Sandbox from Buro Happold

Ep.05: 'Weathering Heights': How can we prepare our UK buildings for the effects of climate change?

Have you ever thought about how climate change affects your home and other buildings across the UK? Find out more in our latest ‘Sandbox’ episode... From heatwaves to Arctic Blasts, we’re seeing more extreme weather events than ever before – so how can we keep warm in the colder winters, and cooler during intense heat, without falling back on fossil fuels? 

In our latest episode, ‘Weathering Heights: How can we prepare our UK buildings for the effects of climate change?’, our panel examines the unpredictable and constantly changing weather in the UK. Although the UK's summer of 2024 was cooler compared to previous years, June 2023 set records for heat, and 2022 saw the country’s highest temperature at 40.3°C. Globally, heatwaves have been making headlines, and it seems the weather has been surprising everyone. 

In order to prepare our UK building stock for this ever-changing weather and the continued effects of climate change, our guests discuss the situation at hand and propose potential solutions, from SMART technology, to retrofitting our existing buildings, to heating and cooling networks and efficient energy conservation.  

Our panel also discusses the role the individual can play to help mitigate the effects of climate change across our buildings in the UK, through mutual cooperation, building physics education and introducing more sustainable energy sources into our everyday lives.   

Joining our regular host Andy Duncan in this episode, are Buro Happold experts Lara Balazs, Cities Energy Associate, and Tom Newby, Director, Structures. Our special guest in this episode is Smith Mordak, Chief Executive at UKGBC and an architect, engineer, and writer, who regularly contributes to national and trade press including the Guardian, Financial Times, Dezeen, and The Architect’s Journal. 

Subscribe to the whole series; Sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour. 

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast). 

How SMART tech could lower grid capacity and identify building overheating risks: Upcoming Ep.05 ‘Weathering Heights’

How could SMART technologies regulate our building temperatures and reduce demand for grid capacity, whilst preparing our UK buildings for the effects of climate change? Find out more in our upcoming ‘Sandbox’ episode... 

In the UK, a significant topic of discussion is around how we reduce the heat demand of our buildings, and switching from heating by fossil fuels, to using electricity instead. In our changing climate, we also need to increase discussion around managing the overheating of our buildings.

Lara Balazs, Cities Energy Associate, Buro Happold, discusses how the design and operation of buildings can make a real difference in our cooling burden, especially through the use of SMART technologies, such as ambient loops.

Listen to the trailer and keep an ‘ear’ out for our upcoming episode, ‘Weathering Heights’, where all of this and more will be discussed, at the end of September.

Subscribe to the whole series; sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.  

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast).

Heatwaves and Arctic Blasts – how will we cope? Upcoming Ep.05 ‘Weathering Heights’

Climate change is currently resulting in the UK experiencing increases in temperature and more frequent heatwaves, but also spikes in cold weather.  

Lara Balazs, Associate, Cities Energy, Buro Happold, discusses how we could look at refurbishing our existing building stock in the UK to meet the needs of our changing climate. Due to a reliance on passive measures, such as opening windows, we now need to look at education around building physics to make people more comfortable during extreme weather spikes. 

Listen to the episode trailer and keep an ‘ear’ out for our upcoming episode, ‘Weathering Heights’, where all of this and more will be discussed, at the end of September.

Subscribe to the whole series; sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.  

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast).  

 

How can we all play a part in creating a more sustainable future? Sandbox FOMO5, from Ep.04

One of the key takeaways from ‘Sandbox’ so far, is the power of the individual to collectively help mitigate the impact of climate change.  

Our latest episode - ‘Life’s essentials: Water, Power and Plants’, covers unmissable moments explored in each episode so far, from why we’ve got to where we are now, what local authorities, professionals and even the individual can contribute to improving the situation we find ourselves in now.  

From water butts to adding more plants into our homes, our experts and guests examine and propose potential solutions to the various challenges we face today. 

This episode features all of our Buro Happold experts and external guests so far, and of course our regular host, Andy Duncan.   

Listen to the full FOMO5 episode to find out more...   

Subscribe to the whole series; sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.    

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast). 

Ep.04: 'Life's essentials: Water, Power and Plants'

‘Sandbox’ so far: Revisiting thought-provoking ideas on what could be done to roll back some of the negative impact human activity has had on the Earth’s ecosystem... 

Over the last three episodes, we have explored some of the main aspects of the fundamentals of life within the built environment; from water and its management in the UK, to biodiversity and re-greening our cities, and finally, to our third episode, which explores energy sources. The panels discussed what has led us to this crucial turning point, and what the future of truly sustainable energy could look like, without further damaging the only planet we have! 

Our latest episode ‘Life’s Essentials: Water, Power and Plants’ covers unmissable moments explored in each episode so far, from why we’ve got to where we are now, what local authorities, professionals and even the individual can contribute to improving the situation we find ourselves in now. 

