Show notes
Episode 02: Show NotesToday on the Circulist Quest Podcast, Nick Gonios speaks to Sara Wilkinson, professor of sustainable buildings at the University of Technology, Sydney. Her focus is on green cities and preparing our urban environments for the challenges of climate change. So how big is the sustainability challenge across the built world? What happens with all the waste that’s produced from construction all across the board?Don’t fret, it’s not all bad news! It’s been shown in a recent PWC Circular Economy Report that a circular built environment could generate $770 billion in direct economic benefits over 20 years and save 3.6 million tons of CO2 per year in Australia alone, by 2040. Tune in today as we talk to Sara all about sustainable building, what a green building really is, challenges that hinder the delivery of sustainability, the modular design and system, and we get Sara’s thoughts and ideas on many other aspects of this sector. You don’t want to miss this conversation!Key Points From This Episode:Sara shares more about her background and how she came to be passionate about her job; what is a green building?What proves to be a challenge when it comes to delivering on sustainability; we aren’t all on the same page.What it is about sustainable building that continues to push Sara to persevere down this path?Sara brings simplicity with the wording when it comes to the language surrounding sustainability.We talk about modular design and system and what it means to sustainability.Sara shares thoughts on buildings and materials that stand the test of time and adaptability.Tech Precinct Building: her thoughts on the building and its sustainability. How to deal with the challenges that are present with regards to sustainability; safe to fail.Very rarely do we teach people how to operate a house or a building; how this can save you a lot of energy.Can we really fix the climate crisis with sustainable buildings?Adaptive reuse: an 800-year-old golf clubhouse and the London Towers. What Sara is excited about and looking at getting deeper into and her final thoughts on the sector.Quotable Quotes:“What is a green building? A green building is an essentially contestable concept — it means all things to all people.” — Sara Wilkinson [0:05:20]“We really need to think about human behaviour, because again we can design all these fabulous buildings, but if people don’t know how to operate them are we getting the best out of them?” — Sara Wilkinson [0:21:30]“Very rarely do we teach people how to operate a house or a building and just knowing a few things about when to open and close windows and draw curtains or blinds, can actually save you a lot of energy.” — Sara Wilkinson [0:21:55]“If you count up all the bedrooms we’ve got in houses that are not used, there are more than enough rooms for nobody to be out on the street. It’s about the distribution of resources and ownership.” — Sara Wilkinson [0:29:10]Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Sara Wilkinson on LinkedInThe Shock of the New CirculistHost Nick GoniosProduced by Jim Lounsbury
