Buro Happold

As attention turns to Colombia and the opening of COP16, instead of FOMO5, we are revisiting an episode of our podcast, Sandbox, that looks at biodiversity in the built environment. How can we bring back more parks, green space and wildlife to our UK cities and urban areas? Find out more in our ‘Sandbox’ episode: 'Urban Wonderlands: Grey or Green?' - Biodiversity and its positive effects on our wellbeing. The episode features Buro Happold experts Colin Byrne and Aaron Grainger, special guest Tamsin Westhorpe, and our regular host Andy Duncan.    With nature in global decline, it is imperative that all industries take collective action to preserve biodiversity, particularly in urban areas. Our panel explores the importance of the recent Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) regulation, and how it can be applied throughout urban areas and across the UK. Aaron Grainger, associate director, UK ecology and biodiversity management, Buro Happold, said: “Now, we need to assess a site and it is then assigned a numerical value based on lots of different parameters. You then look at what a development is going to provide in terms of biodiversity, which again is assigned a numerical parameter. And then you compare the two and the policy requires developers to leave nature in a 10 percent better state than before.”    Find the full episode on all the usual platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.    YouTube: https://lnkd.in/evUKagFW    #BHSandbox #BuroHappold #Podcast #UK #CommunityAction #SocialValue #EngineeringDesign #Biodiversity #BiodiversityNetGain #Cities #GreenInfrastructure #BlueInfrastructure #Plants #Green #UrbanAreas #UrbanHeatIslands #COP16 

We're pleased to share insights from Urban C:lab's visit to Ho Chi Minh City, exploring how it can balance growth with resilience. Ho Chi Minh City is growing at an impressive 9% per year, contributing a quarter of Vietnam's total GDP. This growth presents unique challenges and opportunities, from limited green space and frequent flooding to the impact of informal settlements on coastal systems. Our team delved into these issues through five thematic tours while visiting the city, and a design sprint with local and international experts. The result? A comprehensive framework for sustainable and resilient urban development. A huge thank you to our collaborators: LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture), place ấp, IXO Partners, MIA Design Studio, RMIT University Vietnam, Officine Gap, HCMC University of Technology and Education, ONE landscape design Ltd (一林景观设计), Turner & Townsend, LJ-Group, mh architects and LaPerle Architecture. Discover the full report and join us in shaping the future of urban environments: https://buro.im/4dNEEyA  #UrbanClab #SustainableCities #UrbanDevelopment #BuroHappold #Engineering #Consultancy #Advisory #BuiltEnvironment #Construction #HoChiMinhCity #Vietnam 

Why is the relationship between people and nature important? And how can we honour it in our work in the built environment?    We talked with members of the Buro Happold ecology and biodiversity team to consider how those of us in the built environment are central in implementing biodiversity and ecology initiatives for the betterment of people, places and the planet.     Mónica Lozano Subiranas MCIEEM MIEnvSc, ecologist at Buro Happold. said, “In order to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises (the two are completely linked – one wouldn’t exist without the other) we need consider the ways that we are connected to nature.” Read more about the importance of the relationship we have with nature: bit.ly/3EN3zDV    #BuroHappold #Engineering #Consultancy #Advisory #BuiltEnvironment #Construction #Biodiversity #Ecology #Nature #UrbanEnvironment #COP16   

How do you maximise value from a large portfolio of assets?    Buro Happold’s asset optimisation and commercial advisory team worked with a governmental client to maximise the value derived from a large portfolio of assets, and to examine routes towards private sector participation (PSP).   With over 5000 warehouses across 36 areas, our team undertook an in-depth assessment of the portfolio, benchmarking against similar portfolios, defining the business case and reviewing the options available.   The result? A clear and resilient pathway to optimising asset function and value.   Read the project case study here: buro.im/486uMiv   #BuroHappoldAdvisory #Logisitics #Warehouses #Advisory #Consultancy #AssetOptimisation #Commercial #PortfolioManagement

“The UK can set an example to the world by becoming fully energy independent and powered entirely by clean energy.” Alongside peers from industry and academia, our Global Head of Design, Technology & Innovation Wolf Mangelsdorf recently wrote to UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to advocate for the UK to follow an energy island blueprint. This will mean going beyond current ambitions to make the UK fully energy independent: powered entirely by green energy and with no reliance on imports. Last week in BusinessGreen, Wolf explored the energy island concept and the efforts this will require across public and private sectors to bring it to life. You can read the full piece here: https://buro.im/4fnqbLl #BuroHappold #Engineering #Consultancy #Advisory #BuiltEnvironment #Construction #EnergyIsland #EnergyTransition

Buro Happold is proud to sponsor the UK's premier highways event, Highways UK, which takes place on 16th and 17th October at the NEC - National Exhibition Centre.   Catch up with the team and find out what we are doing around asset renewal in complex settings amongst others. You can register for free here: https://lnkd.in/dRhtRc2   *Thursday 17th October* Anthony Tuffour and Phil Proctor will be presenting on 'Smart infrastructure planning using digital twins' at midday on the Digital Construction stage.   Edmund Metters, who heads up our Bridges team in the UK, will be speaking at and moderating a panel discussion at 12.25pm on 'Maintaining bridges effectively for an enhanced user experience' in the Asset Renewal & Resilience Theatre.   Drop in at stand 88 for a catch up or arrange to meet a member of the team attending: Aaron Grainger Anthony Tuffour Edmund Metters James Edwards Paula Gough Phil Proctor Simon Fryer   See you in Birmingham!   #HighwaysUK #Innovation #bridges #majorinfrastructure #energy #burohappold

