Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials in the world, with one third of global resources going into its production. However, the production of concrete has a significant impact on the environment, and there is a growing need for sustainable alternatives.

Host Sue Stockdale interviews Roisin Hyde, a chartered architect specialising in sustainable design and 3D printing of low carbon concrete components as concrete alternatives. Her business, Nomad, has recently been nominated for the EarthShot prize, which supports start-up companies working in the area of habitat restoration and decarbonization. Her goal is to decarbonize the construction industry through her work with concrete.

About Roisin Hyde

Roisin Hyde is a Chartered Architect specialising in Sustainable Design with a PhD in Parametric Design, Novel Materials and Digital Fabrication. She spent 5 years developing, testing and validating a sustainable model for the 3d Printing low carbon concrete components as a PhD Student in Queen’s and Fulbright Visiting Researcher at UNC. In 2001 Roisin was awarded Startup funding through Innovate UK's ICURe program for the production of 3D printed low carbon concrete components made with industrial by-product and waste materials. Roisin is currently working with partners Balfour Beatty, FP McCann and Enva to produce 3DP concrete seating, planters and paving made with recycled glass from the Palm House of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh as art of the current restoration works.

Connect with Roisin Hyde on LinkedIn and via her website, or watch her TED Talk.

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Actions to take after listening to the podcast

• We have created a list of questions to help you reflect on the podcast episode and what you heard
• Sign up for our Zoom listener discussion on the topics raised in this series on Friday 21st July from 1300 to 1345hrs BST.

Key Quotes

• "I think one third of global resources goes into the production of concrete."
• "The technology is already 20 years ahead of the industry"
• "Geopolymer it's really a super material like carbon fibre or carbon nanotubes or graphene, it's a pretty incredible material"
• "I think it's really important to connect with young people and say this is your planet."
• "It would be great to develop a wonderful circular economy for the moon and we can start over on a planet and do it right from from day one"
• "I just feel that it has great potential for creating more equal society globally. People will be able to access this technology wherever they are and we'll be able to share our knowledge bigger communities and have more impact in mitigating against climate change"

Credits:

Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra
Producer: Sue Stockdale