BIM Show Live announces keynote speakers for 2020

Organisers of the BIM Show Live conference have announced two of the four keynote speakers who will be headlining the two-day event, which takes place in Newcastle on 26-27 February 2020.

Biophilic designer and architect, Oliver Heath, and Radio 4 presenter and TED X speaker, Timandra Harkness, have both been chosen to speak to attendees about the latest developments and ideas in BIM (building information modelling).

BIM Show Live is the UK’s original BIM conference, attracting up to 400 delegates to Newcastle every year.

The event aims to bring digital construction content to life and encourage disruptive thinking, as well as providing a platform for built environment experts to share their knowledge, skills and experiences.

This year, designing for healthy people and places, protecting the environment and human-centric design are all high on the agenda.

Keynote speaker Oliver Heath is an industry recognised expert and thought leader in biophilic design, sustainable architecture and interior design, and has since spent 20 years working for the likes of BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, promoting sustainability and wellbeing.

Keynote speaker Timandra Harkness is a writer, speaker, comedian and data expert who presents BBC Radio 4’s series, FutureProofing.

Mrs Harkness is also a Visiting Fellow (Knowledge Exchange) with the Centre for Information Rights at the University of Winchester, a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and a member of their working group on Data Ethics.

On top of the keynote speeches, BIM Show Live 2020 delegates will hear from industry thought leaders such as Mikael Santrolli, BIM and Design Systems Coordinator at Foster and Partners; John Ford, BIM and Digital Delivery Lead at Galliford Try; and Hadeel Safaa Saadoon, BIM Manager at Coventry University — a previous winner of the Rising Star Award at the BIM Awards who will, this year, be speaking on the main stage.

Rob Charlton, CEO of Space Group and co-founder of BIM Show Live, said: “This year BIM Show Live is all about design, data and doing the right thing.

“Our theme for 2020 is ‘BIM for Good’, touching on the topics of sustainability, ethics and putting people first.

“We’re delighted to announce two of our four fantastic keynote speakers, Oliver and Timandra, who will each bring a unique perspective and incredible insight to our audience, and we’re excited to reveal our other keynote speakers shortly.

“We look forward to welcoming delegates to Newcastle once again, to learn lessons from the last year and make our predictions for the opportunities and challenges ahead.”

BIM Show Live will be staged in Newcastle’s Boiler Shop in Stephenson’s Quarter on February 26 to 27 2020.