Urbanists attend EcoBuild

We were inspired by the many new ideas and contacts that we made at EcoBuild last week, which was a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and see the latest ideas on sustainable placemaking.

On the second day of Ecobuild, our Urban Designer - Serena Yao, attended a meeting with other members of the Urban Design Group and urban design practicioners from China. This was an excellent opportunity to share cultural ideas about sustainability and placemaking and we hope to continue developing these kinds of international links.

EcoBuild is an enormous event and it can be difficult to fit everything in. From the tiny amount of the Expo that we were able to cram in the highlights were:

• The potential future changes to the Code for Sustainable Homes which could move towards a fabric first approach before on site renewables are considered. This is something that we are supportive of, following our experience of developing a Code Level  5 scheme at Mariner's Quay with Powell Dobson Architects (http://www.powelldobson.com/index.php?file=gallery&sID=10)

• Learning more about how to deliver a successful shared space public realm scheme. Exhibition Road, a scheme that we visited in 2011, was highlighted in the way that it has had to accommodate vulnerable street users whilst maintaining an environment without the usual visual and textural clues and references.

• We we also inspired by the SAGE project in Glasgow(http://www.sowandgroweverywhere.org/) which has been working with communities and the NHS to deliver high quality allotments.