's our favourite retrofit expert (sorry everyone else) and our most frequent guest on the show. He's only returned to the pod, not to the UK. In princi…

1
Legal Insights and Beyond: A Journey with Felicitas 39:55

3h ago39:55

39:55

In this episode of Lessons I Learned In Law, I am joined by Felicitas Stern, General Counsel EMEA at Omni Bridgeway, a leading litigation funder. Felicitas made the switch to Omni Bridgeway when she was on the brink of Partnership in a top law firm in Amsterdam, where she practiced Real Estate and Construction. She wanted more variety in her role a…

1
The UK has a weird relationship with heat pumps: under appreciated influencers, wild pricing, and bad vibes. With Andrew Sissons (Nesta) 1:21:03

7d ago1:21:03

1:21:03

This week we're joined by Nesta's Deputy Mission Director, Andrew Sissons, to discuss his take on why the UK has such a weird relationship with heat pumps. It was inspired by an excellent Twitter thread on the subject that gained quite a bit of attention the other week. We talk through it all so you might as well listen, or just take a look at the …

1
Navigating International Law and Leadership with Maria Barros 42:04

9d ago42:04

42:04

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott meets with Maria Barros, Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer at Booking.com. Maria is a true Citizen of the World. Born in London, from a Brazilian family, Maria loves travelling (passion and profession have collided at Booking.com) and has lived in the UK, US, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium and is now…

1
Building with straw on a continental scale and experiencing retrofit as a resident. With Cypren Edmunds (European Straw Building Association) 1:16:34

6d ago1:16:34

1:16:34

The other week we had a chance to have a conversation with Cypren Edmunds, President of the European Straw Building Association about building with straw, experiences in retrofit, and the meandering path that led him to the green building trade. For us, it was a really interesting chat because we got to talk about how he got into greed building via…

1
The energy performance of buildings matters, to me and EU and everyone you know, with Ciarán Cuffe (MEP) 51:04

13d ago51:04

51:04

The Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is now enshrined in EU law, which has big implications for the built environment everywhere. Even the South East of England. To mark the occasion and get the lowdown on what this all means, we invited friend of the show Ciarán Cuffe back on to talk about it. For those who might not remember, he's…

1
A new way to measure performance, negative energy use, and learning from disaster zones, with Kate Crawford (KLH Sustainability) 1:17:08

20d ago1:17:08

1:17:08

Kate Crawford is a building nerd who is obsessed with measuring performance. She's currently, Technical Director at KLH Sustainability, a multidisciplinary consultancy working in the built environment. Kate has a very interesting background in terms of her experience and she's now working on a very fascinating project in which she's researching and…

1
Designing for deconstruction using natural building materials. With Chloe Donovan (Natural Building Systems) 1:12:39

27d ago1:12:39

1:12:39

This week we're talking about modular construction and Natural Building Systems with MD Chloe Donovan. Chloe is a really interesting character with a fascinating product that she's bringing to market. Unusually, she's a farmer who got into building and then found herself as an entrepreneur in the febrile world of modular building and MMC. We talk a…

1
Monitoring will make your buildings be worth more money, Utopi has proved it, with Falk Bleyl (CTO at Utopi) 1:20:21

1M ago1:20:21

1:20:21

Up next we're speaking with Falk Bleyl, CTO at Utopi, about their sensor-based data platform technology. He describes it as an ESG platform which is true but it massively underplays the true value of what their product offers. Heads up, normally, we'll at least try to couch the conversation within a broader context but in this episode, we've barely…

1
“Use less stuff”: embodied carbon, value chains and the potential for change in the Declaration de Chaillot. With Lloyd Alter (Carbon Upfront), Kelly Alvarez Doran (Ha/f Climate Design), and Will Arnold ... 1:16:05

2M ago1:16:05

1:16:05

Lloyd has been in Paris. He came back very enthused and excited by his experience there and wanted to communicate why to our listeners. “In the face of the climate emergency, a swift transition of the buildings sector is a direct requirement to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement”. Approximately, 1,400 people from 70 countries gathered in …

1
What do we do about ‘the office’? A retrofit challenge we don't speak about enough. With Harry Browne and Séamus Guidera (RKD) 1:20:03

