University estates are under pressure. Budgets are tight. Campuses are ageing. Student expectations are rising.

In this episode of The SCOPE, Trevor Payne, Director of Estates at the University of Oxford, and Bryan Murray from Stantec explore how universities can futureready their estates. From smarter use of space and realtime data, to adaptable design, sustainability and climate resilience, they discuss practical ways estates teams can deliver better outcomes — now and for the long term.

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The pace of change and growth in the development of data centres is significant, but how much scope is there to improve their sustainability credentials?

Operational efficiency and power usage can deliver big wins. But what about material choices? How do good intentions make it to reality? Is there an argument that design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) could be adopted more widely?

Putting the sustainability arguments to the test are Angela Vico Correas, director at studioNWA, Roy Andrade, technical director at Sweet Projects, Timo Hendy, technical director at Stantec, and Stephen Meleady, MEP director and sector lead for data centres at Stantec. Hosted by Graham Munday at Stantec.

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With the UK’s grid capacity stretched and an ever-growing need for data centres, what choices do we have to power them?

What impact will grid connectivity reforms have? How can we scale alternative forms of power generation? And could data centres even help to address power loads and support decarbonisation?

Sharing their views are Amy Turner, power connections lead at SEGRO, Jon Clark, associate at construction consultancy RLB, Peter Sibley, divisional director for nuclear at Stantec, and Jesal Chandi, senior utilities consultant at Stantec. Hosted by Graham Munday at Stantec.

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techUK described the data centres market as “the backbone of the UK economy”. But as data centres move beyond traditional locations into semi-rural or urban locations, public perception becomes even more important.

How can we quantify their value? How are data centre operators engaging with their host communities? And how are bigger sites enabling a more creative approach to design?

While there’s an obvious opportunity to recycle the vast amounts of heat that data centres produce, this hasn’t yet taken off in the UK. What’s missing? How do we see this progressing?

Here to answer all these questions and more are Emma Fryer, director public policy Europe at CyrusOne, James Donagh, development economics director at Stantec, and Stephen Meleady, MEP director and data centres sector lead at Stantec. Hosted by Graham Munday at Stantec.

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The future is localised energy generation and storage - a smart grid.

But what is a smart grid? How does it work? Who benefits? And who do tenants pay for their energy?

What does a smart grid look like in both a residential and commercial development? And how does it balance the demands for EV charging?

To help answer these questions and more, we are joined by Ben Bowler, a renewables, storage, and e-mobility director with Stantec, and Henry Leivers, chief operating officer for SNRG, a next generation infrastructure company. Our guests are in conversation with Graham Munday from Stantec.

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Competence is a key word in the positioning and requirements of the Building Safety Act.

How is the industry proving competence? If you're responsible for selecting suppliers or products, how are you assured of their competence?

What does this mean to the process of design - why is performance-based design the future? And how is the industry adapting to the changes required from the Building Safety Act?

With recognised expertise in the realm of the Act, joining this episode are Professor Jose Torero from UCL - an expert witness for the Grenfell Inquiry, Bea Young, director at WW+P architects, and James McNay, fire safety director with Stantec. Our guests are in conversation with Graham Munday from Stantec.

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From competence to culture change, there's a lot to absorb around the Building Safety Act.

So, what is meant by the level of detail required being proportionate to risk? What's the impact of a greater focus on detailed design upfront? Why can't you find Gateway 2 and 3 referenced in the Act? And why is it important to be able to show all your workings-out, just like you did at school?

Offering a sweeping view on the Building Safety Act in this episode are Owen Edwards, building control specialist, Jay Morton, director at architects, Bell Phillips, and Victoria Checkley, structural and civil engineering director with Stantec. Our guests are in conversation with Graham Munday from Stantec.

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The Building Safety Act brings ethics, responsibility, and competence to the fore. It demands a change in culture from the construction industry.

So, how does this industry embrace culture change? What can we learn from other sectors that have undergone behavioural and cultural change? And crucially, where are we now - is a nervous industry a competent industry?

Tackling this brief are James McNay, fire safety director with Stantec, and Jessica Neuberger, partner at international law firm, Eversheds Sutherland, in conversation with Graham Munday from Stantec.

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