CIBSE’s recent conference, Building Performance Reimagined – What’s Next?, held on 26 November 2025 at the Royal Society in London, brought together leading voices from across the building services and sustainability sectors. The event, part of Fiona Cousins’ 2024–25 presidential theme, showcased actionable insights and next steps to address the evolving challenges of building performance in a changing world.
The conference, which was very well attended, featured four engaging sessions focusing on fabric, renewable energy, research, policy, and people-first approaches, highlighting practical applications of emerging performance metrics, innovative solutions, and successful retrofitting projects.
Session One: Fabric First
Chaired by Sasha Krstanovic, Founder and Design Lead at mstep and CIBSE Trustee, this session explored decarbonisation and climate resilience in the UK housebuilding sector. Speakers included Kathryn Dapre (CALA), Tom Smith and Ola Bialas (Hoare Lea), and Joel Callow (Beyond Carbon). Topics covered ranged from Decarbonising the UK Housebuilding Sector – Challenges and Opportunities to UKGBC Climate Resilience Roadmap – Overheating, and Parametric Concept Design for Passivhaus Workflow, providing attendees with concrete examples of best practice and innovative design strategies.
Session Two: Renewable Energy Sources
Chaired by Ellen Salazar, Head of Building Services at CIBSE, this session focused on integrating renewable energy into building performance. Speakers Quinten Babcock (Transport for London) and Richard Hipkiss explored topics including TfL’s Palestra Decarbonisation Journey, offering practical insights on delivering energy-efficient solutions across large-scale infrastructure projects.
Session Three: People First
This session highlighted the importance of occupant wellbeing in building performance. Speakers Tom Randall, Jon Belfield, and Vic Tink (InTandem Systems) presented case studies and strategies for placing people at the centre of building design, operation, and performance assessment, under the theme CIBSE Building Performance Reimagined – People First.
Session Four: Research, Policy and Future Planning
Chaired by Sam Baptist, Head of Government Affairs at CIBSE, this session focused on integrating research and policy into future planning. Speakers Becci Taylor (Arup), Lewis Turner, Dipo Lafinhan, and Andrew Wholley explored topics such as Homes Don’t Cost the Earth – Affordability within Planetary Boundaries, offering insights on creating homes that are both sustainable and economically viable.
The conference successfully brought together professionals, stakeholders, and thought leaders to share knowledge, discuss challenges, and inspire actionable change across the built environment. The event reinforced CIBSE’s commitment to advancing high-quality building performance while responding to the urgent sustainability, efficiency, and wellbeing challenges facing the industry.
Building Performance Reimagined – What’s Next? has set a benchmark for future CIBSE events, offering practical insights and inspiration to continue driving improvements across the sector.
Building Performance Reimagined – What’s Next? has set a benchmark for future CIBSE events, offering practical insights and inspiration to continue driving improvements across the sector.
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