2M ago1:20:03

1:20:03

This week we got into an area of retrofit that feels neglected: commercial space. It's a subject we definitely touch upon but never really get into , so in order to remedy that we're getting stuck in. First up is a conversation with architects Harry Browne and Séamus Guidera of RKD Dublin who came recommended to us by friend of the show Richard O'H…

1
Fundamental problems in building design and how we manage thermal comfort, with Susan Roaf (Heriot-Watt; ICARB) 1:33:08

2M ago1:33:08

1:33:08

We are delighted to bring you a conversation with Professor Emeritus Susan Roaf, of Heriot-Watt University this week to talk about a bunch of fundamental problems in building design and the management of thermal comfort. She is a wonderful guest and we're looking forward to having her back. Originally, we planned to talk about her article COP 28: N…

1
Fabric fifth: rethinking the hierarchy of retrofit, with Nigel Banks (Octopus Energy) 1:10:20

2M ago1:10:20

1:10:20

This week we're joined by Nigel Banks, Technical Director - Zero Bills & Low Carbon Homes at Octopus Energy. Nigel joined us to discuss his recent article: Fabric Fifth, a slightly polemical riposte to fabric-first dogma, and an interesting philosophy for retrofit. As it turned out, it’s an apposite follow-up to last week's episode with Fionn Steve…

1
Retrofit: "We need to tackle low hanging fruit first", so what does that mean? With Fionn Stevenson 1:28:14

2M ago1:28:14

1:28:14

We were blessed to enjoy a great conversation about retrofit and what we should consider our priorities, with the vastly experienced retrofit firebrand Fionn Stevenson. It was a challenging, surprising, and free-wheeling conversation spurred by a call to action she made on LinkedIn some time ago, in which she decried fabric-first approaches and dec…

1
Natural materials, healthier homes, and the culture of sustainable building, with Will Kirkman (Ecomerchant) 1:16:15

3M ago1:16:15

1:16:15

We enjoyed the company of Ecomerchant’s Will Kirkman a business that's specialised in sustainable and natural building materials for the building trade and consumers. We mainly rambled our way around the culture of building in the UK, how embodied carbon has always been on the Ecomerchant agenda and the impact that sustainable and natural building …

1
Engineering low-impact buildings and advice from self build, with Tara Fraser (Build Collective) 1:00:16

3M ago1:00:16

1:00:16

This week is all about the challenges of low-impact building in the sphere of self build with Tara Fraser, a chartered civil and structural engineer, and a director of Build Collective in Bristol. On the recommendation of former guest (and Tara's colleague) Beth Williams, we recently had a chat with her about a self-build project she worked on that…

1
Shady business #2: shading for housing in a changing climate, with Tom Dollard (Pollard Thomas Edwards) 1:28:59

3M ago1:28:59

1:28:59

Part two of our series on shading, this time with a return appearance from Tom Dollard of Pollard Thomas Edwards who joined us in January 2023 to talk about lazy thinking. Ostensibly, this time we met to talk about the Good Homes Alliance design guide for shading, as a follow-up to December's episode with Zoe De Grussa. On reflection we realised th…

1
A view from COP28, and relearning how to be an architect for after the Oil Age, with Kelly Alvarez Doran (Half Climate Design; Architecture 2030 Senior Fellow) 1:21:36

4M ago1:21:36

1:21:36

With us this week is new friend, Kelly Alvarez Doran, via an introduction from Lloyd to talk about his experiences at COP28 and his carbon reduction consultancy Ha/f Climate Design that's challenged itself to reduce Canadian construction's emissions by half. We get sidetracked almost immediately while we talk about Kelly's background as an architec…

1
Conservation-led retrofit and energy efficiency for working buildings, with with Heidi Hopper-Duffy and David Hughes (Iarnród Éireann) 57:32

3M ago57:32

57:32

This one is about conservation-led retrofit and the retrofit of commercial (or institutional) building stock. We were invited to see a recent Iarnród Éireann (Irish Railway) retrofit project and meet with Heidi Hopper-Duffy (Environmental & Sustainability Manager) and its architect David Hughes (Senior Conservation Architect & Energy Specialist). O…

1
The cost of sustainability, accounting for language, and the taxonomy, with Archie O'Donnell (KOSMOS) 57:42

4M ago57:42

57:42

The first of our Dublin field recordings is with Archie O'Donnell a long-time face green building in Ireland, a fella who Jeff has a lot of time for, and someone Alex and I hadn't met yet. It was a good call. Originally trained as an architect, Archie has worked his way through the industry, recently joining Danish/Irish consultancy KOSMOS, so ther…

