It's your future...

Contemporary Stone Engineering as a Low-Carbon Solution in Modern Construction

Stone has been used as a structural material for thousands of years and yet its use has declined in recent times.

The loss of traditional skills and knowledge has led this once ubiquitous material to be perceived as expensive to quarry, cut and transport, being seen in the eyes of many as suitable only for cladding or flooring.

Yet when paired with a modern approach to structural analysis, design and detailing, and a rigorous statistical analysis of material strengths, stone can realise its potential as a material fit for the 21st century.

Time: 11am – 1pm

Embodied Carbon Measurement and Reduction in Design with the SmallCarbon Tool (Online)

Free place promo code for WECA residents and workers: RSCARBON26

SmallCarbon is an embodied and whole-life carbon assessment tool created by Studio Bark in collaboration with tech company Looper and environmental engineers Etude. Developed initially with grant funding from Innovate UK, SmallCarbon aims to provide an intuitive platform for carbon counting aimed particularly towards the needs of SMEs. Focusing on usability, accessibility and customisation, the tool aims to remove barriers and enable integration of carbon optimisation within the design process.

Design practices are at different stages in their carbon journey, but the imperative for the industry to understand, reduce and report the carbon impact of our designs is only set to increase. Currently only a small proportion of practices undertake in-house carbon studies, with many citing complexity, time-constraints and software costs as barriers. While mandatory reporting in the UK is currently required by only a handful of local authorities, clients are increasingly aware of the issue, and many design awards require project carbon data to be submitted.

Whether you are new to embodied carbon or already familiar with assessment types, this training event will explain how and why this tool was developed, and how it can assist you and your team.

11am to 1pm

Ventilation Series 1: Demand Controlled Ventilation (DCV)

We spend 90% of our lives inside buildings and yet the indoor air quality is often poor. As we continue to improve the airtightness of our buildings, we need to ensure that the quality of indoor air is maintained for our health and wellbeing.

Trainer Vince House will briefly cover the basic principles of ventilation and look at different ventilation systems available today. He will explain how demand controlled ventilation works and why it performs as a low carbon solution when space and budget are tight.

Time: 11am – 1pm