As specialist surveyors and engineers, we often operate in a landscape where technical precision meets practical reality. Recently, I had the opportunity to explore this intersection at Elemental LONDON and the NHIC Knowledge Hub at ExCeL.
I attended alongside industry colleagues, including Andrew McColl and Michael Gibber. While the company was excellent, what struck me most was the clear signal that our industry silos are breaking down. The separation between building pathology, environmental health, and engineering science is becoming increasingly thin.
If you missed this event, you missed a vital insight into the future of our profession.
The Holistic Health of Buildings
Given my background with the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), I was particularly interested to see how the event tackled the “healthy home” concept.
We are moving past the era where a surveyor simply notes damp. We are entering an era where we must understand the biological and chemical implications of that damp. The sessions at the Knowledge Hub were not just about bricks and mortar. They explored the physics of airflow, the biology of mould, and the engineering required to retrofit perfectly serviceable housing stock without creating sick building syndrome.
For an ISSE member, this is our bread and butter. The technical depth available across the five theatres was substantial, covering:
- Thermodynamics and heat loss: Understanding how heat pumps and modern heating systems interact with traditional fabric.
- Material Science: How new timber innovations and insulation materials perform under stress.
- The Regulatory Landscape: Direct insights from the HSE Building Safety Regulator and DESNZ regarding the Future Homes Standard.
A Nexus for Specialist Knowledge
Andrew McColl described the event as a “goldmine” of CPD, and he is entirely correct. However, from a specialist perspective, I would go further. It is a nexus where theory meets application.
We often talk about the skills gap in the UK. Walking through the exhibition and attending the talks, it became obvious that the solution lies in cross-disciplinary knowledge. Surveyors need to think like engineers, and engineers need to understand the diagnostic challenges surveyors face on the ground.
This event brought those worlds together. With over 200 speakers, including academic researchers and innovators from Innovate UK and CIBSE, the level of discourse was refreshingly high. It wasn’t about sales pitches. It was about the science of building performance.
Why ISSE Members Should Engage
As members of the Institute of Specialist Surveyors and Engineers, we pride ourselves on a higher level of technical capability. To maintain that, we must engage with the wider scientific community.
The topics covered at ExCeL are the topics that will define the next decade of litigation, remediation, and reporting. Whether it is the intricacies of MVHR systems or the structural implications of net-zero retrofits, staying isolated in our own specialisms is no longer an option.
Final Recommendation
It is rare to find such a concentration of high-quality technical data available freely.
I strongly encourage all ISSE members to keep an eye out for the next dates. It is an exceptional opportunity to broaden your technical horizons and ensure that your advice remains at the cutting edge of building science.
