Growing our Homes - Upscaling biobased materials in construction

Recorded 9th of December 2025

Discussion about the use and potential of biobased materials and offsite production in housebuilding.

Speakers

Dr Katherine Brookfield, University of York, will share findings from the recent ‘SHELTER: Sustainable Housing for Eco-friendly Living and Thriving Environments’ project that worked with stakeholders from the biobased materials, house building, and offsite construction industries to explore aids and barriers to the wider use of biobased building materials in UK housebuilding, with a particular focus on their use in offsite construction.

Katherine is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of York with a background in research and consultant roles in the built environment sector. Her research interests span housing, spatial planning, and the design, management and use of the built environment. Recent work has explored barriers to energy retrofit in the private rented sector, property advertising, and planning’s regulation of Houses in Multiple Occupation. Her work on the latter won the prestigious ‘Best Published Paper Award 2023’ from the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP).

Patrick Daly, TU Dublin, will talk about ongoing Home | CIRCULAR RENO project, focusing on use of biobased materials in retorfit.

Circular Reno is an EU Interreg North-West Europe project focused on developing modular, bio-based construction materials from agricultural crops such as straw, miscanthus, and hemp for use in retrofit and modular construction. The Irish strand, led by KORE Retrofit in partnership with Tuath Housing Association. Aims to demonstrate these materials in practice, support supply chain development, and explore opportunities in carbon farming and trading. The project includes the deep energy retrofit of 10 social homes using lightweight, plug-and-play bio-based over-cladding systems, while also advancing the transition to bio-based materials through market development, regulatory support, training, and dissemination to build long-term capacity in Ireland’s construction sector.

Patrick has a background in Architectural Technology and Project Management, and has developed a specialism in sustainability in the built environment with a Masters in Architecture in Advanced Energy and Environmental Studies, and a Masters in Research in Sustainability. He has over 35 years experience in building design and realisation, the latter 20 years as a specialist in the sustainable buildings field. He has been involved in numerous consultancy / research projects in the field of low energy and environmental impact buildings, and various EU funded research projects, including building materials, bioenergy and sustainable communities. Patrick is a lead lecturer in MSc in Energy Efficiency Design and Building Performance at the School of Architecture Buildings and Environment is a part time researcher currently engaged in professional doctoral studies.

You can find out more on KORE Retrofit website: Circular Reno Circular Renovation Project — KORE Retrofit


The opinions in the video are those of the speakers, and do not represent the official policy of SEDA, unless specifically stated.