Building Brum Conor Nolan

This April, on the Building Brum podcast, we caught up with the organisers of the British Council for Offices (BCO) 2024 Annual conference taking place next month in Birmingham. It has been 10 years since the conference was last held in the UK’s second city and over the past decade, our city, famously known as the ‘workshop of the world’ has lived up to its name, quietly delivering a number of sizeable new developments, including 103 Colmore Row, Enterprise Wharf and Paradise Birmingham.   

We caught up with Peter Crowther – Senior Vice President of the BCO, James Hall – Director at Associated Architects and Member of the BCO Midlands Chapter Committee and Rosie Cotterill – Director at Turley and Chair of BCO Midlands NextGen Committee to discuss what makes Birmingham a strategic place for the conference to be held and how ongoing investment and development has transformed the city.  

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK. 

This spring on the Building Brum podcast we discuss housing across the UK in 2024 . Following on from the March Spring Budget and ahead of the local elections, mayoral elections and the general election, we caught up with Chartered Town Planner Daniel Wilson who specialises in delivering sustainable developments that transform places and leave a positive, lasting impact on local communities through holistic, inclusive growth. 
Joining Dan from our sponsors Cavendish is Tristan Chatfield who served as a councillor at Birmingham City Council and is now Associate Director at Cavendish specialising in Planning Communications and Public Affairs. Together they examine the 2024 spring budget and look ahead at the future of the housing sector.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

Daniel Wilson:
Dan is a Chartered Town Planner who specialises in delivering sustainable developments that transform places and leave a positive, lasting impact on local communities through holistic, inclusive growth. Dan is experienced in delivering strategic urban extensions, a brand-new garden village, urban regeneration schemes, student accommodation, hotels, and more. Since graduating from Cardiff University (MSc in International Planning and Development), Dan has gained over 10 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. 
Dan previously sat on both the RTPI West Midlands Regional Activities Committee and the RTPI West Midlands Ball Committee. He also served as Junior Vice-Chair  and Vice-Chair and, in 2020, was Chair of the RTPI West Midlands Young Planners Committee. That same year, Dan won the RTPI West Midlands Young Planner of the year award and, in 2021, was highly commended by the judges in the national Young Planner of the year awards. In a previous life, Dan was President of a Students’ Union and Regional Chairman of the Commonwealth Student Association (Caribbean Chapter).

Tristan Chatfield:
Tristan is a passionate advocate for sustainable economic development in Birmingham and the West Midlands. As a former cabinet member at Birmingham City Council and MPs constituency assistant Tristan enjoys unparalleled local connections. He can offer insight into both the politics of the region and its varied communities.
His current portfolio of projects includes regeneration schemes, aviation, infrastructure, retail and residential. Tristan leads our work in the West Midlands, based out of our Birmingham office.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. We have three guests joining us this March on the Building Brum podcast including two of Birmingham's leading women in architecture with glowing careers. Alex Slatter Associate as Associated Architects and Shauna Bradley Partner at Howells, alongside long-time building Brum collaborator and supporter Lee Simmonds of Solus. All three of our guests are parents, both Alex and Shauna are both mothers of one and Lee is a father of three.

On today's episode, we are going to be talking about the challenges of planning for, having and raising a family whilst furthering your career and growing within your place of work.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK. 

This February on the Building Brum podcast we are joined by some of the stakeholders behind the Skills Hub initiative taking place at the latest MODA development coming out of the ground on Great Charles Street. We are speaking with Matthew Hood of Sunbelt Rentals, Shaun Hall from the West Midlands Combined Authority and Karl Johnson Social Value and Stakeholder manager at John Sisk. The Skills Hub offers local people free construction training and a guaranteed job interview at the end of the 20-day course and follows on from the earlier success of another project by MODA “The Mercian” which created 140 new job opportunities.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.
Matthew Hood, Major Projects Sunbelt Rentals – Midlands
Recently celebrated 14 years at Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland.  His focus is on major projects in the midlands, and he works with management & main contractors, subcontractors, local authorities, and other project partners.  He offers project solutions and ESG across all services at Sunbelt.

Shaun Hall - West Midlands Combined Authority

Shaun is the Lead for Adult Retraining for the West Midlands Combined Authority, with extensive experience of connecting local communities to jobs. Shaun has specialist knowledge of working with the construction sector, including pioneering work with HS2 and the 2022 Commonwealth Games, helping to reskill local unemployed people so they can access new employment opportunities. He has a long career working in employability, including close partnerships with JCP, colleges and training providers.

Karl Johnson - Social Value and Stakeholder Manager - John Sisk.
I have many years of experience working within social value, providing opportunities for roles primarily within construction for individuals who may never have considered a career within the sector. 
A passion for working with communities, schools, colleges and local businesses, as well as being a STEM ambassador and being on the Employment Advisory Board for HMMPS, I fundamentally believe in access to employment for all irrespective of background. 

We are excited to be joined by two of Arup’s Birmingham-based thought leaders Alison Kilby and James Watts, at their brand-new office at One Centenary Way, in Birmingham City Centre. In this episode we discuss all things Paradise Birmingham and the part both played in delivering one of the city's most ambitious office developments for MEPC and in turn, becoming its largest occupier. In the five years since the award-winning architects Howells made plans public for One Centenary Way, the project has taken centre stage with its strategic placement linking Centenary Square to the High Street. 
We discuss Arup’s role in this journey, including how they supported the redefining of the building as the first intelligent building in Paradise, and how that enabled them to design an office in partnership with HOK Architects and Overbury shaped by Arup’s values of sustainable and inclusive design.

The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.

James Watts
James is the regeneration lead for Arup’s Midlands property team. He’s worked on a wide variety of projects across a number of different sectors from concept through to completion both in the UK and overseas. He has delivered cost effective solutions through quality design throughout the region and further afield, including across Arup’s new workspace at One Centenary Way and further visioning for Paradise and the city centre.
Alison Kilby
Alison is an associate director at Arup. Having started in the industry 14 years ago and, following a period working in Business Development, she returned as a Mechanical Engineer in 2014, and now works on a range of multi-disciplinary building designs, including collaborating with the University of Warwick and University of Birmingham on campus development, as well as with PwC on a range of exciting projects.

This December we discuss all things Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Solihull with Maggie Grogan, Managing Director - Midlands for Muse. Exploring the expansion behind national placemaker Muse into the Midlands and their vision set out to transform key areas across the West Midlands. We look at the partnerships in place that drive the development team from Muse forward, from Homes England to Legal and General, Maggie and her team have their sights set on creating a lasting legacy across Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Solihull and beyond.
The Building Brum podcast is kindly sponsored reality capture and point cloud modelling specialists ScanTech Digital,  Solus, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial floor and wall tiles, APIC UK Limited West Bromwich based Architectural Glazing specialists and Sunbelt Rentals with over 1,500,000 items of equipment- they are the largest providers of equipment hire in the UK.