1
PH+ Revisited: that archive building in Hereford, the one that uses passive house preservation, with Nick Grant and Alan Clarke 56:05

4M ago56:05

56:05

This week we have Lloyd's latest Passive House Plus Revisited, a conversation with passive house heads Alan Clarke and Nick Grant about the passive house archive project that left Lloyd so smitten when he visited it last summer. That we’re discussing archive systems shouldn’t put folk off - the point is about thinking differently, about what the ch…

1
How to normalise low-energy heating without radiators: an overnight success story that's fifteen years in the making, with Ethan Wadsworth (ThermaSkirt) 1:09:19

4M ago1:09:19

1:09:19

Happy new year! This week's episode brings you a conversation with Ethan Wadsworth of DiscreteHeat the manufacturers of our new favourite energy efficient (non-radiator and non underfloor) based heating system ThermaSkirt. We're not there to bang on about a product we like, what we found interesting about this one is that it’s an overnight, award-w…

1
PH+ revisited: Seeing the wood for the trees (part two), with Andy Simmonds (AECB) and Lenny Antonelli (PH+) 58:54

4M ago58:54

58:54

Happy post-Christmas day, hope you made it through OK. Today we have part two of the latest Passive House Plus revisited, looking at Lloyd Alter's favourite article of 2021: Seeing the wood for the trees - Placing ecology at the heart of construction. Again, we're joined by authors Lenny Antonelli and Andy Simmonds talking about mass timber, embodi…

1
PH+ revisited: Seeing the wood for the trees (part one), with Andy Simmonds (AECB) and Lenny Antonelli (PH+) 1:05:27

5M ago1:05:27

1:05:27

Merry Christmas! This week we have a Passive House Plus revisited two-parter for you, led by our occasional co-host Lloyd Alter, looking at his favourite article of 2021: Seeing the wood for the trees - Placing ecology at the heart of construction. We're joined by authors Lenny Antonelli and Andy Simmonds and the conversation wheels around, coverin…

1
Shady business #1 – overheating, and Camden: we should think about solar gain all year round, with Zoe De Grussa (BBSA) 1:16:41

5M ago1:16:41

1:16:41

It's all about shading, overheating, and solar gain with Zoe De Grussa this week. She's the author of that infamous Camden overheating case study that Jeff always references and, at the time of writing, is technical and sustainability consultant at the British Blind and Shutter Association (BBSA). We cover Camden, but perhaps more interesting is th…

1
POE and its value to retrofit, and what does a Head of Sustainability do? With Loreana Padron (ECD Architects) 1:17:56

5M ago1:17:56

1:17:56

We are joined by Loreana Padron to talk about what it is that a Head of Sustainability does and, more broadly, the value of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) to all the stakeholders in a retrofit project. Loreana tells us about the path she's taken to becoming Head of Sustainability at Architecture firm ECD, a leading sustainability-focused practice,…

1
Standards and specifications, and why they don't always work like we want them to, with Sarah Price, the author of PAS2035/2030 (Retrofitting dwellings for improved energy efficiency) 1:18:50

5M ago1:18:50

1:18:50

Today we're talking about standards. In short, it's about how standards are written and why retrofit shouldn’t just be about products or carbon. It's never short with us though, is it? We're sure that all of our listeners will have complained about PAS2035/2030 at some point, admiring its ambition while lamenting its restrictions. We've all certain…

1
Roadmaps for fuel poverty and retrofit: we know what needs to be done so why can’t we do it? With Tania Jennings (Chair of the Association of Local Energy Officers, London) 1:21:03

6M ago1:21:03

1:21:03

We invited Tania Jennings back. Most folk in the retrofit or social housing space will probably be aware of Tania from LinkedIn and the myriad jobs she has. If you don’t know her yet, check her LinkedIn. Anyway, she wrote a thing for Architect’s Journal about fuel poverty, Covid, and inevitably retrofit and it was excellent. It sparked a conversati…

1
Driving change in building design and the things that inspire you to do better, with Cedric Burgers (Burgers Architecture) 1:20:24

6M ago1:20:24

1:20:24

If you fancy, you can settle in for a long one this week, in which Jeff and Dan speak with award-winning Canadian architect and passive house designer Cedric Burgers. We cover all sorts because he has led a pretty interesting life and he has a lot to say about sustainable building design, particularly his love for passive house as a philosophy, the…

