Retrofit Meets is an in-person series of panel events that connects people through themes and topics relevant to the deep retrofit of homes at scale. Produced as part of Retrofit 23 and taking place on Wednesday evenings at the Building Centre, this series showcases research and ideas on the residential retrofit challenge. The panels feature guest speakers presenting a project or provocation, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Join us for these thought-provoking sessions and meet and share with others involved in the retrofit puzzle.
In the first session after a short summer break, we returned with a panel event looking at how deep retrofitting contributes to our physical and mental health. The panel is chaired by Tim Crawshaw a multi-disciplinary practitioner and educator specializing in urban design, master planning and sustainable development. Tim presents three speakers presenting engaging research projects followed by a discussion and will answer questions from the audience. More about our speakers for the evening:
- Paul Chamberlain of Lab4Living Sheffield - Transforming homes to support the 100-year life.
- Dr. Rachna Lévêque, Senior Housing Innovation, Connected Places Catapult: Harnessing the power of innovation for health and resilience in homes.
- Connie Pidsley and Adam Dudley Mallick Part 2 Architecture Students at the London School of Architecture – Healthy Homes Hub.
- Jonathan Tuckey, Director of Jonathan Tuckey Design - Transforming terraced housing
Lab4Living are an interdisciplinary research group based on a collaborative community of researchers in design, healthcare and creative policies. Paul Chamberlain presents an ongoing project funded by Research England that explores the 100-year life and the 'future home'. The talk aims to prompt conversation and inspire action to explore how design and architecture can contribute to reshaping our homes effectively, efficiently, and sustainably.
Connected Places Catapult is the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport and place leadership. The Housing Innovation programme looks to harness data and innovation to catalyse step-change improvements in our homes that respond to the needs of an ageing population and a changing climate, while enabling efficiencies and growth in the housing sector. Rachna Leveque will present on the Catapult’s work on home retrofit, and why health and wellbeing need to be at the centre of innovation and market growth.
The LSA together with Material Cultures were commissioned by the Built Environment Trust to conduct focused research starting with a question; How can Hackney residents increase their agency over their built environment and work towards collective environmental sustainability and spatial justice? Connie and Adam will present this research that delves into the link between our current health crises and existing conditions of housing stock in Hackney. The result is the Healthy Homes Hub that aims to empower and include all, by facilitating and strengthening connections between separate parts of the construction industry, and between the profession and the public.
Jonathan Tuckey Design has undertaken a self-initiated study examining retrofitting terraced housing at scale. Jonathan Tuckey will explore this study throughout his discussion. The terraced housing typology makes up approximately 20% of all British housing. How can we take advantage of this typology to upgrade our housing en masse and deliver homes that meet and exceed the RIBA 2030 climate targets? In this presentation, Jonathan will explore the opportunities and solutions available for retrofitting terraced housing at scale to create stronger communities, and resilient, energy-efficient housing stock.
