MEDITE SMARTPLY has launched “Beyond the Board,” an expert-led video series that looks at challenges shaping construction. The launch comes as hotter summers and rising energy costs push the industry toward stricter efficiency rules.
The first episode asks whether the secret to healthier, ultra-efficient homes lies in the building envelope. It comes ahead of the Future Homes Standard, which will take effect on 24 March 2027 for most new dwellings in England and Wales.
The series focuses on the envelope as a core element of design. It explores how fabric performance interacts with overall home performance, rather than relying solely on added insulation.
Guests include James Roberts MBE, an architectural technologist and certified Passive House designer with Lowfield Timber Frames, and Simon Jones, founder of the Air Quality Matters podcast. Both stress that improving the envelope is more than a simple tweak.
Roberts says, “The building envelope is not the entire answer, but I think it’s a good foundation where everything else is built upon.” His comment highlights the envelope’s role as a starting point for broader system improvements.
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Jones points out, “If you live to 80 years of age, you’ll spend 70 years of your life indoors… You’ll spend 55 years of that in your own home.” That statistic underlines why indoor quality matters for long-term health.
The episodes are hosted by Roly Ward, Head of Business Development, and David Murray, Head of Technical Affairs & Ireland Sales. They plan to bring together technical specialists from across the sector to discuss practical challenges.
View the inaugural episode on YouTube.
It operates under the Coillte Group, an Irish forestry and forest-products company. Based in Clonmel and Waterford, it manufactures Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and Oriented Strand Board (OSB) panels for construction and interior use throughout the UK and Europe, supplying a wide range of customers across the region.