1
Biogenic building, whole life carbon, and natural fibre insulation. With Sam Baumber (IndiNature) 1:00:43

6M ago1:00:43

1:00:43

This week we're talking about natural fibre insulation and the potential of biogenic building products with IndiNature manufacturer (and co-founder) Sam Baumber. It feels like a timely follow-up to last week's episode about quantifying embodied carbon, particularly in relation to the role biogenic products have in providing a mid-to-long-term carbo…

1
Kenny Robertson on being a cultural architect for your team 26:52

6M ago26:52

26:52

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Kenny Roberston, Head of Outsourcing, Technology & IP legal team at NatWest Group. In his role, he leads up a team which supports some of the largest outsourcing transactions in the UK and which continually pushes to be innovative and progressive and provide great customer experienc…

1
Can you have a zero carbon building? The answer is “no”. With John Butler (Sustainable Build Consultancy; CAT) 1:01:54

6M ago1:01:54

1:01:54

If you’re looking to understand how to approach carbon accounting in the built environment, we’ve got you. Brought in to tackle some big questions around accounting for carbon we were joined by sustainable building expert John Butler. Jeff’s been talking about getting John on for ages, for reasons he explains in the episode, and when we caught sigh…

1
Chris Fowler on navigating career transitions 28:54

6M ago28:54

28:54

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Chris Fowler, Chief Operating Officer for Legal, Governance and Compliance at mining business Rio Tinto. Prior to that Chris spent 24 years at BT Group including as General Counsel for BT’s Technology division which builds and operates BT’s networks, its IT infrastructure and its re…

1
Construction's embodied carbon problem: how do we incentivise retrofit over 'demolish and rebuild', with Joseph Kilroy (CIOB) 57:22

6M ago57:22

57:22

Jeff received a press release that piqued his interest, so we invited the man behind the call to action, Joseph Kilroy, (Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)). Joseph joins us to talk about their ideas for increasing the pace of change required to meet the ubiquitous net zero 2050 targets. They're calling …

1
Inside The Agency: Chloe Rowan 13:37

7M ago13:37

13:37

Welcome to the latest instalment in our mini-series, Lessons I Learned in Law X Inside the Agency, where we aim to lift the lid on Heriot Brown In-House Legal Recruitment to give you a better idea of what we do. We are flipping the script on our usual format and putting our Consultants and team members in the spotlight to share more about the peopl…

1
Getting real about energy research and making heat pumps chic, with Mike Fell (UCL; pump:chic) 1:08:45

7M ago1:08:45

1:08:45

This week we're joined by Mike Fell, energy researcher at UCL, amongst many other things. We've been following Mike's work for a while, (mainly because the pump:chic work is really interesting to us) and when we clocked he's co-authored this paper about realist approaches in energy research we saw an opportunity to bring him onto the podcast. Reali…

1
Matt Wilson on maintaining calm amidst the chaos 19:11

7M ago19:11

19:11

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Matt Wilson, General Counsel at TV Production company Fremantle. Fremantle produces over 12,000 hours of original programming every year across drama, entertainment, documentaries and film. Matt started his career with four years at Baker & McKenzie and has also worked at Arsenal Fo…

1
Stranded assets, financing sustainability, and carbon as a risk factor, with Alexandra Hedesiu (EnerSave Capital) 1:07:12

7M ago1:07:12

1:07:12

This week Jeff introduced us to a new friend he met while working on a EU funded green finance project, Alexandra Hedesiu, Head of ESG & EU Advisory Services at EnerSave Capital. The EU Life-funded project is called Smarter Finance for EU, and its aim is to develop the market for credible green home certifications and associated green mortgage, loa…

1
Thermal comfort in building design: thinking ahead and taking lessons from East Africa, with Huda Elsherif (calfordsedan) and Andy Simmonds (AECB) 1:14:04

7M ago1:14:04

1:14:04

In the midst of a weirdly warm October for this part of the work, we're talking about thermal comfort in building design with Huda Elsherif and Andy Simmonds about a project they've been collaborating on in Tanzania. While the lessons we can learn from it might not be immediately obvious, there are plenty of them there to be had as our climate grow…

