2026 Study Day - Speakers

Main Stage Speakers

Crawford Wright - Head of Architecture & Design - Department for Education

10 questions on Climate Change and Net Zero in the Education Estate

Crawford is Head of Architecture and Design at the Department for Education where he leads a multi-disciplinary team responsible for the design and construction standards for all state schools in England. Crawford has been leading school construction programmes including Academies, UTCs, Studio Schools and Free schools for over 15 years. Previous to this he worked in local authority capital programmes including museums, concert halls and libraries. Crawford is a chartered architect and has a background in social housing design and management. Currently he leads on developing zero carbon new school buildings and developing strategies for retrofitting the school estate.

Ian Naylor RIBA – Head of Technical Development, Sustainability, Standards and Innovation Unit - Department for Education

Financial challenges at a strategic level and impact of local govt reorganisation and impacts for net zero

Ian is an architect who has worked in the educational environment for over 30 years. Ian specialises in low carbon construction, standardisation and timber. He heads the ‘Technical Development Unit’ which delivers policy and evidence in energy, engineering, sustainability, green infrastructure, standardisation, low carbon architecture and building to support pupil wellbeing. Ian has recently led the team which has developed DfE Pattern Book.

Prof. Danielle Densley Tingley - Professor of Circular Construction - School of Mechanical, Aerospace & Civil Engineering - University of Sheffield

Measuring built environment circularity across scales

Danielle serves as Professor of Circular Construction within the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at the University of Sheffield. Driven by a mission to decarbonize the built environment, she is the Principal Investigator of BuildZero, a £6.4 million EPSRC-funded initiative. This research programme unites five academic institutions and over 40 industry partners to investigate a radical proposition: whether the UK’s building stock needs can be met with zero raw material extraction, zero carbon, and zero waste.

How do we measure the "circularity"; of a building, and does it truly drive down carbon? This talk explores the intersection of circular construction and whole-life carbon minimisation, spanning the micro-scale of individual structures to the macro-scale of the UK’s national
building stock. Drawing on a blend of peer-reviewed evidence and insights from live projects, we will explore the tangible environmental benefits of a circular built environment.

Chris Keast - Prinicipal Lecturer - School of Architecture Design and the Built Environment - Nottingham Trent University

Presentation title coming soon

Chris worked for British Coal, and in Local Government for sixteen years as Surveyor before moving into teaching in 2002. His teaching career started at Leicester College where he was appointed Course Leader for Construction and Civil Engineering, overseeing one of the largest HNC Construction courses in the country. He moved to NTU in early 2006 taking up the position of Senior Lecturer in Building Surveying, taking up a range of roles including First year Course Tutor, Course Leader for both BSc and MSc Building Surveying, PMD Teaching and Learning Representative and Equality Committee Representative.

In 2020 Chris was appointed as Principal Lecturer in Property Management and Development, having direct responsibility for postgraduate programmes and degree apprenticeships. Chris is the University contact for the Chartered Association of Building Engineers and led the successful accreditation of courses across ADBE, also managing the accreditation by CIOB of courses in PMD.

Owen Griffith - Lead Renewable Heat Project Manager - National Trust

Presentation title coming soon

Owen Griffith serves as the Lead Renewable Heat Project Manager at National Trust since November 2019, overseeing a team focused on delivering low carbon heating solutions for heritage assets within the organization’s Renewable Energy Programme. With a background in renewable energy project management, past roles include Project Manager specializing in renewable energy initiatives, and Renewable Energy Project Manager at Riverford Organic Farmers. Previously held positions include Facilities Manager at South Point Projects and Operations Manager at Beco Energy Solutions, where responsibilities involved overseeing installation projects for various energy-saving products.