Tell us a bit about your role at VOR?
StJohn is a Technical Consultant at VOR Group, specialising in SPM Modelling. His love for Retrofit is grounded in his belief in its potential to make meaningful environmental change while significantly improving social housing living conditions.
What do you do in your free time?
Hiking, running, camping – I love the outdoors in general.
What is your background? How did you come to work with VOR?
I studied Architecture and Environmental Engineering at UWE. After university, I worked at Hydrock, specialising in Building Servicing Engineering and Sustainability.
What qualifications have you worked towards to support your job?
BEng Architecture and Engineering. I’ve also completed a short course in Energy and Sustainability.
Looking back on your career to date, tell us a bit about the best project you have worked on and why?
I had the privilege of working on the Mercedes AMG F1 team headquarters design. The design involved retrofitting the canteen area. As an F1 fan, this was the best project to work on because I got to work alongside talented engineers in two fields.
Tell us a bit about why you are interested in improving energy efficiency and sustainability in building?
With the increase in fuel poverty globally, improving buildings’ performance for environmental and social issues is imperative. I believe in retrofit as a means to enhance energy efficiency and as a tool to facilitate societal change, particularly in improving social housing conditions using government funding.
What do you think is the biggest obstacle for people considering improving the energy efficiency of their homes?
People are against change when there is a lack of information present. That, along with disruption to their “home”, causes boundary issues which people feel uncomfortable with.
What measures have you taken in your own home?
I have a smart electrical meter and smart home automation, which helps me understand my energy usage. My dishwasher minimises water and energy. I plan on installing hot water solar and solar PV along with Lithium storage.