1
Inside The Agency: Stephanie Jones 14:41

7M ago14:41

14:41

Welcome to the latest instalment in our mini-series, Lessons I Learned in Law X Inside the Agency, where we aim to lift the lid on Heriot Brown In-House Legal Recruitment to give you a better idea of what we do. We are flipping the script on our usual format and putting our Consultants and team members in the spotlight to share more about the peopl…

1
A schism in building standards: promoting passive house and high performance building in the USA, with Zack Semke (Passive House Accelerator) 1:12:24

7M ago1:12:24

1:12:24

Lloyd Alter introduced us to Passive House Accelerator earlier this year and it turns out that we're doing some quite similar work, promoting high-performance building, sharing innovation, and elevating thought leadership. Instead of starting a blood feud, we decided to invite Zack Semke onto the podcast to talk about what they're up to and see wha…

1
Emilie Berge on mental health, wellbeing and performing at your best 28:33

8M ago28:33

28:33

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to wellbeing advocate Emilie Berge. After an 18 year career in-house in the Tech and Defence sectors Emilie is now on a mission to empower high achievers to reach their career goals without burning out. She provides corporate training to companies who want to improve their staff wellbe…

1
Building a place for women in retrofit, with Ellora Coupe (Her Own Space) 1:18:17

8M ago1:18:17

1:18:17

We've a slightly different episode for you this week. Our guest is Ellora Coupe who we think has a big part to play in the retrofit space without performing one of its traditional roles. Ellora is the founder of Her Own Space, a platform that provides a women-only space to share knowledge, insight, support, and help in all things to do with renovat…

1
Inside The Agency: Martin Evensen 16:55

8M ago16:55

16:55

Welcome to the latest instalment in our mini-series, Lessons I Learned in Law X Inside the Agency, where we aim to lift the lid on Heriot Brown In-House Legal Recruitment to give you a better idea of what we do. We are flipping the script on our usual format and putting our Consultants and team members in the spotlight to share more about the peopl…

1
The benefits of energy efficient building are much more than energy efficiency, with Marion Jammet (Irish Green Building Council) 1:00:29

8M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

It was about time we had someone from the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) join us on the podcast. So Jeff invited Marion Jammet, the IGBC's Head of Policy and Advocacy, to join us to talk though a recent white paper they published in conjunction with the Institute of International and European Affairs. The paper is titled: Reviewing the Co-bene…

1
Ailsa Longmuir on how lawyers are business enablers, not blockers 25:28

8M ago25:28

25:28

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Ailsa Zoya Longmuir, General Counsel for Centrica Energy Marketing & Trading and Centrica Business Solutions. Ailsa has been with Centica for 12 years and is responsible for all Legal, Compliance and Regulatory Affairs matters for these business units globally. She is a leading Exec…

1
Retail perspectives on retrofit and high performance building, with Andy Mitchell (Green Building Store) 1:16:17

8M ago1:16:17

1:16:17

We often talk about the notion of selling high performance building to people but we rarely seem to talk with people who actually deal with the customers. In an effort to fill this gap we were joined by Andy Mitchell, MD at Green Building Store, a long-established retailer of all the things a high-performance building might require, and a passive h…

1
Inside The Agency: Michi Nishikawa 12:55

8M ago12:55

12:55

Welcome to the latest instalment in our mini-series, Lessons I Learned in Law X Inside the Agency, where we aim to lift the lid on Heriot Brown In-House Legal Recruitment to give you a better idea of what we do. We are flipping the script on our usual format and putting our Consultants and team members in the spotlight to share more about the peopl…

1
Get your heat from the streets: Kensa Utilities' plans for geothermal district heating, with Lisa Tresedar (Kensa Utilities) 1:12:55

8M ago1:12:55

1:12:55

More heat-related chat this week. We're with Lisa Tresedar of Kensa Utilities joined us. She’s the string-puller behind Kensa’s Heat the Streets project the success of which has garnered national coverage because of its innovation and its success so far (which is now up for an award). Heat the Streets is a pioneering project in which Kensa sought t…

1
Francesca Porter on being an airbag, not a seatbelt 23:12

9M ago23:12

23:12

In this episode of Lessons I Learned in Law, Scott Brown speaks to Francesca Porter, General Counsel and executive team member at Onfido, an AI company who digitally prove people’s real identities using a photo ID and facial biometrics. Francesca shares the lessons that she’s learned in law, including: · Smart people simplify. The power of lawyers …

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