The pandemic has thrown up all manner of issues for the built environment, but perhaps the most important of all to emerge from the past two years is that of sustainability. The climate emergency is escalating and, as an industry, we know we have a responsibility to do what we can to tackle it.

The process of designing and delivering a building is slow and convoluted, which in itself is a problem. You might be presenting the most cutting-edge of proposals at a planning committee, but by the time it comes to construction, there are likely to have been technological advances that offer new sustainable possibilities, let alone better-performing materials available.