Originally established in 1963 as the Building Centre Trust, the Trust was re-established in 2019 as a new charity called the Built Environment Trust (BET).
We are an independent charity best known for the Building Centre, a dynamic hub which brings together designers, product manufacturers and the public in the centre of London, established in 1931 and based at 26 Store Street as the Centre for the Built Environment.
The built environment is all around us, it includes the buildings we use but also the space between them, such as roads and parks. The Built Environment Trust is looking to better understand and communicate the social impact our surroundings have on people and communities.
In 2022 we launched BET Learning. This programme aims to inspire a wide range of audiences, such as schools, young people, families and adults to connect with the built environment, involving participants in activities linked to everyday life and empowering them to influence the world around us.
Underpinning all this is our vision and focus on how humans connect with the built environment, not just as a career but as a fundamental part of our daily lives. Our wish is to create understanding and appreciation for where we live, work, learn and play and how it impacts on our and society’s well-being.
We are always looking to partner with organisations who, just like us, look to improve the built environment. We want to showcase the amazing work that is happening across the sector and provide new opportunities for connections and making change.
Drawn to the Future © Agnese Sanvito
The Giant Doll's House Project workshop, part of Shaping Space - Architectural Models Revealed education programme © Chris Jackson
Heleen Sintobin and Michelle Shields, Digital Ceramics Lunch time talk
Patron
HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO
President
Spencer de Grey CBE RA
Trustees
Ann Allen MBE (Chair)
Katy Ghahremani RIBA ARB
Jane Goddard
David Hughes
Sara Lipscombe
Anna Moore
Antony Oliver
Oyinkan Onile-Ere
Anna Reiter
Dr. Rick Robinson FBCS CITP FRSA AoU
Trustee Biographies
Ann is the Director of Campus Innovation and Development at the University of Leeds. A Chartered Surveyor with over 40 years’ experience, she Director of Campus Innovation and Development at the University of Leeds.
She is passionate about how the built environment can help improve the lives for everyone and as well as being Chair of the Built Environment Trust she is also Chair of Architecture Design Scotland. She sits on the Boards of Crown Estate Scotland and the Water Industry Commission Scotland. She is currently a trustee of the National Museum of Scotland and chairs their Estates Committee however will step down in 2025.
Ann's other passion is creating a more equal and inclusive society and is past Chair of the Scottish Board of Women in Property and the CICES Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Council. She combines her passion for inclusivity in Higher Education through chairing of the Huddersfield Student Union Trust Board.
Ann was awarded an MBE in the 2018 New Year Honours List for services to Higher Education and April 2022 was made an honorary Fellow of the RIAS.
Ann was reappointed as Chair of the Built environment Trust and her term will run to Early 2027.
Katy is one of Make’s directors and has been a Maker since 2004. Her portfolio spans a variety of sectors and includes designs for a number of prestigious hotels around the world, including the award-winning Temple House hotel in Chengdu, China.
Katy has recently completed Make’s high-profile refurbishment of Hornsey Town Hall. She’s passionate about interiors as well as architecture, and is often called upon to help clients develop their brand philosophy and identity. She is a driving force in the development of Make’s hotels and retail portfolios, hosting bespoke events, supporting our thought leadership, and engaging with clients and collaborators on their biggest challenges.
Jane is the Managing Director of the Building Performance Services (BPS) division and Deputy CEO of the Building Research Establishment (BRE), a global leader in building science. With over 15 years of experience in the built environment sector, Jane is a passionate advocate for science-based solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including climate change and the safety and security of buildings and infrastructure.
Since joining BRE in 2019, initially as Group Commercial Director and later as Chief Marketing Officer, Jane has played a pivotal role in advancing the organisation’s mission to improve the built environment through research and innovation. As MD of BPS, she leads the development of BRE’s market-leading standard, BREEAM, which supports projects worldwide in enhancing sustainability, biodiversity, and community well-being.
Jane has contributed to high-impact initiatives, including presenting BRE’s landmark report on the cost of poor housing to the NHS on ITV, helping to raise awareness of the link between housing quality and public health.
With a strong background spanning IT, finance, transport, and energy, Jane previously held key roles at the Energy Saving Trust, where she spearheaded major government-backed campaigns promoting energy efficiency and sustainability.
David comes from an international charity background, with 20 years of experience in overseeing the development, delivery, monitoring of and technical support for programmes across Africa, Asia and Latin America; with 8 years of this having been in operational management roles based in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, with a particular focus on water, sanitation and hygiene programming.
Within this experience David has focused specifically on housing and the built environment in a previous role with Homeless International (now Reall), and in his current role with Habitat for Humanity International. David is based in Hertfordshire and has been a Trustee of the Built Environment Trust since September 2023.
