#technicalsymposium 2026 Interview Hannah Gray and Deepak Sadhwani #buildingdesign

Why It Matters

Demonstrating a cost‑effective, stakeholder‑driven pathway to net‑zero housing could transform UK construction practices and accelerate climate‑goal achievement.

Key Takeaways

• Whole‑life optionering identifies single net‑zero housing solution over 60 years
• York retrofit proved net‑zero cost lower than anticipated
• Stakeholder collaboration essential for on‑site delivery of net‑zero packages
• Approach scalable across UK if stakeholder networks replicated
• Early cost concerns fade once whole‑life benefits quantified

Summary

The video captures a day‑two interview at the Subsea Technical Symposium where mechanical engineer Hannah Gray speaks with senior analyst Deepak Sadwani about his recent presentation on a whole‑life optionering methodology for net‑zero housing. Sadwani outlines a 60‑year life‑cycle analysis that isolates a single design pathway capable of achieving net‑zero carbon emissions.

Key findings include the identification of that unique net‑zero option, a detailed cost breakdown that initially appeared prohibitive, and a real‑world pilot in York where the retrofit was executed at surprisingly low expense. The pilot demonstrated that the primary hurdle was not financial but the coordination of diverse stakeholders required to implement the solution on site.

Sadwani emphasizes, “It turned out to be surprisingly low,” referring to the retrofit cost, and stresses that “the major aspect was to bring in various stakeholders who could actually deliver it.” The York case serves as a concrete example that the methodology can move from theory to practice when collaborative frameworks are established.

The implications are significant: if the stakeholder model can be replicated, the approach could be scaled across the UK, reducing the perceived cost barrier and accelerating the construction sector’s contribution to national net‑zero targets. This signals a shift toward lifecycle‑focused design thinking that aligns financial viability with climate objectives.

Original Description

At the 2026 CIBSE #TechnicalSymposium, our TS Correspondent™️Hannah Gray, who is also our reigning CIBSE ASHRAE Graduate of the Year, caught up with some of our speakers to discuss their research and presentations.

Deepak Sadhwani, Senior Analyst at Energy Systems Catapult, spoke with Hannah about his presentation titled "𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑮𝒂𝒑: 𝑨 𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒏 𝑶𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚-𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏" which appeared as part of Session 18 covering early-stage design and transitional technologies for closing the carbon gap.

Feeling inspired? Working on a research project? CIBSE is now accepting submissions for the 2027 Technical Symposium under the theme "𝑭𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 2050: 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑵𝒆𝒕 𝒁𝒆𝒓𝒐, 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝑬𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔".

Call for papers closes 30 June, click here: https://go.cibse.org/l/698403/2026-05-21/c6jmrx

#WeAreCIBSE #InspiringPeopleTransformingPlaces #builtenvironment