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Power, Purpose & Performance: Commercial Property’s Future – Stephen Lewis – Episode #12
No Fluff. Just Real Industry Conversations
How do you deliver buildings that do more than stand – but actively perform?
In this episode of Hard Hat Talks, Kenneth Martin is joined by Stephen Lewis, MD of HFD Property Group. With a fully integrated development, tech and renewables model, HFD is pushing boundaries in commercial property. Stephen exposes the tension between regulation and real performance, the risks posed by weak compliance culture, and how smart technology and sustainability can move us from strategy to execution. Expect no sugar-coating: this is a candid look at what’s broken – and what could rebuild it.
What you’ll discover from the podcast
- HFD’s integrated model – how combining development, FM, tech, and renewables helps HFD control quality, speed, and risk
- Dynamic building efficiency – why sensor-driven systems beat static designs and how real performance adapts to occupancy
- Refurbishment vs new-build – shocking data: a retrofit that outperforms a new build by threefold in carbon efficiency
- The “minimum compliance” trap – why designing to the lowest allowed standard is leaving value (and performance) on the table
- The coming energy crunch – grid constraints, AI power demand, and the looming risk to electrified development
- Design control & risk shift – how PI costs, CDP outsourcing, and de-scoped design are reshaping architect/developer interplay
- Politics & planning as economic tools – why execution must replace strategy and how planning can catalyse local development
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