Biography

I am Professor of Sustainable Construction and Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Technology. Having left school at 16 I joined the Royal Air Force as an avionics technician working on airborne weapons and navigation systems. After six years I decided to leave and read engineering at the University of Leicester. The curriculum at Leicester sparked my interest in the link between engineering and the environment and I have now been involved with different aspects of the field of sustainable built environments for over twenty years. Over this time I have had a range of industrial and academic experience, working for companies such as Thames Water, Scott Wilson and the Building Research Establishment as well as receiving research degrees from the University of Cambridge (MPhil) and Imperial College (PhD).

My current research activities consider a broad range of issues relating to sustainable buildings, from the analysis of the relationship between buildings and open spaces at a redevelopment scale, to the consideration of elements of both new build and the existing building stock at an individual building scale. This work is characterised by multidisciplinary approaches, working together with ecologists, social scientists, urban designers, architects, economists and engineers. Key themes currently focus on the need to close the gap between design intent and the in-use performance of buildings, a significant problem so often found in the built environment, and the importance of dealing with future uncertainties to deliver resilient urban areas.

Research interests

My research focuses on how we can ensure decision-making processes during building design, construction and operation reflect the whole life implications of the dynamic nature of building performance, the effects of occupant responses and perceptions, and the impact of future uncertainties.

• Member: Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management
• Chartered Environmentalist