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By Cat Wilkins, Communications Manager

Jo Clarke, Active Buildings architect and Head of Design at Active Building Centre has been shortlisted for a Building Engineering Services Association Award for her contribution to engineering services. 


We are pleased to announce our Head of Design Jo Clarke is a finalist in the Outstanding Woman in Building Engineering Services category as a result of her work designing Active Buildings.

The aim of the award is to recognise a woman who has made an outstanding contribution to engineering in the built environment.

It is a fitting role model for women in the building engineering workforce.

After spending 13 years in architectural practice, Jo is now in a unique position at the forefront of enabling the next generation of low energy buildings.


Designed first Active Buildings

Jo designed the world’s first Active Buildings at Swansea University, whilst working at SPECIFIC IKC.

The Active Classroom and Active Office generate most of their own energy and use energy storage combined with intelligent controls to manage their interaction with the grid.

Her work in designing and delivering the buildings, as part of the Transforming Construction Challenge, will significantly contribute to the future design of buildings in the UK to meet Construction 2025 and Net Zero Carbon targets, addressing the global climate emergency we are currently facing.


Engagement with Active Buildings

Jo’s passion for sustainable architecture has meant she is heavily involved in educating both industry professionals through delivering CPD seminars with Architects and Building Services Engineers, presenting at construction industry events, contributing to journal articles and working with schoolchildren.

Jo is a registered STEM ambassador and regularly holds events and workshops for schools to introduce them to the sustainable building technologies of the future and inspire the younger generation into construction and engineering.

During her career, Jo has gained an extensive understanding of the construction industry and has been chosen many times to share her knowledge as a speaker at industrial and public events including Ecobuild and the British Science Festival and CIBSE Build2Perform.

Earlier this year, Jo’s Active Office design won Education Buildings Wales Awards 2019’s Innovation in Delivering a Sustainable Education.

Jo is also a current Member of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC) and is studying for a Doctorate in the Sustainable Built Environment (D.SBE), which is focused on developing an Active Building Design Guide.

“The beauty about working in the innovation world is that failure is deemed part of the learning process.  It is far better to build the prototype, learn what works and what doesn’t work, and use this knowledge to progress to better designs.” Jo Clarke

Article originally published by Specific IKC 

Published November 2019