The Building Performance Reimagined conference, held at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, proved to be a resounding success, attracting a vibrant audience and fostering a wealth of insightful conversations. With full attendance, this conference focused on CIBSE's transformative project, bringing together a diverse group of professionals from various sectors, including developers, architects, planners, surveyors, researchers, facilities managers, and contractors.
This pioneering event centred around the Building Performance Reimagined report, commissioned by CIBSE and researched by Arup. Diverging from traditional CIBSE publications, the report emphasises a holistic and future-oriented perspective on building performance, rather than focusing solely on system sizing, maintenance, or controls. The conference highlighted four critical performance metrics identified in the report:
- Variety: How might building services optimize space, promote adaptability, and accommodate diverse uses and users?
- Readiness: How can building services reduce risk and harm while building anticipatory capacity to respond to unforeseen threats?
- Connectedness: In what ways can building services better respond to the context of the building and its contents, integrating with local and wider systems?
- Emergence: How can building services contribute positively beyond their consumption, and learn as structures age?
The conference began with a keynote address from Fiona Cousins, CIBSE President, who outlined the transformative Building Performance Reimagined project and report. Building on her earlier address this year during the report's launch, Fiona emphasised that buildings impact not only carbon emissions but also ecosystems, biodiversity, air and water quality, and human health. She set the agenda for the day, focusing on the engineer's role and our broader societal impact, while encouraging a reframing of the challenges faced in adopting a holistic approach to building performance.
Session Highlights
Session one: Readiness and Emergence
This session featured speakers CIBSE's Technical Director Dr Anastasia Mylona, Amad Kayani, Dr. André Neto-Bradley, and Emma McIntyre. The panel explored themes of readiness for changing conditions, threats, risks, and uncertainties, as well as the emergence of new materials and innovative ideas from existing resources. Discussions revolved around how our use of buildings is expected to evolve from now until 2050, including shifts in mindsets concerning standards, competency assurance, and how we might incentivize good practices. The panel also examined lessons learned from other industries and how to cultivate a more anticipatory culture.
Session two: Variety and Connectedness
Speakers CIBSE's Head of Net Zero Policy Julie Godefroy, David Richards, Emma Gibbons, Indy Johar and Sahar Paknahad took the stage for the second session, discussing the themes of variety and connectedness. They addressed the diversity of spaces, uses, and influences, focusing on flexibility and adaptability. The panel considered what constitutes good performance and the tools needed to enable variety and connectedness. Topics included increased modularity and adaptability of building services, the role of AI in supporting collaboration among specialisms, and how space-based services might become more integral as expectations for connectedness evolve.
Session three: The Future for CIBSE and Building Services
The discussion shifted to the future of building services engineering, with insights from speakers Charlie Warwick, Eimear Moloney FCIBSE, Joanna Harris, Ted Pilbeam FCIBSE, and Theodor Bratosin. This session addressed the skills shortage within the industry and explored how future engineers and built environment professionals will access and digest knowledge. Topics included the training landscape and communication lines across different parts of the value chain, emphasizing CIBSE's role in shaping this transformation.
Session four: Voices of the Future
In the final session, members of the CIBSE Young Engineers Network, including Antony Brown, Harry Sharples, Ola Elhassan, Ruth Tatanga, and Tobias Revell, reflected on the discussions from earlier sessions. They shared their perspectives on what they will require from current leaders to foster the necessary changes within the industry. This session underscored the importance of supporting and enabling the next generation of engineers in their pursuit of innovation and progress.
Conclusion
The Building Performance Reimagined conference not only achieved its goal of informing and inspiring attendees about the future of building performance but also fostered a collaborative environment where professionals could engage in meaningful discussions. With a full house and a vibrant atmosphere, the event showcased the commitment of CIBSE and its members to advancing the field of building services and promoting a more sustainable, adaptable future.