FOOTPRINT+ podcasts

The Portman Estate head office: Heritage workspace transformation for people and planet

The Portman Estate’s relocation of its head office to One Great Cumberland Place presented an exciting opportunity to reimagine the workplace. The project aims to set a benchmark for sustainable commercial interiors across its 110-acre Marylebone estate. The retrofit of the 8,400 sq ft office prioritises collaboration, wellbeing, and exemplary environmental performance while working within an existing base build. Sustainability informed every design decision including: * Low-carbon and high-recycled-content materials * Circular economy principles resulting in reuse of existing services, lighting, and finishes * Inventive reuse of salvaged materials * Specification of furniture to meet rigorous environmental, repair, and replacement criteria Embodied carbon was measured and recorded to support The Portman Estate’s One Planet Action Plan, achieving carbon neutrality with minimal offsetting and setting a replicable benchmark for future workplace retrofits. Chairperson Joe MacMahon, Associate - Gort Scott [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/joe-macmahon] Speakers Michael Jones, Project Director - The Portman Estate [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/michael-jones-1pkg] Jess Daly, Principal Consultant - Bioregional [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/jess-daly] Megan Thacker-Brooks, Architect - Gort Scott [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/megan-thacker-brooks]

Accelerating Regenerative Design practice

So what is Regenerative Design? Regenerative design is increasingly discussed across the built environment sector, yet it is often unclear what it means and how it differs from other sustainability practices within construction.  This session will provide a concise, accessible introduction to what regenerative design is, what it aims to do, and why it can’t be reduced to a checklist.  Drawing on insights from the Regenerative Design Lab, a cross-sectional learning programme for built-environment professions, the speakers will share what emerges when people work with regenerative principles over time and what it means for practitioners trying to make change today.  Chairperson Timothy Clement, Director of Social Value & Sustainability - Morgan Sindall Construction [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/timothy-clement] Speakers Oliver Broadbent, Director - Constructivist [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/oliver-broadbent]

2 Finsbury Avenue: Engineering a sustainable new skyline

2 Finsbury Avenue is a 38‑storey, 106,000 sq m development set to Chairperson Marion Charlier, Central Engineering Lead - Arcelor Mittal [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/marion-charlier] Speakers Matthew Webster, Head of Sustainability - British Land [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/matthew-webster] Ollie Wildman, Director - Buildings - Ramboll [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/ollie-wildman] Kathryn Castledine, Senior Sustainability Manager - Sir Robert McAlpine [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/kathryn-castledine] Jonathan Davis, Technical Director - William Hare Group [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/jonathan-davis] David Chapman, UK Sustainability Lead - ArcelorMittal [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/dave-chapman-1]

One Exchange Square: Structural reimagining

One Exchange Square reimagines a 1980s office building and demonstrates how novel methods can be used to expand commercial floor space on a large-scale cut & carve project whilst minimising carbon impact. The whole building has been redesigned to deliver healthier working environments with roof terraces, interior planting and a diversity of uses contributing to a revitalised whole. The project delivers a substantial 11-storey, 7.5m extension above London Liverpool Street Station without foundation strengthening, avoiding the significant embodied carbon associated with new basements and deep piling. An exoskeletal transfer truss and hanger system redistributes loads back to the retained structure, enabling 94% structural retention by volume, prioritising flexibility and material efficiency. Preloading the structure and removing it as the facade was installed minimises movement of the cladding system. Chairperson Oren Yefet, Project Engineer - Multiplex [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/oren-yefet] Speakers Jonathan Flint, Senior Associate - Heyne Tillett Steel [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/jonathan-flint] Vanessa Smith, Sustainability Manager - Multiplex [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/vanessa-flint] Alec Smith, Project Director - M3 Consulting [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/alec-smith]

Market Sentiment, Appetite and Behaviour

Investor approaches to greening real assets span a wide spectrum—from doing the bare minimum to comply with regulation, to deep retrofits designed to meaningfully reduce climate impact. This session explores what truly matters to investors across this range of ambition and how differing priorities shape capital allocation, asset design, and operational decisions. We examine how owners, developers, lenders, and asset managers weigh cost, risk, return, and reputation when assessing sustainability strategies, and how these considerations translate into real-world outcomes for the built environment.   The discussion will also tackle:  *  Has political fatigue dampened sustainability momentum or simply reshaped it?   * The sentiment divide differences across Europe, UK and US capital?   *  How occupier demand, leasing behaviour, and willingness to pay influence investment decisions and long-term asset value?  Chairperson Adrian Boyce, Group Director - OD Group [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/adrian-boyce] Speakers Chris Hunt, Co-Founder & Director - V7 [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/chris-hunt] Mike Youngson, Director of Capital Projects UK and Europe - TPG Angelo Gordon [https://www.footprintplus.com/speakers/mike-youngson]