In the past, the public’s perception of ‘green buildings’ might have comprised unsightly solar panels, straw bales, green roofs or an excessive placement of flora and fauna on a building’s facade. Nowadays, innovations in building materials have enabled architects and specifiers to develop sustainable buildings without compromising on design and performance.

Take, for example, concrete. By no means perceived as an ‘eco-friendly’ choice in construction, concrete has been up against several challenges to restore confidence in the eco-conscious specifier. In response to the UK Government’s 2020 target for reducing carbon emmissions, The Concrete Centre has committed to offer best practice guidance on the use of concrete to help an industry which is striving to exceed its climate change goals.

In this month’s issue, Guy Thompson explains how The Concrete Centre responds to the challenges and many enquiries about the sustainability performance of concrete and how the industry is committed to a holistic measure of sustainability thus enabling designers and specifiers to produce evermore sustainable solutions. Turn to page 18 to find out more.

Meanwhile on page 14, Chiswick Point, one of West London’s newest housing developments, demonstrates how a proactive approach to innovative construction solutions can help improve efficiency without compromising on design. Led by GRAHAM Construction, the team’s sustainable approach has helped reduce the energy use across the whole development.

I hope you enjoy this edition. Don’t forget, you can also access all of the magazine’s features, product news and supplier information at your fingertips via Future Constructor & Architect’s state-of-the-art app. To download your version free of charge, simply search ‘fc&a’ on Google play or the App Store.