This project will bring Volume House Builders (represented) by Taylor Wimpey, built environment academia (represented by academics on a North-South axis from Edinburgh, Sheffield and Kingston Universities) and SME architecture practice together on a shared research project - a framework for developing a series of 2-3 other embedded projects - the primary aim of which is improving VHB provision and knowledge exchange across partners. In doing so we will share good practice and model novel forms of engagement across an industry in critical need of innovation. The built environment is perhaps the most ubiquitous example of the creative economy in modern Britain, yet is generally overlooked and undervalued in this context. The UK construction industry contributes around 10% of UK GDP. The work of the professions that drive it is therefore of vital importance to our society. Their expertise is reflected in a strong global reputation but the market is shrinking (RIBA Building Futures Report, p.39). In 2007, the Labour government announced a target of building an extra three million homes in England by 2020 to help deal with the growing demand for houses. At the same time it set up the framework to be world class in the delivery of zero-carbon homes by 2016. According to the Calcutt Review of Housebuilding Delivery this would 'stretch' an industry (2007, p.7) not yet ready for these demands. The need for bulk delivery of sustainable housing remains the same, even after a change of government. Local authorities look to housing associations and private sector developers such as the VHBs to help them achieve these demands however the recent recession means that house builders are struggling more than ever to minimize their costs. This is likely to impact on design quality which, as CABE research has indicated was poor, even before the recession (CABE, Space in New Homes, What Residents Think, 2009 ). Our project focuses on improvements to the supply chain. The Calcutt Review has identified the need for VHBs to work with partners with the 'necessary expertise' to make this happen (2007, p.8). This is where architectural SME practice and academia come in. There is a great deal of, largely unacknowledged, research potential in SMEs in the architectural creative industries, yet these practices are under threat - their traditional market is being taken over by large interdisciplinary conglomerates (RIBA, Building Futures Report, 2010, p.32).The project will provide the necessary support to allow these firms to deploy their creative energy in a wider industry context, to build on their research base and to develop new business models. Academia has an important role to play in giving SME practices access to cutting edge research. Through the embedded research projects our departments will become a shared resource of both equipment and knowledge where practitioners and academics can exchange knowledge, similar to the MIT's model of 'Fablabs', at the same time providing opportunities for academic researchers to test their ideas in a real world setting. There are three elements to the project: - Knowledge Exchange through the Ideas Lab and the 2-3 embedded research projects that emerge from them disseminated through partner networks. - Innovation resulting from the 2-3 embedded research projects developed by architectural SME practice and academia in partnership with Taylor Wimpey. - Development of practice based research through the above activities and through the Housing Practice Research Review to be undertaken, in partnership with the RIBA, through which we will be able to identify the current state of practice based housing research. The report from this review will act as a platform for research in this area and as a framework for a Research Practice Guide, the focus of a series of CPD events. These are the ingredients of a strategy to expand the reach of project and to change the face of VHB housing.

We have found that soils in cities are more effective sinks for carbon than agricultural soils. Urban soils typically carry a burden of fine-grained materials derived from often a long history of demolition. These materials include cement dust, which contains calcium silicate minerals, and also lime (calcium hydroxide). What we have found is that calcium derived from these minerals combines rapidly with carbonate in solution, which ultimately is derived from two sources - plants or rainwater. The rate at which this process occurs is extremely rapid, typically 100 T CO2 are removed from the atmosphere for each hectare of ground monthly; that's in a patch of ground the size of a football pitch. The amounts of carbon stored in urban soils as a consequence of this process are around 300 T C per hectare (compared with 175 T C per hectare in agricultural soils), and this is achieved rapidly after demolition (within very few years). We want to make sure that construction activity takes advantage of these findings, to help compensate for the CO2 emissions that arise from burning fossil fuels, and to contribute to the UK's ambitious targets for reducing our emissions. The potential is there - if engineered soils are strategically and systematically designed to have a carbon capture function we believe that around 10% of the UK's 2011 CO2 emissions could be captured in this way, as part of normal construction activity. The costs involved are far less than energy and capital intensive CO2 scrubbing systems that are fixed to specific plant, such as a power station. What's more, the design involves a range of ecosystem services and involves broadening the concept of 'Carbon Capture Gardens', which we have found to be very acceptable among a wide range of stakeholders, as pleasant spaces are created that communities can enjoy and engage with. The proposed research is intended to address some significant questions: 1) Can we reproduce the soil carbonation process artificially, so we can be sure of the carbon capture value? 2) How can we validate the process, so that claims of carbon sequestration can be trusted? 3) Is the process genuinely worth doing, in the context of UK and global CO2 emissions reduction targets? 4) What effect does the process have on soils, especially their strength and ability to drain rainwater, thus preventing flooding? 5) What effect does this approach have on plant and animal communities? Will the plants that we want grow in ground that has been treated to optimize carbon capture? 6) How does this process fit in with existing regulations that affect brownfield sites? 7) Under what circumstances is the process economically viable, given the geographical controls on availability of materials? 8) Can individuals use this approach in their own gardens? During the project, we will work with a wide range of stakeholders, from industry, local authorities and environmental groups as well as academics. We will engage students in monitoring work as part of the dissemination process. All the work will be openly published in appropriate forms, and we expect to build a growing community network associated with the project.