Yara Machnouk, Elementa Consulting, reflects on the last NextGen Sounding Board session of the year, discussing critical topics that must be highlighted when planning the future of London.

The NextGen Sounding board met for its last session of the year to discuss a number of critical topics that are important to consider when planning the future of London. 

 

The session was kicked off with a yearly round up focusing on how local policy influences development planning and shapes what is in the pipeline. The local election in May, the current cost of living crisis, the increased focus on embodied carbon in development decision-making and the continuous changes in government positions being some main topics that formed part of our professional and personal shared experiences in London this year.

 

The Sounding Board spent the remainder of the session delving deeper into some of these issues and potential solutions to combat these. 

 

 

The Board agreed that there is an ever-growing detachment between people that work in London versus people that can afford to live in London, and enjoy what it has to offer as a vibrant cosmopolitan city. Changes in the current working model, such as hybrid and remote working, has had a significant impact on where people choose to live, with many deciding that living outside of London and only commuting when necessary is a more beneficial pattern. Many companies are experiencing a skill shortage with junior staff feeling more empowered to be vocal about their wants and needs within a workplace. This puts a strain on who the city is actually being designed for and poses the question of ‘is London still attracting talent?’. City university applications have seen a significant drop, largely due to the cost of living and how it is no longer feasible for students. London, as with many metropolitan cities, needs to adapt the way it is designed for work, play and residence to remain a resilient city.

 

With regards to employee wellbeing, mental health in the workplace was a large topic that was discussed amongst the Board, more specifically the importance of boundary setting amongst colleagues and ensuring there is a line drawn between personal time and work time, to reduce the ever-rising cases of ‘burnout’. Workplaces must reevaluate on what worked well for the business and employees pre-Covid and reverting back to these methods, rather than falling into a ‘new normal’. 

 

 

The Board weighed in on their different experiences with embodied carbon in the built environment industry, from planning stage through to technical design. Specifically debating the 92-year old Marks & Spencer structure on Oxford Street in which there was public concern with the decision to demolish this traditional building and the embodied carbon impacts of doing so. There was general consensus amongst the Board that all buildings should undertake in depth feasibility studies to determine the correct construction approach on a site-by-site basis, in most cases refurbishment is always the least carbon intensive and the most circular approach however, there were instances mentioned in which retention of the existing building requires a vast amount of rework, especially in the cases where additional floors are being added, and the reinforcement required still results in a very high embodied carbon building. 

 

A main theme behind circular design is that buildings should be designed to be adaptable and to be reused, and this can be limited when working with traditional buildings that have severe site constraints. A key takeaway was that all new builds should be designed for reuse and adaptability and this should form a key part of the design process. 

 

General education around embodied carbon is a must. Not just expertise in the industry but ensuring that decision-makers have general understanding around the definitions behind embodied carbon as this affects more than just the built environment industry but can be applied to infrastructure, transport, technology, fashion and any other physical assets.

 

Concluding what felt like one of the most productive sessions of the year, the board agreed how valuable and insightful it is to be in a room with a cross-functional group to be discussing solutions of working towards a unified goal!