Joe Giddings

Building for Forests: Global Collaboration & Documentary Premiere Join Built by Nature at MASP for talks and the premiere of "Our Future: Built by Nature" ahead of COP30. Free event, registration essential.

We're premiering the film in Sao Paulo, at our pre-COP30 event (which happens to be taking place in the excellent Lina bo Bardi designed Museum of Art Sao Paulo - November 8th - sign up here: www.eventbrite.nl/e/building-f...

YouTube video by Built by Nature Our Future: Built by Nature (2025) | Official Trailer

As part of our plans for COP30 at Built by Nature, we've produced a film showcasing 6 exemplar timber buildings from around the world.

Narrated by Kevin McCloud - the film asks; can the way we build our homes help solve the climate crisis? www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WxQ...

looks a lot like the "smart city" plans for Toronto from a few years back

Highlights the benefit of other parties stepping aside, and the anti-reform vote coming together around a single candidate

This fact - 2024 saw the largest one year increase in CO2 levels since records began - should be leading the news agenda round the clock. There should be 24/7 crisis reporting, breaking news style, forcing politicians everywhere to respond. Every other news story should be connected to this.

Great - thankyou. I agree, but I suppose for sake of fairness that clay is also finite in nature, technically?

This is excellent - thanks for sharing. I wonder what the comparative embodied carbon is between the clay boards, and a typical gypsum plasterboard

YouTube video by Holzbau und Baukonstruktion TimCoM 2025 | Dominik Merk | Clay Boards as a fire protection layer – State of the art

Clay boards with or without natural fibers as fire protection layer (bye gypsum) 'beclaydung' project #eurocode #earthbuilding #regenerativematerials #bauwende
youtu.be/MrObT7j4wHA?...

The asymmetry of don’t knows are a huge part of this. 2024 Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative voters are disproportionately likely to say they ‘don’t know’ who’d they vote for in future, which takes them out of the voter pool. Reform thus win a higher % of the remaining voters, pushing up their poll %

Yes, precisely, to keep urban heat effect down. It was a specification in the masterplan, apparently.

The core, and ground floor, structure is concrete

On 12% of the vote, as the fifth most popular party

Agreed! Although personally i can't see reform holding that vote share until 2029.

This is wild

Poses a question though: Why is Germany second highest on prices, when one of the lowest on the second graph?

This fact, I think, makes this building utterly unique to the 2020s... Just think about it:

10 years ago this building would not have been built like this.

And in 10 years time, this building could not be built like this.

As an embodied carbon geek, this is my favourite bit. France is blessed with having national regulation that mandates whole life carbon assessment and reduction, with strict limit values that will be lowered in 2028 then 2031.

This building meets the 2028 limit, but not quite the 2031.

As a former architect I find the floor plans of the tower very satisfying. Dual aspect, generous balconies, efficient service areas and views outside from the front door. There are 16 floors to this building, one of the three tallest timber towers in France.

The buildings are all white, with facade materials ranging from white glazed terracotta to "ultra-high performance" fibre reinforced concrete. Note how all of the facade materials are non -combustible. Except for a few timber windows, and balcony soffits which are left exposed

It is one of four blocks built with mass timber, providing over 100 homes, offices and shops, in the Lyon Confluence area, a vast new development near Lyon city centre that will ultimately house 25000 people

This new residential tower in Lyon is made from wood.

In many ways, this is quite an incredible building. Here's why:

Popular UK design show gives hempcrete a major global platform in season debut Grand Designs has served as a cultural barometer for architectural experimentation for decades.

FYI
Hemp is the future of housing

Whole-of-plant use
Carbon neutral
Fireproof
Environmentally friendly
3D printed houses/materials
Hemp is ideally suited to Australian conditions

CC: @JEChalmers @ClareONeilMP @CatherineKingMP @JulieCollinsMP
🐝
#auspol
hemptoday.net/popular-uk-d...

The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...

Details worth picking out:
Different colour for every door.
North/south oriented, neat red external shading on south face.
2 long banks of solar panels on south side of terrace roofs.
Generous bike storage in front gardens.
Minimal car parking, green instead.
Wall counted letterboxes = no drafts.

A row of red brick passivhaus terrace homes in York designed by Mikhail Riches

Two terraced homes designed by Mikhail Riches

New housing built by the City of York, designed by Mikhail Riches. Passivhaus terraced homes, built with a timber frame, cellulose insulation. One of 5 schemes around York by the practice - who previously won the Stirling Prize for similar housing in Norwich.

My tree of the week. Elephant and Castle, London.

Who can name the tree?

Kemi Badenoch vows to repeal Climate Change Act Tory leader says she would replace it with ‘cheap energy’ strategy, ending decades-long consensus on climate

Tory party’s long journey away from science, reason, responsibility, common sense and truth is complete

A graph showing the overall renewable energy generation in EU27 member states, each bar split proportionally depending on source. It shows solid biomass is by far the biggest source of renewable energy in most EU countries

Look at the green bars:

This is the proportion of renewable energy in EU27 countries generated by biomass.

I.e. burning wood and other plant matter. Without BECCS the carbon in biomass is released into the atmosphere on combustion. Carbon we could be storing. This is not sustainable

An astounding number of activists have been abducted by the IDF in international waters tonight and taken to Israel against their will, including Greta Thunberg and Kieran Andrieu from @novaramedia.com. everybody here: globalsumudflotilla.org/sos/?key=X8J...

Graphic on a blue and purple gradient background Title: Carla Denyer MP publishes report on leasehold 'horror stories' Quotes: "Every single time our costs are over our agreed service charge..." "Service charge has escalated in recent years, while service has in no way improved... there are considerable security issues. At times the front door isn't working."

Image of a stack of papers on a blue and purple background. Quote reading: "It's clear that the feudal leasehold system needs to be abolished as soon as possible, and action is needed from government to protect those who are already living in leasehold homes and suffering hugely as a result."

Today along with @sianberry.bsky.social I've published a report on our constituents' appalling experiences of the leasehold system. From extortionate fees to poor treatment at the hands of management companies, residents are being held to ransom in their own homes. Govt must act fast.