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AJ CLIMATE CHAMPIONS: EPISODE 41

AJ Climate Champions podcast: ‘Net Zero has almost lost its meaning’

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Delivering net zero is not just technical. Understanding how people use buildings and their role in the community is crucial, says AJ100 sustainability champion and Architype associate director Ann-Marie Fallon

In this episode, we hear about Architype’s success in influencing policy changes in Scotland, which includes funding tied to performance-based targets for schools and a Passivhaus equivalence standard for all new housing. Fallon also describes the growing community of architectural practices in Scotland pushing for more sustainable outcomes.

Fallon has been instrumental in developing a ‘blended’ approach to retrofit through a nuanced study of the City of Edinburgh’s estate of 300 buildings with a wide variety of building typologies from different eras. This holistic approach involves everything from exploring whether the activities in a particular building can be consolidated and intensified to the nitty-gritty of updating mechanical plant. ‘The service engineer probably hated me on the on the project, because I have an unhealthy interest in services,’ she says.

Fallon has also been involved in developing the curriculum for a national module on building physics and Passivhaus that will be rolled out in every RIBA-accredited Part 1 course, launching this autumn.

AJ Climate Champions is hosted by Hattie Hartman and George Morgan. To catch up on all episodes, click here.


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About Ann-Marie Fallon

Ann-Marie Fallon is an associate director at Architype. She qualified as an architect in Ireland and did a Masters in Environmental Design of Buildings at Cardiff University. An early adopter of Passivhaus, she became a certified Passivhaus designer in 2009. Upon joining Architype in 2016, she led the delivery team for Agar Grove (Phase 1a) in Camden, at the time the UK’s largest Passivhaus residential project. She became an associate director in 2020 and moved to Edinburgh to join the newly-formed Edinburgh office. She is a teaching fellow at the University of Bath and an active external examiner.

Projects and resources mentioned in this episode

Architype

Scottish Passivhaus equivalent bill

Stephen Long, senior associate director, Scottish Learning Trust

Scottish Futures Trust, Learning Estate Investment Programme: Outcomes Based Funding

PAS 2038

Passivhaus Enerphit standard

Net Zero Public Sector Building Standard, Scotland

Enterprise Centre, UEA

Steel Construction Institute

Harris Academy Sutton

Charlie Luxton Design

Riverside Primary School

Max Fordham House, London

Sarah Lewis, Passivhaus Trust

RIBA-accredited Passivhaus course for Part 1 architecture students

For more information, contact hello@coaction.org.uk

Credits

Climate Champions is produced in association with ACAN, the Architects’ Climate Action Network
Podcast produced and edited by Simon Aldous
Music: Edmilson do Pífano, Forró de dois Amigos. Interpretation: Felipe Tanaka e banda Balaio de Baião

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