Shaping Sustainable Places – Development and Construction of a Low-Carbon Built Environment Skanska - A world-leading project development and construction group, using knowledge and foresight to shape the way we live, work and connect.

For many office workers, the post-pandemic years have meant a major transition. The return to the office has meant reintegrating into the social sphere of colleagues and customers, commuting to work, and maybe retiring those very comfortable but not too fashionable track pants. But modern workplaces have raised their game. Picture yourself working in a space that’s constructed with your comfort in mind, with cleaner air than your own home, with biophilic design bringing nature indoors, healthy food options, a gym, parking for your bike and even tools for fixing it. In this episode of Shaping Sustainable Places, we take a closer look at what it takes to create an office like that, a workplace where you want to be.Guest: Wendy Feldman Block, Executive Manager Director at Savills Northern Virginia office, USA.Guest: Katarzyna Zawodna-Bijoch, Business Unit President for Skanska Commercial Development Europe

Roads haven’t changed much in the last few thousand years. The Romans had the basic idea—a large aggregate covered in smaller stones, topped with something smoother—that we still use today. But the rock used in base and subbase of today’s roads, as well as the concrete and asphalt used on the surface, has to be mined and hauled to wherever it’s needed. Both are costly and not environmentally friendly. But now researchers are looking into cheaper, more sustainable, and smarter ways to build streets and highways.
In this episode we will take a closer look at what the new asphalt can do for the environment and for the construction industry.
 
Guest: Christopher Elofsson, project manager at Vällsta asphalt plant. 
 
Guest: Abubeker Achmed, senior researcher working for the Swedish National Road and Transport Institute. 
 
Guest: Jiqing Zhu, senior researcher working for the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.

Amongst the most epic structures found on this planet, bridges are the giants. But even these marvels of engineering need a little tender loving care, so that they can serve their communities for decades or centuries to come. In this episode, we explore two exciting bridge projects.Skanska is renovating the George Washington Bridge in New York City, the world’s busiest road bridge with 300,000 vehicles crossing every day. We visit the bridge to find out what the challenges are in such a major renovation project.And with a major investment in solar energy, the Öresund Bridge, connecting Denmark and Sweden, has taken the next step in an ambitious plan to become the world's most sustainable bridge. How far off are they from their goal?This episode’s guests:
Jen Billand, senior project manager, Skanska USA Civil
Bengt Hergart, Property Director with the Öresund Bridge Consortium.

Is it realistic to believe that the construction sites of the future will be completely fossil fuel free? In this episode, we examine the benefits of electrifying construction sites and the challenges of achieving zero-emissions in construction sites.  
 
We visit the first fossil fuel free construction site in Sweden, Slakthusområdet i Stockholm and explore the differences between driving an excavator powered by diesel and an excavator powered by electricity. 
James Bailey, Executive Vice President for Skanska’s West Coast region, USA talks about the experiences and challenges of working with electrical machines in the major transit project, Los Angeles Metro’s Purple D Line Extension Project. 
Dr Ray Gallant, Volvo CE Vice President Sustainability and Productivity Services, USA explains what the challenges are for sites of the future to be completely fossil-free. Volvo CE is the manufacturer with one of the world’s largest ranges of electric machines for the construction industry, with the goal of making fossil-free machinery more accessible. 

Many architects agree that there are advantages to building in mass timber. 
Trees bind carbon, wooden buildings have shorter construction time, and timber offers superior insulation. So what’s impeding the material’s widespread adoption? In this episode we explore if mass timber can be a game changer for the industry. 
 
We speak with Andrew Waugh from Waugh Thistleton Architects, UK, whose projects have included Murray Grove, the world’s first all- timber residential tower. Andrew is an architect specializing in mass timber, and is working on projects all over the world.  
 
We also talk to Dean Lewis, Director of Mass Timber and Prefabrication with Skanska in the USA. Dean is responsible for the company’s work on prefabrication and mass timber projects across the USA, and he speaks warmly about our work on Portland International Airport’s innovative curved timber roof using locally sourced materials .  
 
This episode’s guests:     
Andrew Waugh, a founding director of the British firm Waugh Thistleton Architects, UK. 
Dean Lewis, Director of Mass Timber and Prefabrication, Skanska, Seattle, USA.