Smart Practice Conference: New Opportunities 2017

In times of economic and political uncertainty, the ability of practices to seek out new areas of opportunity is paramount. As doors close, it is essential to nudge new doors open. How might you go about kickstarting this process? How can you best go about evaluating both your personal and practice’s strengths, as well as identifying potential new areas of work? This year’s Smart Practice Conference sets out to provide the ignition for business development, while also focusing on some of the strongest emerging sectors, such as infrastructure and housing, and how they are being fuelled by devolution and new transport links. It will highlight new delivery systems, such as offsite delivery, custom build and CLT and how an engagement with new technologies can provide the possibility of offering new areas of expertise. Smart Practice 2017 is taking place in a city that reeks of opportunity – Bristol. It is one of the UK’s most culturally vibrant and burgeoning cities. As home to leading practices and schools, Bristol and Bath are long-established centres of architectural and engineering excellence. Bristol was named the best place to live in Britain by the Sunday Times Best Places To Live Guide 2017. Keynote speaker: Jan Knikker, Partner for Development at MVRDV Other speakers include: - Simon Bayliss, Managing Partner, HTA Design - Peter Clegg, Senior Partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios - Jason Collard, Managing Director, Studio HIVE - Isabel Dedring, Director and Global Transport Leader at Arup - Simon Gathercole, Partner, Allies and Morrison - Barra Mac Ruairí, Chief Operating Officer, YTL Developments Ltd - Sarah Park, Associate Director at Holistic - Phil Rose, Managing Director of Clarity Leadership - MC for the day: Melissa Mean, Head of Arts at Knowle West Media Centre. The conference will be opened by RIBA President Ben Derbyshire.