POE and its value to retrofit, and what does a Head of Sustainability do? With Loreana Padron (ECD Architects)

We are joined by Loreana Padron to talk about what it is that a Head of Sustainability does and, more broadly, the value of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) to all the stakeholders in a retrofit project.

Loreana tells us about the path she's taken to becoming Head of Sustainability at Architecture firm ECD, a leading sustainability-focused practice, and we take some time to revisit the Wilmcote House project which we featured way back in 2021.

This time, we're more focused on the POE aspect, in part, driven by the inclusion of the Wilmcote House project in Marion Baeli's 10 retrofits revisited project which we featured back in April.

Some listeners may want to go back to episode, 23 EnerPHit at Scale with James Traynor of ECD Architects. It's a very old one, so please bear in mind that as badly produced as this podcast may be now (still) we've got a lot better. The content is excellent still though because James is brilliant and it's an amazing project.

Listen out for news about the retrofit design course she's been editing and the 'secret' group of heads of sustainability, something that should be a much more common model for sharing knowledge, providing an opportunity for bigger practices who can invest in research to share it with smaller practices to further the cause.


Notes from the show

• Loreana Padron on LinkedIn
• Wilmcote House on ZAP in 2021 (e23): EnerPHit at Scale with James Traynor of ECD Architects
• ECD's page on Wilmcote House
• Passive House Plus on Wilmcote House
• That canary air monitor that Jeff mentions: Canairi

**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**
We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.

• Follow us on the Zero Ambitions LinkedIn page
• Jeff, Alex, and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - [e-mail]; Everything is User Experience
• Subscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)
• Check Lloyd's Substack: Carbon Upfront
• Join ACAN
• Join the AECB 
• Join the IGBC
• Check out Her Own Space, the renovation and retrofit platform for women (but not in a patronizing way)

**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

What is Zero Ambitions Podcast?

Zero Ambitions is a consultancy and weekly podcast about sustainability and the built environment.

We find interesting and experienced guests who know what they're talking about, usually to discuss how we navigate the complexity of decarbonisation and sustainability in the built environment and its many related sectors.

The success of the podcast has seen it grow into a consultancy, Zero Ambitions Partners. The consultancy works with blue chip clients, public sector institutions, and niche-market innovators that operate in the built environment, advising about the development and delivery of sustainability strategy and how it should be communicated.

Hosted by Jeff Colley (Passive House Plus), Dan Hyde (Everything is User Experience) and Alex Blondin (Everything is User Experience).