Episodes

Welcome back to Building Sustainability, this episode I'm joined by Architect, Academic , Author & Environmental Activist - Duncan Baker Brown. We are talking circular economy in the built environment, issues of sustainable development, deconstruction and closed-looped systems. - We've had a short break here while doing a plastering job for the Design Museum in London. The exhibition opens on the 23rd of October 2021 and full info can be found here: https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/waste-ag...

Georjie Adams is building a fantastic van based mobile home. It's unlike anything you are likely to have seen before - it's a work of art! Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbluebell/ In this conversation we discuss the issues Georjie faced as a woman wanting to build and the project that has grown out of it, as well as some of the reasons this lifestyle appealed. Part 2 contains more experiences and philosophies the Building Bluebell project has created. From Georjie's website ...

Georjie Adams is building a fantastic van based mobile home. It's unlike anything you are likely to have seen before - it's a work of art! Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbluebell/ In this conversation we discuss experiences and philosophies the Building Bluebell project has created. Part 1 contains the issues Georjie faced as a woman wanting to build and the project that has grown out of it, as well as some of the reasons this lifestyle appealed. From Georjie's website - get...

Part two of the conversation with earth builder Alex Gibbons. Applications for the SPAB fellowship close on the 14th of September - https://www.spab.org.uk/learning/fellowship Sarah Pugh Just giving link - https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sarahpugh?utm_term=qGVKkgbAG SPAB craft fellowship - https://www.spab.org.uk/learning/fellowship William Morris - News from Nowhere book - https://tinyurl.com/23n8b6c7 Alex Gibbons Website - https://www.stickinthemudconservation.com/ Work I did with Ale...

Part one of the conversation with earth builder Alex Gibbons in which we discuss his route into mud building, old buildings, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Clay Dabbins, and his clay barn Priors Lynn. Applications for the SPAB fellowship close on the 14th of September - https://www.spab.org.uk/learning/fellowship Sarah Pugh Just giving link - https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sarahpugh?utm_term=qGVKkgbAG SPAB craft fellowship - https://www.spab.org.uk/learning/fellow...

Daniel Postma is natural builder who has come to it from an interesting background - Archeology. Daniel is a specialist in traditional turf construction and learnt by doing as an experimental archaeologist. Archaeo Build specialises in the interaction between past and present forms of natural building. We bring together skills and understanding from archaeology, vernacular building conservation and modern-day natural building. It's fascinating to learn the intricacies about this seemingly very...

Craig White is back for another episode, we chatted away for a couple of hours so this is the second part of the conversation. It might make slightly more sense if you listen to the other episode first, but I think they largely stand alone. Links Modcell - https://www.modcell.com/ Agile Homes - https://agile.property/ BaleHaus at Bath - https://www.modcell.com/projects/balehaus-at-bath/ The House that Kevin Built - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyhW5NST3aM University of Bath - https://www.ba...

This is the first of two episodes with Craig White of White Design, Modcell & Agile Homes. This episode focuses on Craig's design principles with some side nerding about windows and a small amount of architect poking! Episode Links Agile Homes - https://agile.property/ Modcell - https://www.modcell.com/ Post Occupancy Evaluation - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236144016_Post-Occupancy_Evaluation_A_Multifaceted_Tool_for_Building_Improvement LILAC - https://www.lilac.coop/ TRADA - ht...

Phil Christopher is treasurer for SBUK as well as running Huff and Puff construction, specialising in straw bale construction. We have a little catch up and Phil tells me about the projects he's been working on over the last few years. Links ACAN Natural Building Introduction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqSkp1SwgOA ACAN Straw Event - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/natural-materials-masterclass-straw-tickets-163901043433 Bale House Hastings - https://www.hastings.gov.uk/parks_gardens_allo...

Today I'm joined by Sid Hill. Sid Hill is a multi award-winning horticultural consultant; designer; teacher and researcher. With a passion for permaculture design, ethnobotany and regenerative landscapes. Sharing his work via Youtube, Instagram and Facebook Sid Hill Links https://www.sidhillecogardens.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Sid-Hill-Ecological-Gardens-1023579844372812/ https://www.instagram.com/sidhillecogardens/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUE3d0vLxaUauB0aSeL5CyA Episode links Sus...

I'm delighted to bring you a conversation with Alex Geldenhuys of New Dawn Traders - When I organised this recording, I thought the focus would be on the climate benefits of sailing vessels over conventional shipping methods. I was delighted to learn of the much deeper level of good this project is doing. By investing in the small producers who are connected to their land and doing best by it, not just for profit, but also for stewardship of this vital resource. New Dawn Traders have created a n...

Something a bit special for episode 50 of the Building Sustainability Podcast. This is a reciprocal episode with Amy Umbel and Brien Beidler from Cut The Craft Podcast - They came on Building Sustainability to talk about craft and give their delightful insights into some of the nuances within the area. In return I was a guest on their Cut the Craft podcast to talk about Natural Building. It was a really fun day of getting to know Amy and Brien, we laughed a whole lot! Links Cut the Craft Podc...

