In this session we’ll explore some of the challenges facing neighbourhoods in the context of climate change – not abstract notions of things happening in far off lands and seas, but impacts that can be felt here and now, and how the shift to ‘zero carbon’ might affect our lives . We’ll discuss how we might respond to these challenges at a range of scales - through changes to the physical infrastructure of our buildings and streets, and the role of communities in shaping these practices and building resilience.

Hosted by Marianne Heaslip, Homebaked CLT architect

With:

Helen Grimshaw from URBED

Helen is a Senior Consultant at URBED, specialising in sustainability. She works across a wide range of projects, supporting urban design and masterplanning work, consultancy, research and low-energy building retrofit. With a background in human geography, Helen is interested in the intersection between people and technical systems, how technical information is communicated to and understood by ‘non-technical’ users, and the impact this has on the operational performance of buildings and systems. She works regularly with Carbon Co-op, developing new approaches to the energy efficient upgrade of existing housing.

URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design) Ltd is an award winning research and design consultancy based in Manchester. Since URBED was founded over 40 years ago, we have been exploring how the principles of environmental sustainability can be applied to urban areas at masterplan and building scale. We believe in building healthier communities, creating positive places to live, and enabling good design at urban as well as architectural scales. URBED is a limited company run according to cooperative rules and managed by its members. Our collaborative values reflect the work and services we undertake with clients, fellow consultants, and local communities. As URBED members we are committed to our responsibilities within the office, to our work with clients and collaborators, and above all to the communities in the areas where we work. The office is made up of urban designers, planners, architects, geographers and sustainability experts. The team has a strong ethos of good design and meaningful community consultation. URBED has many years of experience in helping public and private sector clients achieve successful projects across the country. This has included work both as designers working on live projects, and as advisors on processes and assessments of design and sustainability.

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Marianne is a chartered architect with interests in urban design, sustainability and participative design. She holds an MSc in Advanced Environment and Energy Studies from the Centre for Alternative Technology, and is a Certified Passive House Designer. Marianne has experience in both new build and retrofit projects at a range of scales, with a particular focus on low-energy and sustainable design. She worked on two of the pioneering TSB ‘Retrofit for the Future’ projects with the lessons learned through this work applied in her role on the Carbon Coop’s retrofit ‘Community Green Deal’ programme. She is currently working on a number of retrofit and refurbishment projects across the North West – including as a member of Terrace 21 cooperative in Granby, Liverpool, where she plans to live. Marianne is the lead architect on Homebaked's Oakfield Terrace scheme and has worked with Homebaked and 2up2down since 2010.