History will probably look back at 2006 as the year our society really woke up to its current and future impact on the environment.

Whether it was former US vice-president turned eco-campaigner Al Gore’s surprise hit film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ or last month’s Stern report for the government, climate change really entered the mainstream this year.

Last week’s announcement by Gordon Brown that he wants all new homes to be carbon neutral by 2016 is a further sign this issue will revolutionise construction.

It leaves our industry with a challenge established ways of working and thinking are now up for debate and re-evaluation. Design methods in offices where schemes are conceived and on building sites themselves face scrutiny. I saw a prime example of this in an interview with Jerry Harratt, an eco-friendly architect who built his own home. Why do we need foundations, guttering or plastering to build new houses? Harratt asks. Why do we “layer on our buildings a labyrinth of mechanical contraptions in the name of eco-friendly design”.

I expect this debate to continue. Just as global warming is already casting an uncomfortable light on our own lifestyles, the role the built environment plays will come under more intense scrutiny.

We’ve learned a lot

This is the last opportunity for you to read my opinions on the industry in printed form. The content which we have developed in the last 20 months specifically for the QS and project management professions will be migrating both online and to our sister magazine Building. It only leaves me to offer my genuine thanks for your contribution and support we have learned a fantastic amount about the QS and project management professions during the last year and a half which will contribute to future coverage.

Phil Clark

Source

QS News