The last tiny house episode for a while! Today I'm talking to Philippa Battye, an architect, who designed and built her very unique tiny home. Her house has a collapsible roof and bolt on wings to give extra height and width to her living space. The effect is unlike any tiny house I've seen... spectacular! Take a peak at Philippa's Instagram to see the house in all it's glory! https://www.instagram.com/philippabattye/ We had a big old natter about materials, design, pogs, moving.. and so much m...

Emma Pile is a digital artist, based on the outskirts of London, specialising in theatre, exhibitions & events. Last year she built a lovely tiny home with a little help from her Dad. You can see her Tiny House here: https://www.instagram.com/emslittlegreen/ And check out her stunning digital design website: http://www.emmapile.net/ In the podcast we discuss the many questions I have about building my own tiny house. Big topics include: Staying under the trailers max weight Finding a place to...

This week I am incredibly excited to be joined by Bill Browning and Catie Ryan from Terrapin Bright Green to discuss biophilic design. Biophilic design is a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions. Used at both the building and city-scale, it is argued that this idea has health, environmental, and economic benefits for building occupants and urban envi...

This week I'm joined by Flora Arbuthnott from www.plantsandcolour.co.uk. Having met Flora a few years ago, I was keen for her to be a guest on the podcast. We discuss the many similarities between her practices of creating colour from plants and my practice of building homes, from plants. Flora also goes through the process of extracting some colour from a flower so that you can try it at home. Flora's Bio: I make dyes, inks, and paints out of plants for drawing, painting, printing, and dyeing...

Martin Brown joins me to discuss how we can make regenerative buildings. We discuss Martin's 'Zoom Regenerative' which was alongside Building Sustainability in the ASBP 2021 Awards final. We also discuss The Living Building Challenge to find out what it is and how it works. Building Sustainability Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability Links Martin's website - https://fairsnape.com/ Regen Notes (Newsletter) - https://fairsnape.substack.com/ Building Sustainability Website - ht...

Chris Magwood not only has a huge wealth of experience building straw bale homes, but has the building science Masters degree to back up his experience. We discuss how the built environment can go from being the worst offender for climate change, to every building being a carbon store, so actively reversing climate change. Links Chris Magwood website - https://www.chrismagwood.ca/ Endeavour Centre website - https://endeavourcentre.org/ Canada's Greenest Home - https://endeavourcentre.org/proje...

I'm very pleased to welcome Wibbs Coulson of Mandukya Yoga back on the podcast. This time we are talking about breathing, and how you've probably been breathing wrong your entire life! I occasionally feature episodes on what I call the 'sustainability of self' - I see it again and again, that professionals in the sustainability profession burn out. When you see the need to fix the problem as so crucial that the human race depends on it... you tend to forget about your own needs. So with this in...

This week I am joined by Ben Kerslake from Carrington Lime. As well as a general geek out about lime, we mostly talk about how to solve damp problems in homes with some simple observation and materials choices. We discuss why the modern conventional approach of 'tanking' a building is usually fixing a symptom, rather than dealing with the problem. ASBP Awards - Register for your free ticket here: https://asbp.org.uk/events/asbp-awards-2021-final Triodos Free £60 - https://join.triodos.co.uk/...

Patreon support - https://www.patreon.com/buildingsustainability This episode I'm talking with Caz Ingall, who is a willow coffin weaver. We talk, not just of the process of weaving a vessel to bury a loved one, but a lot to do with the disconnection our modern culture has with death and the grief surrounding. About Caz: "I started working with willow more than a decade ago and was immediately hooked on both the craftform and the fact that I could be in control of everything along the journe...

Today I'm talking with Alice and Gavin Munro from Full Grown about their exceptional work growing complete chairs from trees. So the normal procedure is to wait 50 years for a tree to grow, chop it down and begin cutting it into smaller and smaller parts. At some point the parts are small enough and you can now join them back together with glue to make a chair. Depending on the competency of the joinery and strength of the glue, your chair might last 50-100 years? Alice and Gavin Munro have a ...

How can we do the work to look after the planet if we don't look after ourselves? This is the question we are asking Faye Blake of Live Intuitively in Building Sustainability Podcast BS39. Many in our industry burn out, because they are so focussed on doing the much needed work in advancing sustainability in the built environment that don't stop to notice whether they have sustainability within themselves. I know this from personal experience and have observed in in many of my colleagues. This...

A conversation recorded with Janna Laan Lomas, founding director and designer at Grain Architecture. In this episode we discuss the architecture industry's response to climate change. We also look at Janna's training and how she got into architecture and sustainability. You might also be interested to hear episode 37, also with Janna which focuses more on the nuts and bolts of how to design buildings in a sustainable way. Topics covered in this conversation: Ethics - Turning down work if it's...