LONDON BUILD PREVIEW
CHAMPIONING GREEN IDEAS
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN EXPERT, SUNAND PRASAD OBE JOINS JUDGING PANEL FOR FIRST BBA SUSTAINABLE INNOVATOR AWARD
The British Board of Agrément( BBA) is delighted to confirm that Sunand Prasad OBE, former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects( RIBA), has joined the judging panel for its inaugural Sustainable Innovator Award. As one of the UK’ s most influential figures in sustainable design, his appointment matches the Award’ s ambition to give greater visibility to innovative construction products that advance sustainability across the industry.
With decades of experience in architecture, sustainability and the built environment, Sunand brings significant expertise to the judging panel. President of the RIBA from 2007 to 2009, he was among the Independent’ s top 100 environmentalists in recognition of his work on sustainability. He was also awarded an OBE in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to regeneration.
Sunand co-founded Penoyre & Prasad in 1988. He became principal at global architecture and design practice, Perkins & Will, following the firms’ merger in 2019, where he continued to champion sustainable design. Throughout his career, he has held several influential advisory and policy roles and has chaired Design Review Panels for high-profile projects across the UK. He is Programme Director of the European Healthcare Design Conference, Chair of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Architecture and a Design Council Ambassador. He also served as a Trustee of the UK Green Building Council( UKGBC) for ten years with a term as chair.
Speaking on his involvement in the Award, Sunand comments:“ Our industry needs people who continually think afresh about how to tackle the climate and resource emergency, whose impacts, long afflicting so many lands, are now causing grievous damage in the more prosperous parts of the world. The Sustainable Innovator Award is a valuable opportunity to bring such people and their ideas to wider attention; so, huge congratulations to the BBA for this initiative. If business as usual was ever an option, it certainly is not now. I am looking forward to seeing not only the breadth of ideas the entrants have been working on, but what we as an industry can learn from their ways of thinking.”
Hardy Giesler, CEO of the BBA, comments:“ One of the most important considerations when putting this judging panel together was bringing in people who see the built environment from different perspectives. Sunand brings a wealth of experience in design and sustainability, as well as a clear understanding of the broader changes shaping the way we build. We are delighted to have his voice as part of the conversation as we look at what the next generation of construction products could achieve. Altogether, our panel of esteemed industry experts is well placed to identify the products that have the potential to deliver real, lasting change.”
Sunand will join the previously announced panel of expert judges, including Quentin Farrow, Managing Director of HybridMMC; Chris Hall, Technical Innovation Manager at NHBC( the National House Building Council); Andrew Gaved, Editor-at-Large at London Build; and Julie Bregulla, Chief Operating Officer at the BBA.
Together, the panel will assess submissions from growth-ready start-ups and small businesses. They will look for product innovations that demonstrate clear improvements in quality, safety and sustainability, and which have the potential to drive meaningful innovation across the construction products sector.
Entries have now closed, and the winner will be announced live on the Sustainability Stage at London Build 2026 on Wednesday 25th November at ExCeL London. The award ceremony begins at 16:50 and will also feature a short panel discussion and Q & A with the judges. This session will explore how innovators can successfully bring sustainable products to market and secure specification.
Entry to London Build is free to register at www. londonbuildexpo. com.
To find out more about the award, visit www. bbacerts. co. uk / sustainable-innovator-award.
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