Watch: Professor John Dyson's inaugural lecture at the University of Birmingham – 'In search of treasure and redemption'

Drawing on his own experiences as an Asian architect from a working-class background, Satwinder highlights the importance of having diverse voices in architecture.

In fact, the segregation of waste streams in manufacturing is a very significant first step as this opens the possibility of multiple approaches to extraction, recycling and treatment..Although there wasn’t a focus on recycling outside of the factory, there seemed to be many more potential solutions in this area.

Watch: Professor John Dyson's inaugural lecture at the University of Birmingham – 'In search of treasure and redemption'

With the right segregation, there are opportunities for waste management companies to work with manufacturers to find both technically and economically sound solutions to recycle back into manufacturing and/or into other supply chains.Although not without issues, there was a strong sense that further conversations between manufacturers and the waste management industry to create new productive circular economies would be fruitful.. Strategy co-development to identify supplies of new solvents to support growing technologies – and growth in shared geographies – could foster new, efficient, and sustainable solvent supply and recycling routes.. Techno-economic modelling is seen as a vital component in guiding short-, medium and longer-term decision making on solvents.. As the chemical market changes alongside fiscal policies, understanding how to stay cost-effective and adaptable will be important.If this kind of analysis, or at least the insights from it, could be shared widely with the industry it could help accelerate interest and action, particularly in the generics ecosystem..

Watch: Professor John Dyson's inaugural lecture at the University of Birmingham – 'In search of treasure and redemption'

Problem solving in the room.Prompted by a thought that many players in this arena are waiting for engineering for technical solutions, there was a conversation about the complexity of the problem..

Watch: Professor John Dyson's inaugural lecture at the University of Birmingham – 'In search of treasure and redemption'

This is a multimodal problem to solve; even though we had suppliers, manufacturers, laboratories, regulators, waste management, academia and design engineers in the room, we accepted not everybody was represented who needs to be.

To move more quickly continued multi-agency conversations and collaborations are needed.. Collaborative problem solving on this scale requires the right skills.Lamont believes that what we really need is something to change the entire world at once, and suggests the use of mobile phones and QR codes to achieve this.

He doesn’t believe more BIM is the answer to the industry’s problems, explaining that a drawing numbering system isn’t going to help the worker installing rebar.Instead, he says, onsite construction technology solutions should revolve around getting workers who are already using technology like mobile phones, to use that same tech in different ways, aiding and improving onsite construction processes via photographing, scanning, etc.

Moreover, he also advocates incentivising the use of technology in order to boost worker engagement.Having everything pre-logged back at the site-shed could mean that workers no longer need to fill out end-of-day paperwork, enabling them to go home earlier instead.. asBuilt believe it’s these types of changes which will ultimately create the necessary unlock with platforms and technology in construction.