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PODCAST

Engineering Matters

Five times winner of the Publisher Podcast Awards, including Best Technology Podcast, Engineering Matters celebrates the work of engineers who use ingenuity, practicality, science, theory and determination to build a better world. In the UK alone 5.7million people work in engineering related enterprises from manufacturing and agriculture to construction and transportation. Their work ensures that the country has sustainable power supplies, better connectivity between cities, increasing efficiency in

technology earth sciences

All Episodes

12:50

#359k Transit-Oriented Communities in Toronto

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Around the world, urban planners are seeking to deliver urban growth and increase access to city centres through the development of transit-oriented communities. These combine new publicly-backed transport infrastructure, with privately-financed residential and commercial development. It’s a route to more sustainable cities, but it involves careful navigation of budgetary constraints and the needs of existing communities.Michael Matthys explains some of the challenges of delivering

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12:01

#359j – Modern Vernacular in Saudi Arabia

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

In the 1970s, Saudi Arabia, buoyed by a surge in oil prices, embarked on an ambitious building programme. The country moved rapidly to develop its cities and infrastructure. However, Prince Salman, then the governor of Riyadh, now the country’s King, saw that this was resulting in cities that were unmoored from their local context. This episode traces the evolution of modern architecture in Saudi Arabia, from the economic boom of the 1970s and the development of a distinctive Salmani-style. We

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15:01

#359i Stone as Structure

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

For facade specialists, stone is highly prized for its performance and character. The right choice of stone can anchor a building in its local context, or make a striking statement. While stone has fallen out of use, modern approaches mean that it could now be used in the same standardised ways as steel, concrete and glass. In this episode we learn that it is ripe for a return as a structural material, decades after it was supplanted by concrete and steel. A series of projects demonstrate how

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10:17

#359h Sustainability in Paris

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Sustainability experts often use a hierarchy to help their thinking about interventions. The best way to limit your impact is to do nothing at all. If that’s not possible, then use as few materials as you can. And finally, if extensive work must be conducted, then replace more carbon-intensive materials with those with less impacts. In this episode, Lucas Grisoni describes three projects in Paris that demonstrate different approaches to sustainable construction. For the University of Chicago’s

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12:53

#359g An Intergenerational Approach to Sustainability

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Lifecycle carbon assessment – the process of monitoring the total carbon footprint of a structure from the first spade in the ground to demolition – sits at the confluence of engineering and sustainability. As we adapt our processes and understanding of the built environment, LCA is a critical measure to guide our decision making. The nature of the work is truly holistic, in winter an icy road might have salt spread on it. This in turn could corrode rebar, which needs to be replaced. That work

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12:04

#359f Sustainability and Adaptation in East London

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Retrofitting is an instrumental step in reducing the carbon footprint of a city’s building stock. It also extends the life of a building and has a lower environmental impact than demolishing inefficient properties and building anew. Even a new development, such as the East Village in Stratford London, although just 12 years old, is still largely heated by fossil fuel. Adaptable designs are critical to bring future improvements to existing structures. Marion Baeli is a pioneer of sustainable

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10:51

#359e A Better View of Stadium Design

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

When you are designing a stadium for the World Cup, or any major sport, it’s vital to have a fan’s-eye view. For more than a century, the architects tasked with designing stadiums have used the C-value, developed by Victorian theatre designer John Russel. But this value just measures the view in one direction, towards the stage. Sporting events are viewed in the round, with fans all around the stadium bowl. In this episode, we hear from Mark Fenwick, whose practice has designed stadiums for the

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12:01

#359d A Digital Path to Nuclear’s New Generation

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Nuclear power promises to provide energy when other sources can’t. But nuclear plants currently take a long time to build—often more than a decade. Anthony Burch, digital manager, Egis, and his colleagues, are working on the key components of Hinkley Point C in England. These form the so-called ‘nuclear island’—the reactor building and four associated safety buildings. In this episode, Anthony describes the challenges of delivering ‘right first time’ construction on a highly complex, one off, and

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12:51

#359c A Fusion of Minds at ITER

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

At ITER, in France, scientists and engineers from around the world are working together to develop nuclear fusion at power plant scale. The project could one day lead to a world of truly abundant green energy. In this episode, Caroline Dixon explains some of the logistical challenges of working on a project that is perhaps humanity’s largest ever experiment. In this decades-long project, the engineers building the reactor are in a constant race to keep up with scientists working on the cutting

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11:45

#359b Water, Energy and the Environment in the Middle...

