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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Appendix 1<br />
parties, should not be directly <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the management panels, though they<br />
could usefully have affiliation with the <strong>Centres</strong>. Policymakers must see the <strong>Centres</strong><br />
as the trusted friends who will tell them the uncom<strong>for</strong>table truths that they<br />
would rather not hear. To that end, it may be helpful to have an appropriate civil<br />
servant on the overview panel. Policymakers must see the <strong>Centres</strong> as providers <strong>of</strong><br />
solutions, not as lobby<strong>in</strong>g organisations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> failures referred to <strong>in</strong> this report have generally arisen from ignorance, <strong>in</strong> spite<br />
<strong>of</strong> a strong will to do well. Lead<strong>in</strong>g <strong>design</strong>ers are expected to advise their clients<br />
tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to account the long term concerns <strong>of</strong> both client and society. <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
reputations and their future bus<strong>in</strong>ess rest on how well their build<strong>in</strong>gs meet these<br />
needs; they are not dependent <strong>for</strong> their pr<strong>of</strong>its on sell<strong>in</strong>g devices, and have no<br />
<strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong>fer<strong>in</strong>g solutions with either high upfront or operat<strong>in</strong>g costs.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir vested <strong>in</strong>terests only lie <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Centres</strong> produc<strong>in</strong>g the graduates who can<br />
support them <strong>in</strong> achiev<strong>in</strong>g these aims. <strong>The</strong>ir mission is there<strong>for</strong>e compatible with<br />
that <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Centres</strong>, and they should have strong <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> the runn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Centres</strong>.<br />
Research<br />
A Centre <strong>of</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong> should be engaged <strong>in</strong> fundamental research <strong>in</strong>to such<br />
th<strong>in</strong>gs as the properties <strong>of</strong> materials, the behaviour <strong>of</strong> fluids or <strong>of</strong> people, the<br />
transportation, trans<strong>for</strong>mation and storage <strong>of</strong> energy, or any number <strong>of</strong> other<br />
fundamental aspects that <strong>in</strong>fluence the <strong>design</strong> <strong>of</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able build<strong>in</strong>gs. A Centre<br />
should also be engaged <strong>in</strong> the assessment <strong>of</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g build<strong>in</strong>gs, the collation and<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpretation <strong>of</strong> those f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs, develop<strong>in</strong>g understand<strong>in</strong>g, and communicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that enhanced understand<strong>in</strong>g to practitioners and to its own undergraduates.<br />
<strong>Centres</strong> would also usefully have direct engagement with <strong>design</strong>ers, advis<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
particular problems, and carry<strong>in</strong>g out the research needed to support <strong>in</strong>novative<br />
<strong>design</strong> ideas. <strong>The</strong>ir research may also have contributions from psychology and<br />
social science <strong>in</strong> relation to the human elements <strong>of</strong> the whole complex system<br />
controll<strong>in</strong>g energy use <strong>in</strong> a build<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Research <strong>in</strong> the built environment is typically supported by the Eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) <strong>for</strong> pure research and the Technology<br />
Strategy Board (TSB) <strong>for</strong> ‘year to market’ technologies, <strong>of</strong>ten <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g close l<strong>in</strong>ks<br />
to commercial organisations. <strong>The</strong> bulk <strong>of</strong> the output <strong>of</strong> exist<strong>in</strong>g research centres<br />
is <strong>of</strong> a traditional academic <strong>for</strong>m and rarely responds to the needs or timescales<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustries such as the construction <strong>in</strong>dustry. A research programme will<br />
typically have a duration <strong>of</strong> two or three years follow<strong>in</strong>g a year or more <strong>of</strong> work<br />
to obta<strong>in</strong> fund<strong>in</strong>g. Writ<strong>in</strong>g up, peer review and publication <strong>of</strong> the results may<br />
delay dissem<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>for</strong> a further year or two. In the face <strong>of</strong> a very urgent need <strong>for</strong><br />
build<strong>in</strong>gs to consume less energy and generate less CO2, this is far too slow to be<br />
<strong>of</strong> use to the construction <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
Other <strong>for</strong>ms <strong>of</strong> output may be unpublished reports written <strong>for</strong> commercial<br />
organisations, usually <strong>for</strong> a very narrowly def<strong>in</strong>ed purpose where a centre has<br />
specific expertise. <strong>The</strong>se research programmes are much faster, be<strong>in</strong>g driven by<br />
the commercial demand <strong>of</strong> a s<strong>in</strong>gle organisation, but have very limited impact.<br />
A number <strong>of</strong> research centres exist which have build<strong>in</strong>g science as part <strong>of</strong> their<br />
remit, while many universities have centres <strong>in</strong> ‘susta<strong>in</strong>ability’ or ‘low carbon’,<br />
and others have taken the Low Carbon proposition on a systems eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g<br />
approach. However, what is clear is that the balance between broad academic<br />
and teach<strong>in</strong>g staff and purely research staff varies considerably between these<br />
research centres. Most centres are <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the delivery <strong>of</strong> taught postgraduate<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>case</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Centres</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong> <strong>in</strong> susta<strong>in</strong>able build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>design</strong> 41