The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design

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Thus, in order to deliver the Green Deal, it will be necessary to educate further cohorts in energy conservation design techniques in order to be able to deliver the appropriate training across all levels of the construction industry. The need for multi-disciplinary research in construction The construction industry is unlike other sectors of manufacturing industry in that buildings are designed and developed on a project by project basis by broad teams from widely differing backgrounds. The majority of groundbreaking research in the construction industry is undertaken in commercial practices trying to solve real world problems and not in traditionally-funded research organisations. Dissemination of such research is therefore restricted by commercial confidentiality and the strictures of a competitive marketplace. This fact has not yet been recognised by government or the research councils and so a great deal of valuable information generated by ongoing research efforts remains inaccessible to the industry and other researchers. It is important that new and more agile means are now found for supporting both fundamental research and transfer of the knowledge to industry that do not rely on the conventional frameworks and can overcome the inhibitions of market competition. The research essential to revolutionising the construction industry must be provided by researchers collaborating across a broad spectrum of construction disciplines. This effort cannot be left to the industry as its competitive and adversarial nature inhibits disclosure of both successes and failures by the parties involved. Successes are jealously guarded by their innovators in order to gain marginal commercial advantage and failures are similarly concealed in order to avoid commercial disadvantage. Thus, it is typical for only the mediocre to be subject to scrutiny and becomes the benchmark for future practice and for teaching. Similarly this essential research cannot be left entirely to academia where the focus of most research effort is typically far too narrow to generate results that are broadly useful to the industry. The need for researchers to demonstrate uniqueness, in order to obtain funding, drives research into narrow and highly specialised fields that may take many years or decades to find application in the construction industry. Further, the prohibition by Research Councils UK of funding any industrial partners’ contribution to research acts as a barrier to collaborative effort between academia and industry on any aspect of fundamental research, which will not provide an immediate financial return for the industry partner. Thus, significant research opportunities are being lost. There is also a need for fundamental research in many areas in industry, relating to energy supply and carbon reductions, not just in the area of building physics, which is inadequately supported at present due to the established funding mechanisms. In order to qualify for funding from bodies such as the Carbon Trust, or the Technology Strategy Board, researchers must be able to demonstrate a route to market, limiting the opportunities for more fundamental research with a broad range of application and not linked to a single industrial partner. Thus, again, we are failing to develop potentially beneficial lines of research due to restrictions in the funding criteria. The need for post occupancy evaluation The most pressing need in the construction industry today is for reliable and impartial information on the actual carbon performance of recently constructed or refurbished buildings. This information is essential for the establishment of 30 The Royal Academy of Engineering
Low carbon construction skills benchmarks and standards, for the validation of new designs and techniques, for the development of robust national policy and for the development of up-todate and authoritative teaching materials. Post-occupancy evaluation not only measures the performance of buildings, but also engages building occupiers and facilities managers with their own behaviours and the consequences for energy consumption and carbon emissions. The research outputs from post-occupancy evaluation also therefore cover areas of human comfort and behaviour, and not just of physical building performance. Very few research funding mechanisms presently would encompass such broad multidisciplinary research, while the construction industry cannot be relied upon to generate such information itself. Access to such research information would allow the development of new research paths investigating areas of psychology and social science in relation to energy consumption. Ultimately such investigations will enable universities to develop materials suitable for the education of building maintenance and facilities professionals. The case for Centres of Excellence in sustainable building design 31
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Page 5 and 6: Foreword Foreword The demanding cli
Page 7 and 8: Executive summary Executive summary
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Page 39 and 40: References ONS. 2011a. Construction
Page 41 and 42: Appendix 1 needs set out above. Dep
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