The heatwaves have exposed a cold truth about Britain’s buildings

Sun, snow or storm, its unpredictable nature has made weather talk our safest conversation starter for centuries. But after five heatwaves in four months, the dial is shifting.

The weather is no longer a harmless national obsession but a serious warning sign.

The discomfort many of us will have felt from rising temperatures - disrupted sleep, challenging commutes to name but two – may have prompted a new appreciation for rain and cloud. More importantly, it’s exposed a concerning weakness: much of our built environment is poorly prepared for the climate we’re already living in.

The UK has the oldest building stock in Europe, with around 10.2 million buildings across the country dating back more than 80 years. But age is just a number. The bigger issue is that 80 per cent of our existing building stock will still be in use by 2050 – and so many of these buildings have been designed on outdated principles, rendering them deeply unsuited for the changing climate.

Ironically, it’s often historic buildings which perform remarkably well during hot weather, with their thicker walls, smaller windows and various types of shading helping to keep heat at bay. In contrast, modern buildings, which have been shaped by decades of policy and legislation concentrated on reducing heat loss and cutting carbon emissions, are the ones that are struggling.

We must recognise that energy efficiency and climate resilience are two sides of the same coin – a building that becomes too hot to occupy in summer months is no more future-proof than one that leaks heat throughout winter.

Given that the average UK adult spends 80 to 90 percent of their time indoors, the resilience of our buildings has a direct impact on health, comfort and productivity – meaning there’s a serious need to ensure our homes and workplaces are fit for the future.

It sounds like a mammoth challenge – and it is. Part of the problem is that the UK has been slower to embed climate-resilient building design than other European countries. Norway, for example, has already adopted heat pumps that provide both heating and cooling, while external shutters in France (not exactly a new idea) help block sunlight before it reaches windows, reducing heat gain more effectively than internal blinds as sunshine never hits the glass.

In the UK, sustainability policies have been disrupted over recent years by shifting government priorities and external pressures. As Andy Burnham gets his feet under the table in Downing Street, there are growing calls for government to strengthen requirements addressing overheating in new homes and public buildings.

While technology will play an important role, air conditioning alone is not the answer. The most resilient buildings will combine modern solutions with timeless design principles – managing solar gain, providing shade, improving ventilation and designing for the climate conditions they will face in the years ahead.

The challenge extends beyond overheating. Climate resilience means preparing for heavier rainfall, more frequent drought, greater flood risk and increasingly volatile weather. But the same principle applies across all scenarios: we cannot continue planning, designing and regulating buildings as though the weather of the last century still applies.

The current heatwaves are telling us something important. They are exposing the gap between the climate our buildings were designed for and the climate we are now experiencing. If we continue designing for yesterday's environment, we will keep creating problems for tomorrow's occupants.

The weather may still be a conversation starter, but it’s no longer a subject we can afford to treat as small talk.

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Rebecca Lydon is a sustainability director at Stantec

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