This spring on the Building Brum podcast we discuss housing across the UK in 2024 . Following on from the March Spring Budget and ahead of the local elections, mayoral elections and the general election, we caught up with Chartered Town Planner Daniel Wilson who specialises in delivering sustainable developments that transform places and leave a positive, lasting impact on local communities through holistic, inclusive growth.  Joining Dan from our sponsors Cavendish is Tristan Chatfield who...

This April, on the Building Brum podcast, we caught up with the organisers of the British Council for Offices (BCO) 2024 Annual conference taking place next month in Birmingham. It has been 10 years since the conference was last held in the UK’s second city and over the past decade, our city, famously known as the ‘workshop of the world’ has lived up to its name, quietly delivering a number of sizeable new developments, including 103 Colmore Row, Enterprise Wharf and Paradise Birmingham....

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. We have three guests joining us this March on the Building Brum podcast including two of Birmingham's leading women in architecture with glowing careers. Alex Slatter Associate as Associated Architects and Shauna Bradley Partner at Howells, alongside long-time building Brum collaborator and supporter Lee Simmonds of Solus. All three of our guests are parents, both Alex...

This February on the Building Brum podcast we are joined by some of the stakeholders behind the Skills Hub initiative taking place at the latest MODA development coming out of the ground on Great Charles Street. We are speaking with Matthew Hood of Sunbelt Rentals, Shaun Hall from the West Midlands Combined Authority and Karl Johnson Social Value and Stakeholder manager at John Sisk. The Skills Hub offers local people free construction training and a guaranteed job interview at the end of the...

We are excited to be joined by two of Arup’s Birmingham-based thought leaders Alison Kilby and James Watts, at their brand-new office at One Centenary Way, in Birmingham City Centre. In this episode we discuss all things Paradise Birmingham and the part both played in delivering one of the city's most ambitious office developments for MEPC and in turn, becoming its largest occupier. In the five years since the award-winning architects Howells made plans public for One Centenary Way, the...

This December we discuss all things Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Solihull with Maggie Grogan, Managing Director - Midlands for Muse. Exploring the expansion behind national placemaker Muse into the Midlands and their vision set out to transform key areas across the West Midlands. We look at the partnerships in place that drive the development team from Muse forward, from Homes England to Legal and General, Maggie and her team have their sights set on creating a lasting legacy across...

This month on the Building Brum Podcast we are joined by Gensler Birmingham’s Design Director, Philip Twiss. From Associated Architects to MAKE and now Gensler, Philip has helped to design and deliver some of Birmingham’s most iconic buildings from The Cube to the Mailbox, to the next chapter of Hammerson’s Bullring landmark. We look at why Gensler decided to move to Birmingham 10 years ago and what it means to combine global and local with projects being delivered by the Team in Birmingham...

HUB Residential Managing Director Damien Sharkey and Development Manager Isabel Scruby join Building Brum’s Conor Nolan alongside Cavendish Associate Director and ex-Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member Tristan Chatfield to talk about their upcoming development: 2 Snow Hill Plaza. We will discuss why Birmingham is a key destination for investors as 2 Snow Hill Plaza marks HUB's second project in Birmingham alongside the Digbeth Coach Station. We explore why Damien and the team at HUB have...

On the podcast this month we are joined by the Head of Digital Project Delivery Joshua Hanson and Liam Clarke Regional Head of 4D Planning at John Sisk & Son. We caught up with Liam and Joshua to look at the projects they have both completed and are currently delivering across Birmingham including The Merican, Great Charles Street and Birmingham Health and Innovation Campus. These schemes when combined add up to three-quarters of a billion pounds worth of development across build-to-rent...

We caught up with IM Properties Group Sustainability Director Andrew Swain. Andy is a chartered environmentalist with over 20 years of experience and joined IM Properties in 2022 to drive the implementation and delivery of the businesses  ‘Sustainable Futures’ strategy focused around its three pillars of People, Planet and Place. In addition to delivering sustainable futures, he works closely with delivery partners to ensure that the principles of sustainable development and net zero...

We are onsite at the Peddimore Birmingham development with Winvic Construction and Sunbelt Rentals. IM Properties are Birmingham City Councils development partner for Peddimore.On our latest episode we caught up with key members of the project team to talk about the role, impact and importance of social value within the construction industry. Focusing on how social value is there to support, grow and create positive change within communities. All three guests on our latest episode play a key...

We catch up with Ash Wilson, Creative Director and Founder of Sculpt - an architectural interior design practice based in Digbeth. Exploring the journey of a design practice start-up we look at what it means to be an entrepreneur within the design world in the Midlands. We discuss the highs and lows of starting up a design business and amazing projects like The Roundhouse with the National Trust that help to define the practice, as well as repeat clients such as Digbeth Dining Club that are...

