AJ Climate Champions

9. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman. In this first of several episodes on landscape and biodiversity, we speak to Guy Shrubsole, policy and campaigns co-ordinator at Rewilding Britain and author of Who Owns England? Shrubsole explains why land ownership patterns in England are at the root of the housing crisis, the extent to which agricultural practices are responsible for the ecological crisis and how rewilding can help restore biodiversity. And in a brief news roundup, co-hosts Hattie Hartman and George Morgan discuss the launch of ACAN’s Natural Materials workstream, architecture practice Orms’ new open source Material Passports tool and the RIBA’s Mandatory Competences consultation. For show notes to this episode and to listen to all AJ podcasts, visit architectsjournal.co.uk/podcasts

8. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman. Steve Webb of Webb Yates Engineers explains how to persuade clients to use more timber and stone, and Wilf Meynell shares Studio Bark’s approach to Victorian house extensions. Webb describes what it will take to transform an industry fixated on concrete and steel, and outlines simple steps to decarbonise Victorian house extensions, while Meynell explains the budget challenges of low-carbon retrofit and why architecture is essentially political. For show notes to this episode and to listen to all AJ podcasts, visit architectsjournal.co.uk/podcasts

7. AJ Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. Harry Paticas explains why he left architectural practice to focus on retrofitting schools, and how he educates schoolchildren on the climate emergency. After more than a decade at Arboreal Architecture, the practice he co-founded in 2007, Paticas left in January 2021 to work full-time on RAFT, Retrofit Action for Tomorrow, a Lewisham-based community enterprise he founded that promotes low-carbon retrofit in primary schools. RAFT combines professional retrofit expertise with a hands-on educational programme. Equipping children with thermal cameras and teaching them rudimentary building physics with hot baked potatoes, Paticas is expanding the reach of his retrofit know-how. And in a quick news roundup, co-hosts Hattie Hartman and George Morgan share views on ACAN’s student activism campaign, greenwashing and Passivhaus myth-busting. For show notes to this episode and to listen to all AJ podcasts, visit architectsjournal.co.uk/podcasts

Bonus episode. AJ Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. Author and critic Owen Hatherley describes approaches to the retrofit of Modernist buildings, lessons learned from post-Soviet housing and why he thinks White Design’s straw bale Lilac Cohousing in Leeds could be a replicable new build approach. The AJ's Will Hurst explains the tactics and ambitions of the RetroFirst campaign, from engaging with MPs to raising public awareness, as well as the policy levers necessary to prioritise retrofit.    In a quick news roundup, hosts Hattie Hartman and George Morgan share their views on Zaha Hadid Architects’ Forest Green Rovers timber stadium proposal and round up other sustainability news, including ACAN’s Carbon Footprint of Construction report.     For show notes to this episode and to listen to all AJ podcasts, visit architectsjournal.co.uk/podcasts

6. Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. In the final episode in this series, German architect Anna Heringer talks to the AJ about mainstream building with earth, her 'Corona baby' – a birth space in the Vorarlberg region of Austria, and her pipeline of projects in Germany, Spain and Ghana. 

5. Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. This episode centres on the retrofit of Stock Orchard Street, Wigglesworth's home and office completed in 2001. The Stock Orchard Street retrofit, completed in 2020, tackled maintenance and repair, a deep environmental upgrade and rethinking the house for ageing gracefully.

4. Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. Diana Dina, head of sustainability and regenerative design at Haworth Tompkins, shares her insights on how to be a changemaker in a large architecture practice. The episode also features a discussion with Lauren Shevills of ACAN on Foster + Partners and ZHA's controversial departure from Architects Declare. 

3. Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. Architect, author, educator and sustainability expert Sofie Pelsmakers shares insights on sustainable design from the Nordic region, and discusses the urgent need for top-down architecture curriculum reform.

2. Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. Mikhail Riches' Annalie Riches discusses the Stirling Prize-winning Goldsmith Street scheme, and the critical importance of learning from completed projects. Sponsored by the Green Building Store.

1. Climate Champions hosted by Hattie Hartman. Buro Happold's director of sustainability explains why she felt she had to leave architecture and retrain as an engineer.