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

There is a changing view of the environment among public sector clients in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has ambitious goals like generating 50% of electricity from renewables by 2030, the UAE has targets such as diverting 80 percent of its waste from landfill by by 2031, and Qatar is moving towards 100% treated wastewater reuse. With environmental considerations now at the core of new projects, rather than being a problem to be dealt with, each project must consider its impact on the

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13:36

#359a Australia’s Most Flooded Town

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Lismore sits at the confluence of two rivers in New South Wales. Covering more than 1,300 square kilometres, it is home to more than 44,000 people. In 2022, it was hit by a huge flood, the highest on record, followed by a smaller, though still devastating, second flood. Five lives were lost in the disasters, along with 500 properties, making 2,000 people homeless at a cost of AUD 350M in damages. The event raised critical questions about flood prevention and planning. It underscored the urgent

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12:17

#359 Intro – A Sustainable and Resilient World

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/29

Society needs to consider the impact of climate change on our cities because it is no longer a future challenge; it is a present reality. Cities with their concentrated populations, infrastructure and supply challenges are uniquely vulnerable to climate-related shocks, exposed to risks such as floods, heatwaves, water scarcity and any disruption to their systems. Engineers and decision-makers must embed sustainability and resilience into every stage of the planning and design process to ensure

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25:44

#358 Experts in Risk

Engineering Matters ·

2026/01/15

Residents of tall buildings can face significant risks in the event of fire or structural failure. At Grenfell Tower in the UK, a fire in a resident’s kitchen spread rapidly around the building, due to failures in the testing and installation of cladding materials, and leading to widespread loss of life.The inquiry into the fire revealed how overlooked risks can line up, causing disaster. The 2022 Building Safety Act established that dutyholders—owners and developers—of buildings like this

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34:06

#357c Well-Grounded Decisions: Construction and...

Engineering Matters ·

2025/12/22

A wise asset owner builds on solid ground. Unless ground risks are clearly identified, projects can easily be delayed or delivered over budget. Some risks may not even be fully understood until an asset begins operations. In this final episode of three on ground risks and the asset life cycle, Karim Khalaf explains how one major European vehicle manufacturer only learned how the soil beneath their new manufacturing plant would act, once steel presses started working—effectively inducing a series of

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25:35

#357b Well-Grounded Decisions: Design Development

Engineering Matters ·

2025/12/19

Without a clear understanding of ground conditions, unquantified risk can be transferred from project owner to lead contractors when a contract is signed. In the first episode of this three part series, we explored how geophysical screening, using non-intrusive methods, can be used to reduce uncertainty in site selection and provide clarity on construction costs and delivery schedules.In this episode, we move past the final investment decision, to the development of project designs. Karim

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31:23

#357a Well-Grounded Decisions: Site Selection

Engineering Matters ·

2025/12/18

On any project, uncertainty creates risk. Decisions that are made without a good understanding of site conditions can result in overengineering or threats to safety. Delivery may be delayed, and unexpected costs incurred. To avoid these risks, project owners and other stakeholders should question their assumptions and get real, actionable insights throughout the project lifecycle. In this three-part series, we explore a key source of risk to any project, subsurface conditions, and a new approach

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29:44

#356 Making Space for Wastewater Treatment

Engineering Matters ·

2025/12/11

Wastewater treatment is an overlooked lifesaver. While the medical advances of the last 100 years—penicillin, chemotherapy, and, more recently, mRNA vaccines—have transformed healthcare, keeping our water supplies free from pathogens like cholera and dysentery, has saved many more lives. The systems developed to treat wastewater are so successful that we can afford to flush and forget.But this is infrastructure we must not overlook. Growing populations, increased use by industry, and regulations

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33:55

#355 The Real Value of Nature

Engineering Matters ·

2025/12/04

Green-grey engineering combines nature-based solutions with traditional civil engineering. It can be used in flood protection, with mangroves acting as a first line of defense rather than relying wholly on seawalls or earthen berms. As parts of the world face dual threats of flood and drought, the same systems can incorporate drainage and water collection.Unlike traditional civil engineering, nature-based solutions offer a wide range of additional benefits. Mangroves act as fish nurseries

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30:57

#354 AI in Infrastructure: Adoption and Guardrails

Engineering Matters ·

2025/11/27

The infrastructure sector is adopting AI with enthusiasm. A new whitepaper from Bentley Systems, Pinsent Masons, Turner & Townsend, and Mott Macdonald, The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Built Environment, surveyed the sector, and found the 48% of the infrastructure companies they spoke to were trialling AI, or had already implemented it. But only one fifth had a comprehensive AI policy, more than a third had no organisational policy, and 37% had only limited project controls, or none

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28:06

#353 Carbon Assessment in a Time of Housebuilding

Engineering Matters ·

2025/11/20

This week, the UK House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, or EAC, released a report on environmental sustainability and housing growth. The UK government is striving to meet a target of building one and a half million new homes, and has raised concerns about the risk that environmental objections could delay their construction. But, the...The post #353 Carbon Assessment in a Time of Housebuilding first appeared on Engineering Matters.

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