All three of our special guests were recently nominated for the British Council for Offices (BCO) NextGen Rising Star Midlands Award. We are joined by Rosie Cotterill incoming Chair of the BCO NextGen Midlands Committee who plays an instrumental role in the planning and delivery of Birmingham’s award-winning Paradise Development as a Director at Turley  Alex Slatter BCO award winner is both the Chair of the British Council for Offices Next Gen Midlands and an associate at Associated...

We caught up with Matt Warren, Head of Digital Engineering and Integrated Solutions at Lendlease Europe to discuss the delivery of city centre regeneration projects and how advancements in technology are changing the ways in which teams collaborate and work together to drive positive change and regeneration.  We look back at work by Lendlease in Elephant and Castle, London and ahead to the upcoming Birmingham Smithfield redevelopment.  With the advancements in technology being embraced and...

On our latest Building Brum podcast we have been joined by Simon Delahunty-Forrest Assistant Director of development planning and development at Birmingham City Council and Verity Barr Director at Cavendish Advocacy, part of the BECG. We caught up with Verity and Simon to discuss the future of Birmingham and what the Future City Plan means for the City and look at what it also means to developers and investors who are looking to relocate and establish themselves in the UK’s second city...

In our latest episode, we are joined by our Building Brum partners and sponsors Solus. We caught up with Sustainability Manager Ken Graham and Area Sales Manager Lee Simmonds to look at the sustainability journey Solus are making as a UK tiling market leader and the wider journey being made by the tiling industry globally.  We look at how the role of a product supplier has changed in years gone by and developed into a much more collaborative role working alongside contractors, architects,...

As time ticks away to BCC’s Net Zero by 2030 target we caught up with Rob Nield - leader of the Webb Yates Engineers Midlands office and chartered structural engineer – to talk about his approach to lowering embodied (or upfront) carbon which can be responsible for a significant portion of a building’s carbon life cycle. We talked about their current portfolio and plans in the region, their approach to design and sustainability and how they are using innovative material systems coupled with...

We are joined by the team behind Creative Retail: Matt Pegg and Ed Purcell. Both are experts in commercial real estate across Birmingham and the UK. We will be looking at how the high street has changed over the past ten years and what needs to happen to boost, develop and take it forward in the decades in the come. The Building Brum podcast is sponsored by reality capture and point cloud modeling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and...

This summer the British Council for Offices NextGen Midlands and Building Brum collaborated to present a special event, looking at the careers of industry and business leaders in Birmingham who are forging and shaping the UK’s second City.  Building Brum Programme Director Conor Nolan was  joined by Calthorpe Estates Masterplanning and Development Director Ralph Minott, Turley Senior Director and Head of Planning Midlands Angela Reeve and Associated Architects Director Stephen Townsend....

Following on from our recent Building Brum roundtable event held with Careys and hosted by Cundall, we caught up with Careys Regional Director for the Midlands, Tom Wraight, to talk about what is being done in Birmingham to help tackle unemployment within the City. We find out more in today’s podcast about the opportunities that our sector offers for those who are unemployed or looking for a career change and also, how the sector as a whole can support local communities, plus develop skills...

This May we are joined by Francesca Wilkinson, Sustainability and Environmental Manager at Willmott Dixon. Francesca provides us with a unique insight into how the fuel crisis we are facing in society today is impacting the Net Zero agenda. We also look at how net-zero technology is being successfully implemented on projects across the country and the approach from the private sector in net zero and net zero ready buildings. The Building Brum podcast is sponsored by reality capture and point...

This April we are joined by Geoff Fawkes from Sunbelt Rentals, who are a key strategic partner and supporter of the Building Brum series. As the largest providers of equipment hire across the UK, Sunbelt Rentals are in the unique position of supplying and supporting a huge range of infrastructure projects both large and small across the country, helping to regenerate and transform cities nationwide. We are going to be taking a look at the steps being taken across these building sites to make...

Digbeth has been on a journey of regeneration and transformation since Oval Real Estate acquired the Custard Factory, Fazely studios and numerous other sites back in 2017. In this month’s Building Brum podcast we caught up with Oval's Head of Estates Jo Salmon who has been at the heart of the regeneration of Digbeth. Oval Real Estate is at forefront of the regeneration of Digbeth and redeveloping 42 acres of land between the HS2 Curzon Street station and High Street Deritend. We look at how...

We caught up with Broadway Malyan’s Director of Urbanism Danny Crump to find out more about one of Birmingham's most ambitious masterplans, the public realm transformation of Snow Hill. Danny has been at the heart of this project since its inception back in 2015 and has been instrumental in enhancing this district. We look at how the area has transformed over the past seven years since the project begin and what it means to enhance a public realm in the heart of a major city.    The Building...