GP 16: Incremental Victories for a Sustainable Future: with Mel Allwood of Arup

Grow Places

It was a pleasure to host Arup's Sustainability Director, Mel Allwood, as we explore examples from London and around the world, and how our daily habitats can move us forward, step by step.
Our conversation uncovers the delicate dance between wellbeing and design, emphasising the transformative power of spaces that are as nurturing as they are sustainable. We learn from past global health crises, like the SARS outbreak, to fortify our approach to building certifications, ensuring that the spaces we inhabit are not only safe but also contribute positively to our collective wellbeing.
Hear about the role of impactful decision-making in reducing embodied carbon, as we dissect the influence of early design choices and the supply chain's responsiveness to sustainable demands. The conversation unfolds to illustrate how transparency in material sourcing can echo the strides taken elsewhere, providing a blueprint for conscious construction practices. We also highlight the necessity of designing for flexibility, adapting our built spaces to the ever-evolving ways we live and work, thereby maximising their utility and sustainability.
Join us on a personal journey back to Mel's childhood, where the seeds of innovation were planted by a simple fascination with the mechanics of everyday objects. Reflecting on the courage it takes to venture into the unknown, we encourage project teams to step away from the familiar and embrace change as we collectively strive towards a more innovative and sustainable future. As we rewind through Mel's formative experiences that shaped a life-long curiosity in engineering, we celebrate the incremental victories that compound to monumental progress, declaring that it's these small, courageous steps that will eventually lead us to a greener horizon.

Chapters

1. Exploring Sustainability in the Built Environment (00:00:00)

2. Collective Actions Towards Reducing Carbon (00:07:47)

3. Embodied Carbon and Building Utilization (00:10:57)

4. Believing in Incremental Change (00:23:06)