Enterprising solutions for a low carbon built environment presented at CIBSE conference 2018
LSBU hosts CIBSE conference 2018 showcasing a diverse range of low carbon engineering and building services solutions for the cities of the futureThis year's popular CIBSE conference gave voice to a range of expert guest speakers from across industry and academia - including LSBU. Students, academics and engineers delivered presentations on the themes of energy efficiency and designing a more sustainable built environment for cities of the future.
LSBU's Lecturer in Construction Apprenticeships, Carlos Gonzalo, pitched his timely and topical technical proposal for improving the fire resistance of cladding panels on buildings.
LSBU’s Acoustics expert, Dr Stephen Dance, presented a feasibility study for the increasingly popular use of urban wind turbines on the roof of hospitals, tall buildings and residential developments.
Twice daily, Professor Andy Ford, LSBU’s Director of Enterprise and Innovation, and Professor of Building Services Engineering, took delegates on a tour of the University campus to show them how his research is helping to manage heat and energy levels efficiently in the various buildings on site.
Among the external speakers, Phil Jones, Chair of CIBSE’s CHP district heating group, discussed harnessing renewable energy from rivers and canals to provide low carbon heat to buildings and Sharon Duffy of Transport for London outlined the work being undertaken to overcome the challenges posed by using waste heat from London’s transport systems.
Speaking at the conference, Hywel Davies, CIBSE’s Technical Director said: “This year’s conference has proved to be more popular than ever before. We achieved record attendance levels and record numbers of presentations, which is good to see.
“It’s clear, from the range of presentations given, that industry is going to have to do things differently in future if we’re going to meet the Carbon reduction targets we’ve been set by government for 2050.
“What’s interesting to see this time, is that whereas usually academia is chasing industry for fresh ideas, this year it’s the other way around, and that’s really good for us.”
Professor Charles Egbu, Dean of LSBU’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment (BEA) said: “With 2018 being the UK’s Year of Engineering, the inspiring projects being talked about at this year’s conference, should help persuade our young engineers to stay in the profession and convince them their ideas are needed now, more than ever.
“According to the latest WEF report, our construction industry is lagging about 50 years behind where it should be in terms of meeting productivity targets, which impacts on sustainability. This is why CIBSE’s annual conference is so essential to spawning a whole new generation of young engineers who will reinvigorate the profession and the marketplace.”
Read the full programme for CIBSE’s Technical Symposium 2018.