Sara is a strategic board advisor who currently consults for Arup and the International Federation of Consulting Engineers and is deputy chair of the Built Environment Trust and a non-executive director of experiential site training organisation, Constructionarium Ltd. She chaired the Bourne Education Trust, a multi academy trust of 28 educational establishments until late 2023.
Sara has worked in the infrastructure sector for the majority of her career, having served as an executive director for organisations including WS Atkins PLC, Groupe Bouygues, SAUR International and Costain Group PLC.
By profession, Sara is a marketing and communications director experienced in leading international transformation and change programmes for world-leading, quoted companies, regulated industries, Government departments and educational establishments.
Sara is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
Anna is Co-Founder and CEO of Domna, a turnkey energy efficiency (retrofit) service for housing portfolios. Domna help people live happier, healthier lives by making energy efficiency easy. They combine software and services — offering (1) predictive stock assessment modelling (2.3bn data points, 98% accuracy), (2) on-site surveying and design, and (3) contracting.
Anna is committed to sustainability and the built environment. She chairs BusinessLDN’s Retrofit Task Force; chairs the Urban Land Institute’s UK Innovation Council and sits on the Institute’s UK Residential Council and European Real Estate and Tech Council; sits on Ofgem’s ECO Supply Chain Advisory Group; sits on the City of London’s Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Task Force; is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Constructors; and works with the British Property Federation and the UK PropTech Association.
Previously, Anna was a Partner with McKinsey & Company, where she led the firm's UK Construction and Real Estate practice and co-led its European Sustainability Strategy practice. In these roles, she was one of the leaders of McKinsey’s Net Zero Built Environment team and led the global launch of McKinsey’s Sustainable Materials Hub. She was lead author of McKinsey’s research on sustainable value pools, including the $2tn annual market in green construction and real estate.
Antony is a journalist and the host of the weekly Infrastructure Podcast which he launched in 2023.
As an editorial consultant he works with a range of clients across the infrastructure sector, helping to boost their communication and marketing strategies and delivery so as to stimulate discussion and action in the industry.
Antony has spent the last 30 years working as a journalist and editor across the infrastructure sector. Having joined New Civil Engineer magazine in 1994, he edited the title for 14 years until 2013, expanding NCE from a traditional paper magazine to deliver live events and conferences and then embrace the expanding world of multi-media digital delivery.
In 2014 Antony left NCE to create and launch Infrastructure Intelligence, a new digital-first publication for the sector, and for two years led and developed this ground-breaking media brand for the Association for Engineering and Consultancy.
Antony is a chartered civil engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, having started his career with Owen Williams and Partners and Balfour Beatty. He is committed to driving change across the UK infrastructure sector and is a Trustee of the Built Environment Trust and a Director of the Building Centre in Store Street, London.
Oyinkan has over 20 years’ experience working in strategic communications with expertise across stakeholder engagement and a range of communications disciplines including brand and reputation management, media, digital and campaigns.
Oyinkan's career has spanned the private, public and charitable sectors including almost ten years in central government advising on communications in relation to issues as varied as housing, local government, equalities, crime and justice. Oyinkan is currently Head of Stakeholder Engagement and Communications at the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.
Anna serves as a non-executive director and Chair of the Building Centre Group, and as a Trustee of the Built Environment Trust. She is the Chief Strategy Officer of Chatham Park Development and Co-Founder of Expand Horizons Real Estate. Her career spans 20+ years in the design, structuring and delivery of large-scale real estate and green infrastructure projects across diverse asset classes both in the UK and globally. Previously, Anna was Managing Director at Tyréns UK, a leading Scandinavian consultancy renowned for its innovative approach to sustainable architecture, engineering, urbanism and building technology.
Anna holds an Executive MBA from the London School of Economics, NYU Stern and HEC Paris. She also holds dual degrees in Architectural Studies and International Affairs from Brown and a Master of Architecture from Columbia University in the City of New York.
Rick is Director and Global Technology Leader for Smart, Connected and Secure Cities and Places for Jacobs. He advises clients on the role of technology in transforming the built environment – improving places, infrastructure, and services in the interest of communities, business, and the environment. Previously, he has led Smart Cities businesses for Arup and IBM, and was Director of Technology for Amey, where he was responsible for an innovation programme driving advances in digital technology into services and infrastructure used by about 1 in 4 people in the UK every day.
Rick spent 8 years as a Non-Executive Director of Innovation Birmingham, the West Midlands leading digital tech campus, is the Chair of the Birmingham Digital City Partnership and a member of the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter Advisory Board. In 2012 he founded the Birmingham Smart City Alliance, which has supported 100s of digital innovation projects through collaboration with over 50 city institutions. He is currently leading the development of digital strategies for multi-£billion city developments in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
The Built Environment Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales.
Charity number 1163419.
Company limited by guarantee 9631202
