All Outputs (65)

Decision-making for the demolition or adaptation of buildings (2017)
Journal Article

This paper considers why the decision may be made either to demolish or adapt existing buildings on brownfield sites and compares real-life decisions to those produced by theoretical design-support tools. Five case studies, including three individual... Read More about Decision-making for the demolition or adaptation of buildings.

IEA EBC annex 57 ‘evaluation of embodied energy and CO2eq for building construction’ (2017)
Journal Article

The current regulations to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from buildings have focused on operational energy consumption. Thus legislation excludes measurement and reduction of the embodied energy and embodied GHG emissio... Read More about IEA EBC annex 57 ‘evaluation of embodied energy and CO2eq for building construction’.

Scrutinising embodied carbon in buildings: The next performance gap made manifest (2017)
Journal Article

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is becoming increasingly mainstream as an early-stage design-decision tool for buildings. Still, there are considerable variations in how the method is currently used, leading to limitations in comparing the results and th... Read More about Scrutinising embodied carbon in buildings: The next performance gap made manifest.

Building Information Modelling, Building Performance, Design and Smart Construction (2017)
Book

Measuring embodied carbon dioxide equivalent of buildings: A review and critique of current industry practice (2017)
Journal Article

Lowering the embodied carbon dioxide equivalent (embodied CO2e) of buildings is an essential response to national and global targets for carbon reduction. Globally, construction industry is developing tools, databases and practices for measuring embo... Read More about Measuring embodied carbon dioxide equivalent of buildings: A review and critique of current industry practice.

Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework (2016)
Journal Article

The built environment puts major pressure on the natural environment; its role in transitioning to a circular economy (CE) is therefore fundamental. However, current CE research tends to focus either on the macro-scale, such as eco-parks, or the micr... Read More about Circular economy for the built environment: A research framework.

Embodied carbon mitigation and reduction in the built environment – What does the evidence say? (2016)
Journal Article

Of all industrial sectors, the built environment puts the most pressure on the natural environment, and in spite of significant efforts the International Energy Agency suggests that buildings-related emissions are on track to double by 2050. Whilst o... Read More about Embodied carbon mitigation and reduction in the built environment – What does the evidence say?.

Pathways to low carbon building: Reflection on the special issue (2015)
Journal Article

In 2014, this journal invited me to edit a special issue on low carbon building. We put out a call for papers that offered new perspectives, crossing boundaries between technical and social research approaches. The six papers selected and published h... Read More about Pathways to low carbon building: Reflection on the special issue.

Investigating the social value of the Ripon rivers flood alleviation scheme (2015)
Journal Article

This paper argues for an approach to flood alleviation design that considers the need not only for technical knowledge, but also a social perspective. It is predicted that more intense rainfall and rising sea levels will result in a greater number of... Read More about Investigating the social value of the Ripon rivers flood alleviation scheme.

Financing energy efficiency measures in buildings – A new method of appraisal (2015)
Journal Article

Our current generation strives to provide the next crucial stepping stone towards sustainable buildings, delivering energy efficiency measures without compromise in ways which are financially viable. Selecting and implementing simple energy efficienc... Read More about Financing energy efficiency measures in buildings – A new method of appraisal.

IEA EBC Annex 72 J: Understanding the impact of individual, industry & political decisions on transitions towards environmental sustainability
Report

There is a wealth of research and now data on greenhouse gas emissions from individual construction materials and components and from whole buildings (embodied impacts), and on their measurement through LCA. There is a general assumption that measuri... Read More about IEA EBC Annex 72 J: Understanding the impact of individual, industry & political decisions on transitions towards environmental sustainability.

The role of stakeholders in masterplan regeneration decisions
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Brownfield sites often contain existing buildings and during regeneration the decision to demolish or adapt them should consider sustainability principles. This paper discusses decision-making criteria obtained through a literature review and primary... Read More about The role of stakeholders in masterplan regeneration decisions.

The reporting of end of life and module D data and scenarios in EPD for building level life cycle assessment
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This paper identifies the need for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to provide End of Life (EoL) and Module D data for products for use in building level Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Although the provision of data for EN 15804 Modules A4-D is... Read More about The reporting of end of life and module D data and scenarios in EPD for building level life cycle assessment.

Using an analysis of concrete and cement EPD: Verification, selection, assessment, benchmarking and target setting
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The carbon embodied in buildings is an important proportion of our emissions and needs to be radically reduced in order to support climate change mitigation. The highest proportion of embodied carbon is usually emitted during the product stage, and w... Read More about Using an analysis of concrete and cement EPD: Verification, selection, assessment, benchmarking and target setting.

Considering embodied energy and carbon in heritage buildings – A review
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Approximately 20% of UK buildings can be defined as ‘heritage buildings’, offering unique values that should be preserved. They tend to use more energy than newer buildings, creating a strong case for energy retrofits to reduce energy use, greenhouse... Read More about Considering embodied energy and carbon in heritage buildings – A review.

Is it all about the windows? Residents' values in residential heritage buildings
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Reducing energy and associated carbon emissions from the built environment is fundamental to meeting our climate goals. Retrofit of existing buildings is therefore a key strategy. Heritage buildings present particular challenges for retrofitting beca... Read More about Is it all about the windows? Residents' values in residential heritage buildings.

Applying Bayesian model averaging to characterise urban residential stock turnover dynamics
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Building stock is a key determinant in building energy modelling and policy analysis. However, official statistics on total floor area of urban residential stock in China only exist up to 2006. Previous studies estimating Chinese urban residential st... Read More about Applying Bayesian model averaging to characterise urban residential stock turnover dynamics.

A conceptual framework for understanding adaptation planning of urban road infrastructure
Presentation / Conference Contribution

In the field of adaptation of road infrastructure, several frameworks for decision-making are available, but these have focused mainly on the adaptation of national or regional road network systems. Although the protection of these systems from the p... Read More about A conceptual framework for understanding adaptation planning of urban road infrastructure.

Inclusion of on-site renewables in design-stage building life cycle assessments
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This paper investigates the inclusion of renewables in building life cycle assessments. On-site renewable electricity generation is increasingly common in the built environment, but existing guidance for the inclusion of these renewable systems in de... Read More about Inclusion of on-site renewables in design-stage building life cycle assessments.

Demolition and adaptation at the CB1 development, Cambridge
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Cambridge is a historic city in the UK with an international reputation. The CB1 development is a major real estate regeneration project around the train station aiming to provide a gateway to the city. Once complete it will provide over 50,000 sq m... Read More about Demolition and adaptation at the CB1 development, Cambridge.