
Seeing below the waves
Imagine an offshore wind farm, with scores of turbines lined up in uniform across a stretch of horizon. Erecting just one of those turbines in the hostile offshore environment is undoubtedly a great feat of
Imagine an offshore wind farm, with scores of turbines lined up in uniform across a stretch of horizon. Erecting just one of those turbines in the hostile offshore environment is undoubtedly a great feat of
The Engineering Matters Awards celebrate the impact engineers have on the world. The awards are produced with the support of the IMechE and Engineers Without Borders UK. This summer, the Engineering Matters team has interviewed
If you were asked to name developments that are helping to make road travel more environmentally-friendly, you might think of the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, or regulations such as ultra-low emission zones, and the
Reby Media has welcomed two new partners for the 2025 Engineering Matters Awards. Engineers Without Borders UK and the Institution of Mechanical Engineering. The partners have helped shape the judging criteria for the awards, and
We can reuse and retrofit buildings to extend their lifespans, and reduce their embodied carbon impact. But some structures may not be suitable for full reuse: some will have reached the end of their safe life; others will have no viable reuse; and some retrofit projects may require partial dismantling to reduce loadings on the original structure.
But demolition or disassembly does not need to mark the end of the life of building materials. With care and planning, these can be dismantled and used anew. Around the UK, we see centuries old pubs and homes built using recovered timbers, from ships and structures. But this is just a starting point for materials reuse.
In this episode, a follow-up to episode 315Renewing the world, without costing the planet, we learn why architects and engineers should plan for materials reuse, from design through to demolition or disassembly. We examine how different materials can be reused. And we look at the development of trading platforms that enable the use of reclaimed materials at scale.
Guests
Will Arnold, head of climate action, IStructE
Prof. Katherine Cashell, Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE), University College London
Mike Davies, co-founder/director, SD Engineers
Image credit
Installing a Re:Crete bridge in Wallis, Switzerland, courtesy of EPFL, under CC-BY
We can reuse and retrofit buildings to extend their lifespans, and reduce their embodied carbon impact. But some structures may not be suitable for full reuse: some will have reached the end of their safe life; others will have no viable reuse; and some retrofit projects may require partial dismantling to reduce loadings on the original structure.
But demolition or disassembly does not need to mark the end of the life of building materials. With care and planning, these can be dismantled and used anew. Around the UK, we see centuries old pubs and homes built using recovered timbers, from ships and structures. But this is just a starting point for materials reuse.
In this episode, a follow-up to episode 315Renewing the world, without costing the planet, we learn why architects and engineers should plan for materials reuse, from design through to demolition or disassembly. We examine how different materials can be reused. And we look at the development of trading platforms that enable the use of reclaimed materials at scale.
Guests
Will Arnold, head of climate action, IStructE
Prof. Katherine Cashell, Department of Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE), University College London
Mike Davies, co-founder/director, SD Engineers
Image credit
Installing a Re:Crete bridge in Wallis, Switzerland, courtesy of EPFL, under CC-BY
Imagine an offshore wind farm, with scores of turbines lined up in uniform across a stretch of horizon. Erecting just one of those turbines in the hostile offshore environment is undoubtedly a great feat of
The Engineering Matters Awards celebrate the impact engineers have on the world. The awards are produced with the support of the IMechE and Engineers Without Borders UK. This summer, the Engineering Matters team has interviewed
If you were asked to name developments that are helping to make road travel more environmentally-friendly, you might think of the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, or regulations such as ultra-low emission zones, and the
Reby Media has welcomed two new partners for the 2025 Engineering Matters Awards. Engineers Without Borders UK and the Institution of Mechanical Engineering. The partners have helped shape the judging criteria for the awards, and
The construction industry, historically driven by metrics such as efficiency, speed, and financial performance, is undergoing a significant transformation. Increasingly, the focus is shifting towards the social value that projects can bring to communities, emphasising
Darren Martin, chief digital officer of AtkinsRéalis, has spent his career focusing on how big data can solve real human problems. His entry to the field came not from a computer science background, or engineering,
The first recorded system of timekeeping dates back to the Yaraldi, who have been in South Australia since 8,000 BCE. They divided the day into seven parts based on the sun’s position in the sky.
In December, Planet Beyond talked to Leon Koning about his ambitious plans to cross the Atlantic with three teammates as Team Row4Cancer, part of the World’s Toughest Row. He set out with four goals: getting to the finish line, beating the rest of the teams, beating the world record, and remaining friends with his fellow rowers.
In this short, Leon returns to Planet Beyond, following his arrival back on dry land. The team achieved three of their four goals, he tells host Jon Baston-Pitt. He shares the physical and emotional challenges of the row and we learn how the team kept themselves motivated, through the headwinds of their 5,000km journey.
As their row reached its final days, the team looked forward to their return to their friends and families, and to fresh food. Leon tells us about enjoying the world’s best burger, and about a key lesson he learned from the voyage: whatever goals you have on your list, the best time to do them is now.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guest
Leon Koning, Legal Counsel, Europe and Africa, Fugro
HS2’s Learning Legacy Podcast is a five-part series exploring the Learning Legacy programme.
HS2 is one of the most complex and challenging railway scheme the UK has ever undertaken. As such, it has been generating vast amounts of data across the board. Every geological survey, every design, every site, every environmental survey, all generating more and more data.
So with all this data, what do you do with it?
The final episode of the Learning Legacy Podcast looks at how HS2 has been using their data to build more detailed models, advance approaches to work and better equipment that can provide greater insights into the world of construction engineering.
Featuring:
Roberto Alberola – TYPSA, Head of BIM and Digital
Peter Ruff – SCS, Head of BIM
Jonny Neville – Mott Macdonald, Engineering Geologist and Information Manager
Idarousse Mouhtar – BBV, Senior Materials Engineer
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE – Social Entrepreneur and Computer Scientist
Roberto and Peter dive into the creation of a digital version of the project using Building Information Modelling (BIM) and ensuring there is a single point of truth so all designers and contractors along the length of the project are on the same page.
Jonny and Idarousse talk through the process of earthworks excavation by using a new 3D GeoBIM model which allows for more advanced ground investigation surveys. Further pushing the importance of the planning process before putting a spade in the ground.
Dr Anne-Marie closes out the series with an extract from her speech given at HS2’s Learning Legacy Live event. Highlighting having a growing mindset, experimenting along with learning from our actions and asking “how” we do things.
Find out more about HS2’s Learning Legacy Programme at: https://learninglegacy.hs2.org.uk/