We each have a certain responsibility in this process, even tiny changes of habits build exponentially with more people involved. Our experts and guests examine and propose potential solutions to the various challenges we face today. 

This episode features all of our Buro Happold experts and external guests so far, and of course our regular host, Andy Duncan. 

Here’s a helpful navigation list to the full episode below: 

• 9:12 - Reimagining urban spaces and the role of nature.  
• 12:37 - Water management solutions in urban areas.  
• 13:31 - A multi-source approach to energy transition. 
• 16:48 - Challenges and potential of the Electrify Everything Strategy 
• 20:02 - Pros and cons of a two-tier water system. 
• 27:20 - Nature-based solutions and multifunctional infrastructure.  
• 29:47 - The power of collective curiosity in inciting real change.  

Subscribe to the whole series; Sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.   

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast). 

 

How each of us can contribute to an equitable energy future: Sandbox FOMO5 3, from Ep.03

How can we all work together for a more equitable energy future in the UK? And what can the individual actually do? Find out what’s in our ‘Power’ in this week’s ‘Sandbox’ FOMO5… 

The final FOMO5 from our third ‘Sandbox’ episode, ‘Powering On – Energy: Past, Present and Future’, explores what we as individuals can do to make a difference to how the UK could be powered.   

Listen to the full FOMO5 episode to find out more...  

Subscribe to the whole series; sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.   

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast).

 

Communities at the heart of an energy revolution: Sandbox FOMO5 2, from Ep.03

‘We have to organise together’: How could a community focused approach lead to more energy efficient generation? Find out more in this week’s ‘Sandbox’ FOMO5... 

The key takeaway from our latest ‘Sandbox’ episode - ‘Powering On – Energy: Past, Present, and Future’ - is that there are many potential outcomes for the future of energy in the UK. One of these is determining how energy is used, and by what interventions, by the local community. 

Listen to the full FOMO5 episode to find out more... 

Subscribe to the whole series; sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.  

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast). 

How early sci-fi authors imagined the future of energy - were they right? Sandbox FOMO5 1, from Ep.03

The surprising realisation that many sci-fi authors and visionaries from hundreds of years ago imagined ‘extraordinary’ energy sources, such as solar power and all electric futures well before they came into being... 

In this week’s ‘Sandbox’ FOMO5… 

The industrial revolution and the reliance on coal - one source of power - probed visionaries in the 19th century to question what would happen when the coal eventually ran out.  

Professor Iwan Rhys Morus, our special guest in our latest ‘Sandbox’ episode, discusses science fiction authors from the Victorian era, including the novel by John Jacob Astor, ‘A Journey in Other Worlds’ (1894). In this, Aster imagines a future where there is a windmill on every house and the rivers are able to generate electricity. However, as Iwan said, “…it's important to remember that they weren't actually thinking about renewable energy.

Listen to this FOMO5 episode to find out more... 

Subscribe to the whole series; sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.  

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast). 

 

Ep 03: 'Powering On' - Energy: Past, Present & Future

Did you know that one of the earliest ideas of solar power, called the ‘sunpower screen’, was featured in a sci-fi short story in the 1940s? The past, present and future of energy in the UK is explored in our latest ‘Sandbox’ episode... 

In the UK, we currently use various sustainable power sources, making up nearly 50% of our energy outputs, including solar and wind energy. But the question is: What next?  

In our latest Sandbox Episode, ‘Powering On - Energy: Past, Present & Future', our panel discusses how we have got to this point and what potential future methods we could be using to power our energy sources.   

Joining our regular host Andy Duncan in this episode, are Buro Happold energy experts Maddie McTaggart, Associate Director and Benjamin Jones, Associate Director. Our special guest in this episode is Professor Iwan Rhys Morus, an author, science historian and professor of history at Aberystwyth University. Iwan has written numerous books, including his most recent work, How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon (Icon, 2022) which looked at concepts from sci-fi authors as well as contemporary ‘inventors’ such as Tesla. 

Subscribe to the whole series; Sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour.   

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast). 

Sandbox FOMO5 3, from Ep.02 ‘Urban Wonderlands: grey or green?’

What can the individual do to help re-green our cities? And did you know you can get insects delivered by Royal Mail, but why would you? Find out in this week’s ‘Sandbox’ FOMO5... 

As individuals, we can collectively make a difference to the world around us. When it comes to re-greening our urban areas, there is something we can all do to help, whether it be inspiring each other to plant more in our gardens or window boxes, or even working with the local community to create more urban greenery.   

In our latest ‘Sandbox’ episode - ‘Urban Wonderlands: grey or green?’ - our guests explore ways in which the individual can help.  

Subscribe to the whole series; Sometimes we’ll tackle a subject head on, sometimes a sideways view - but always with curiosity, expertise and maybe even a dash of humour. 

This podcast series is brought to you by Buro Happold (https://buro.im/SandboxPodcast).