The review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety by Dame Judith Hackitt signals an imperative for change and improvement in the design and delivery of all buildings. In addition, there are challenges of delivering on net zero targets, the Government’s Clean Growth Challenge ambitions, and the closing of the performance gap.

The Buildings Keynote stage will focus on the latest thinking and initiatives in building quality and performance – learn about updates to Building Regulations Part L and F and the planned Future Homes Standard 2025, the latest thinking around energy efficiency and retrofit, and how to deliver a low carbon-built environment.

Key topics include:

• Understanding standards and updated building regulations for new homes
• Building a Safer Future - what steps are being taken towards fundamental reform?
• Building a market for energy efficiency: how demand for quality domestic retrofit is growing and why
• The Retrofit Roadmap: how can government policy enable retrofit to thrive?
• The Passivhaus Superstars
• How to design non domestic buildings to meet the climate breakdown targets
• Meeting retrofit demand through supply side capability and capacity
• How social value can drive better practice
• The Future Homes Standard 2025 – when, what, how?
• Plus The Big Innovation Pitch Live!

Why ‘critical infrastructure’ in the context of this programme?

Infrastructure systems are highly interdependent. Terms such as ‘green, blue and grey infrastructure’ are now seen as slightly outmoded as we cannot provide these without also considering utilities and transportation. The Futurebuild knowledge programme also includes ‘social infrastructure’ as a critical factor and it is important to consider all these elements as having equal value to ensure viability and resilience and ensure that multiple opportunities are explored and taken to enhance the urban metabolism.

What we do with our critical infrastructure – physical, social and economic - is where we can deliver many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 according to the UK Government’s commitments.

Infrastructure is also critical for another reason, it is integral with our response to the climate and ecological emergency and for this we need to act now.

Energy: Low carbon technology

The government’s Clean Growth Challenge intends to halve the energy use of new homes/buildings, as well as the costs of retrofitting to a similar standard to new builds, by 2030. This challenge, supported by millions of pounds of funding, seeks to accelerate clean energy innovation and decarbonisation of energy and heat, and improve energy efficiency.

The Energy Keynote stage will deliver the latest thinking on the technologies which will decarbonise the built environment – shining a light on the interconnections between energy generation, demand management, EVs and charging infrastructure, storage, behaviour change and energy reduction in buildings, the decarbonisation of heat and the delivery of a smart and flexible energy system.

Key topics include:

• Keynote address from Juliet Davenport, Chief Executive, Good Energy
• What does mass EV roll out mean for the built environment?
• Understanding the latest innovations in storage
• People power: the role of community energy in enabling a decentralised energy system
• Strategies for delivering affordable low carbon heat
• Delivering a flexible energy system
• The active building framework
• Reducing energy consumption in existing (non domestic) buildings
• Energy Security: energy transition and the future of energy generation
• Plus The Big Innovation Pitch Live!

New for 2020, Resourceful Materials will demonstrate ways in which the construction industry supply chain will to play a critical role in enabling the UK’s recent net zero carbon targets move from an ambitious statement towards a reality.

This major new hub will showcase innovative materials and low carbon closed-loop strategies from across established and emerging sectors. From low carbon versions of familiar materials such as concrete, glass and steel, as well as emerging natural materials that are beginning to offer viable options to plastics and other commonplace materials that have become an environmental challenge.

The Resourceful Materials Keynote Stage programme will bring together experts in material and design innovation from across Europe. It will include a keynote from a world-renowned innovator, a daily ‘Big Innovation Pitch’ where 6 start-ups/ innovators will pitch their innovations to a panel of judges plus additional sessions presenting up-to-date new research and good practice examples.

Topics will include:

• How conventional materials can reduce their carbon footprint
• Organic alternatives to plastic
• Urban Mining, Buildings as Material Banks, Material Passports, Cradle to Cradle and Life Cycle Assessments
• Rules, regulations and standards – what you need to know
• How ‘circular thinking’ needs to be embedded into all aspects of the built environment

Resourceful Materials will be curated and hosted by Duncan Baker-Brown, Architect, academic and author of The Re-Use Atlas; a designer’s guide towards a circular economy.