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) - an approach to creating and improving natural habitats, became mandatory across England in February 2024.    BNG is used to assess the impact on a development has on biodiversity and the new rules say developers must deliver at least a 10% ‘net gain’. This should mean developments will have more or better quality natural habitat than before the development.     Mónica Lozano Subiranas MCIEEM MIEnvSc, senior ecologist, Buro Happold says: “Our team always seeks to understand our clients’ requirements at the earliest possible stage, so we can advise on the potential impacts, as well as opportunities for integrating nature-based solutions within the design that will both improve the biodiversity net gain score, but also provide co-benefits.”     In this piece, we explore the details of biodiversity net gain, the implications for our clients and how Buro Happold has been approaching it to help our clients deliver the best possible outcomes for biodiversity.     Read more: https://buro.im/3SS6Qt8     #consultancy #advisory #builtenvironment #ecology #biodiversity #biodiversitynetgain #BNG #COP16 

As we approach the start of COP16 in Colombia, the next United Nations Biodiversity Conference, we should be clear: nature is in crisis.  The latest Living Planet Report shows that nature is disappearing, with the average size of wildlife populations falling by 73% since 1970. So, what role does the built environment have? The built environment industry inevitably has an impact on the natural world. It is up to those of us who work in this industry to ensure that this impact is a positive one. Increasingly, the phrase “nature positive” is used. But to avoid this becoming a phrase that has no real meaning, a dedicated framework is being developed.  ‘Nature positive’ is now largely understood to mean the definition laid out by the Nature Positive Initiative: to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 on a 2020 baseline and achieve full recovery by 2050. Aaron Grainger, associate director, nature and biodiversity, Buro Happold, sits on the steering group for the development of UK Green Building Council (UKGBC)’s framework for a nature-positive built environment. He said, “In the development of the framework, we will be exploring the importance of looking at how all elements of a building or project effects nature. It is time to look beyond the planning application red line boundary.” Learn more about why the industry needs a framework for nature positivity: https://buro.im/3BK5P0d #burohappold #engineering #consultancy #advisory #builtenvironment #construction #consultancy #advisory #builtenvironment #ecology #biodiversity #naturepositive #COP #COP16 

‘We have most of the solutions we need already, if we only were brave enough collectively to use those’: From SMART Tech to retrofit, what solutions are we already utilising to help prepare our UK building stock for the effects of climate change? Find out in this week’s ‘Sandbox’ FOMO5… Technology, along with both active and passive solutions to adapt our buildings, are current methods being used to prepare our buildings across the UK for the effects of climate change and extreme weather. In this FOMO5 episode, our panel discuss how, ‘passive design is our friend here, where we can design buildings to use minimal amounts of energy and still achieve a good liveable environment’, and how these solutions can be implemented on a practical level, particularly across existing buildings.  Tom Newby, Director, Buro Happold, discussing the different contributors to a passive solution, noted how the most important element is the fabric of the building, and that, “a well-insulated building could have thick walls and the small windows to control energy gain and energy loss.”    Smith Mordak, our special guest, also discussing passive solutions, said: “A fun way I like to remember it is that a passive solution will work in a power cut.”      “Assuming you were cut off from your infrastructure, if it's still working, it's probably a passive solution.”     Tom also touched on the importance of passive solutions when it comes to retrofitting our existing building stock, saying: “There are some places here where we need to start changing our expectations and changing the criteria and the incentives we have around what we do with our built environment.     “At the moment, they're too much stacked towards a new build, and not enough towards actually taking the herding stock we've got now and making it suitable for this climate future we face.”    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 UK Green Building Council (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.      Keep an eye out across the Buro Happold social media channels and all podcast platforms for our weekly FOMO5s following each monthly episode.      You can also find the full episode, as well as its accompanying FOMO5s, on all the usual platforms.    Apple Podcasts:  https://lnkd.in/eCPBSw8d Spotify:  https://lnkd.in/eV8FcPZi YouTube: https://buro.im/FOMO5ep05 #Sustainability #climatechange #climatecrisis #environmentalism #risingtemperatures #heatwaves #weather #sustainability #weatherevents #heatnetwork #energy #engineering #BuroHappold

Buro Happold helped to deliver the successful relocation of a Chelsea Flower Show garden, bringing its important message around biodiversity to a new residential complex in the capital. The Royal Entomological Society Garden, designed by Tom Massey, was designed to inspire an interest in insects and highlight the essential purpose these creatures serve in the health and future of our environments. The garden, which was supported by Project Giving Back, was awarded an RHS Silver-Gilt Medal and aimed to impress upon the public how our choices impact insects, through the plants we cultivate, the habitats we create and preserve, and the time and interest we put into researching and protecting them. Our team played a critical role in delivering the successful relocation of the garden, ensuring its installation did not adversely impact the existing infrastructure and utilities serving neighbouring sites, and providing the electrical services and lighting design to ensure the garden can be fully enjoyed throughout the day and into the evening. Read more: buro.im/4gZlYPu Image: Lendlease #BuroHappold #Engineering #BuiltEnvironment #Consultancy #Biodiversity #LightingDesign #Habitat #Infrastructure #Nature #ChelseaFlowerShow #Stratford #London