The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design
The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design
The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design
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In contrast the Jo<strong>in</strong>t Board <strong>of</strong> Moderators (JBM), <strong>for</strong> civil, structural, highways and<br />
transport eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g, currently accredits courses from around 50 universities,<br />
with over 100 degree courses at MEng alone [JBM 2009]. However, the JBM<br />
currently sets no requirement <strong>for</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g science and review <strong>of</strong> the accredited<br />
courses <strong>in</strong>dicates that only around 10 universities <strong>of</strong>fer any identifiable build<strong>in</strong>g<br />
science content, but this can be as little as one module.<br />
Thus the opportunities <strong>for</strong> school leavers to ga<strong>in</strong> any appreciable education<br />
<strong>in</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g physics are extremely limited, with only around 20% <strong>of</strong> universities<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g any teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the field.<br />
At the postgraduate level the pr<strong>of</strong>ession is better provided <strong>for</strong> with a number <strong>of</strong><br />
courses which feature some aspects <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able construction. However the<br />
technical content <strong>of</strong> these is extremely varied and only about 30 Masters’ degrees<br />
are accredited by CIBSE <strong>for</strong> the additional learn<strong>in</strong>g required on top <strong>of</strong> a bachelor’s<br />
degree to achieve the academic threshold <strong>for</strong> Chartered Eng<strong>in</strong>eer.<br />
Current fail<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> undergraduate teach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
University courses take time to <strong>design</strong>, approve and implement and rely on there<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g sufficient authoritative reference material on a subject. Unlike other science,<br />
technology and eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g subjects, build<strong>in</strong>g eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g and architecture rely<br />
heavily on teach<strong>in</strong>g and material generated from current practice, which is where<br />
most research and development takes place.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> up-to-date <strong>case</strong> study reference material <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry, the focus<br />
<strong>of</strong> academic research on narrow subject areas and <strong>in</strong> some <strong>case</strong>s the reliance<br />
on practitioner teach<strong>in</strong>g means that University teach<strong>in</strong>g can <strong>of</strong>ten fall beh<strong>in</strong>d<br />
current practice <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry. With four years be<strong>in</strong>g the normal course length<br />
<strong>for</strong> eng<strong>in</strong>eers and five years <strong>for</strong> architects, the rate <strong>of</strong> change <strong>in</strong> practice and the<br />
uptake <strong>of</strong> new technology driven by revisions <strong>of</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g regulations, at three<br />
to four year <strong>in</strong>tervals, means that the education <strong>of</strong> construction graduates is likely<br />
to be out <strong>of</strong> date even be<strong>for</strong>e they leave university.<br />
Many precedents and <strong>case</strong> studies presently used <strong>in</strong> undergraduate teach<strong>in</strong>g are<br />
significantly out <strong>of</strong> date, as recent projects have not been evaluated to the same<br />
extent or are drawn from “Practice Books” written by commercial architectural or<br />
eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g practices to promote themselves and which are there<strong>for</strong>e sometimes<br />
less than candid about the real per<strong>for</strong>mance <strong>of</strong> their <strong>design</strong>s. <strong>The</strong> reliance on<br />
practitioners from <strong>in</strong>dustry, who themselves may struggle with keep<strong>in</strong>g up to<br />
date with new developments, means that there is <strong>of</strong>ten little critical exam<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
<strong>of</strong> the issues and <strong>in</strong>accurate <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation about susta<strong>in</strong>ability becomes received<br />
wisdom through repetition.<br />
<strong>The</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g physics teach<strong>in</strong>g at undergraduate level impacts throughout<br />
the cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g education and development <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essionals. Eng<strong>in</strong>eers<br />
presently <strong>in</strong> the middle <strong>of</strong> their pr<strong>of</strong>essional careers will have started <strong>in</strong> the<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry at a time when carbon did not feature <strong>in</strong> policy and the architect simply<br />
<strong>in</strong>stalled <strong>in</strong>sulation to the standard details <strong>in</strong> order to comply with Part L <strong>of</strong> the<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g regulations. In 2004, 43% <strong>of</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g practices <strong>in</strong> the<br />
construction sector <strong>in</strong>dicated that they had experienced skills and competence<br />
gaps among their pr<strong>of</strong>essional eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g staff [CIC 2004]. That skills gap will<br />
now be propagat<strong>in</strong>g through the generation <strong>of</strong> eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>of</strong>essionals <strong>in</strong><br />
management positions and also those likely to be engaged with teach<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
tutor<strong>in</strong>g at university.<br />
28 <strong>The</strong> Royal Academy <strong>of</strong> Eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g