AECB Staff and Board

Gary Wilburn: Project Lead at Energy Pro Limited

Gary has 35 years experience leading Architecture and multi-disciplined Design teams from his base in Hampshire. Gary’s focus is to minimise impact and energy use in the construction and whole life operation of all projects whether new build or refurbishment.

Having moved on from HPW Architecture after 30 years, he is now working with the Energy Pro team heading a development and design consultancy specializing in sustainability in the built environment and green infrastructure.

With a passion to deliver low energy design solutions to his clients, Gary went back to University in 2008 and gained an MSc in Sustainable Building: Performance and Design at Oxford Brookes. Focusing on Building Physics, POE, Bioregional material sourcing and Dynamic Thermal Modelling, his study and research now informs the holistic, integrated and independent approach adopted by the design and technical teams he works with.

Gary has a very active involvement within the construction industry and sits on the Board of Future South and the Steering Group of Green Halo. He regularly speaks at and chairs events and is keen to continue bringing his commercial contacts, experience, enthusiasm and energy to the AECB team.

Chris has been serving on the Board (previously steering committee) since 1995, and was chair of the AECB for 8 years until stepping down in 2013. Chris is a founder director of Environmental Construction Products Ltd, which operates the Green Building Store and Green Building Company.  His key role is in steering the future direction of the company, its products and activitites.  The company decided some years ago to make Passivhaus a key focus and it is now acknowledged as an important and influential SME in the Passivhaus field.  The company built the flagship Denby Dale Passivhaus and continues to undertake ground breaking Passivhaus construction projects.  Alongside this it has developed key expertise and product ranges in Passivhaus fenestration and ventilation. Chris was part of a small core AECB team which instigated and developed the UK Passivhaus Trust. He has been chair of the Trust since its foundation.  He also plays a role within the international Passivhaus community and is currently chair of the International Passivhaus Affiliates Council. Chris has been passionate about environmental issues since his teens – a passion he is proud to have inherited from his father.  His career path has been varied, from communard, social worker, special needs teacher and childcare to joiner, gas installer and small builder and now approaching 20 years in his current role.

Mischa Hewitt is a sustainability consultant and project manager. He has an MSc Architecture: Advanced Energy & Environment Studies from the Centre of Alternative Technology / University of East London and is also a Certified Passivhaus Designer. He is the co-author of ‘Earthships: Building a zero carbon future’ published by IHS Press and is a director of The Low Carbon Trust, where he project managed the award winning Earthship Brighton project. Mischa also runs the sustainable building company Earthwise Construction based in Sussex, and in recent years has organised many environmental events, including the ‘Eco Open Houses’ weekends in Brighton and several conferences. In his spare time Mischa plays the piano and composes classical music. Mischa is also very active in the Brighton (South East) Group.

Peter Wilkinson is an architectural technologist and partner in architectural practice EcoDesign, and managing director of both Dales Contracts Ltd and Dales Renewables Ltd. Peter studied at Leeds College of Building and Leeds School of Architecture, gaining an HNC in architecture, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists. He has subsequently qualified as a planning supervisor and a bench joiner, applying his practical knowledge and skills to the businesses. Peter became a Passivhaus designer in 2009 and helped set up the Passivhaus Trust later that year and is an AECB representative on the board of the Trust. He was Treasurer of the AECB for several years before becoming its Chair in 2015.

Peter spent his first 20 years as a civil engineer, specialising in large-scale water treatment and land reclamation. He has always been interested in environmental issues and in the early nineties founded the environmental building company Greenbuilt. With his then work partner Chris Coates they explored Segal style buildings at the Centre for Alternative Technology, and traditional constructions, resulting in their first major project. This was a cruck frame barn in green oak which became a core element of Lanternhouse, a RIBA award-winning artists’ project base and training centre in Cumbria. As well as construction projects with Greenbuilt, Peter works with arts companies, is the former chair of the trustees of a local social enterprise, Community Works, is a member of Sustainable Staffordshire and a member of Staffordshire Business and Environment Network.

Mark has been a member of the AECB since late 2006. He has also been a speaker at a number of AECB Conferences, a technical adviser to the AECB CarbonLite programme and a regular contributor to both Green Building and PH+ magazines. As an architect with a no-nonsense evidence-based approach to design he has a deep-seated interest in ecologically aware construction. Mark is one of the pioneers that introduced the Passivhaus standard to the UK. In addition to being an architect and energy consultant Mark is an educator and industry transformer. He has helped to co-author the Certified Passivhaus Designer course for the AECB’s CarbonLite Programme, led masterclasses for the Passivhaus Trust, delivered CEPH training at the University of Strathclyde and, between 2011 and 2014, was a part-time lecturer at Northumbria University. He has also contributed to technical papers for the UK’s Passivhaus Trust including the internationally recognised, ‘What it means to claim the Passivhaus standard in the UK.’

Adam lives in North Yorkshire and have been an AECB member for 11 years. He is active in the Yorkshire group helping organise events and supporting Harrogate College with retrofit events. He is a Chartered Construction Manager (MCIOB) and works for City of York Council delivering affordable Passivhaus homes. He is also a firm believer in being the change and spend his weekends retrofitting his own home.

Anna has experience with retrofit to full Passivhaus certified standard (including Totnes B&B), through to working with Prewett Bizley Architects on award winning retrofit projects (2014-2019) and then to new-build to the full Passivhaus standard using the PH15 System, winner of the Ashden Award in 2020 for scalable climate change solutions. Her skill base is both in design and technical design, with PHPP modelling, including upfront carbon calculations with PH Ribbon, and construction detailing. She is interested in energy efficiency and low upfront carbon solutions, especially in the appropriate use of timber in a contemporary, low energy context.  More recently she has become engaged in trying to drive retrofit action at a local level, using and enhancing local skills and addressing local issues. She feels passionate about the need to be strategic in our collective thinking and our outputs as the time periods available for a safe transition to ‘net zero’ continue to shorten and the urgency for action continues to increase.

Jarek is an associate at Smith Scott Mullan, an architect and a Passive House Designer working in Scotland since 2006. His adventure with sustainable design started at Wrocław, Poland, Technical University with my MA research on Straw bale and Passive House. Working closely with company Smith Scott Mullan Associates directors Eugene Mullan (BE-ST innovation champion), and Graham Acheson (PH Designer); and fellow associate Ben Rainger (RIAS Sustainability Working Group Vice Chair); he helped to transition the company to a sustainable design centred organisation. He is involved in a range of projects spanning from strategy documents (Midlothian Council Net Zero Housing Design Guide), Passive House schemes, retrofit and conversion projects to research. He has a significant experience management and working with community organisations.

Kit is the founder and director of Ecospheric, an award-winning Passivhaus design and sustainability consultancy based in the Northwest of England. His background is in chemical engineering provides practical knowledge in heat transfer, building technology and integration. His varied experience and passion for decarbonising the built environment has led him to become one of the country’s leading experts on sustainable building. He has advised the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on its large-scale retrofit strategies for residential housing as well as its commercial retrofit group, supported Co-op Foods in developing low carbon “green stores”, delivered technical expertise for Passivhaus multi-story social housing developments, and is currently acting as the net zero carbon building standard coordinator for the NHS’ new Countess of Chester Women & Children’s Hospital.