Influencing Sustainable Change in Construction

Doug King is working hard to change the construction industry paradigm. He promotes interdisciplinary design collaboration to unlock opportunities to innovate and improve business performance in construction as well as in the products of construction. He does this through the education system, by researching, commentating and campaigning, and by working with a wide range of organisations, some of whom would traditionally be considered his competitors.

Building Capacity in Sustainable Design
Doug believes that co-design represents the means for delivering the paradigm shift in construction through the sharing of best practice and he prefers to work in this manner. Co-design involves collaborating with existing supply chains, experts and local communities to share knowledge and build capability across the board. This approach brings a focus on buildability, regional understanding and cultural relevance lacking in so many recent international developments. It results in better and more cost effective buildings that have a better fit with their context and a longer life.

Doug is involved in political debate at many levels, here he argues for better performance metrics at ecobuild

Teaching Sustainable Design
Doug is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Building Physics. He teaches environmental design skills for architects as well as building physics techniques for engineers at universities in the UK, Middle East, Russia and China. His lectures range from his theories about influence of energy on the evolution of architecture to the intensely technical methodologies used to predict overheating in passive buildings.

Sustainable Design Skills
Since 2008, Doug has been working on enhancing sustainable design skills in the construction sector and has driven an initiative to introduce building physics into the civil engineering and architectural curriculum at UK universities. Supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the programme has resulted in two major reports and the establishment of a network of University Centres of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design.

Communicating Sustainability

Doug was invited to demonstrate the principles of building physics to Richard Hammond for the BBC programme Engineering Connections

Doug lectures internationally on innovation and sustainable development, from Science Cafes to the World Renewable Energy Forum. He has been invited as a keynote speaker for a number of major European construction manufacturers. He has been interviewed by John Craven on BBC Countryfile and has demonstrated the principles of building physics for Richard Hammond on the Engineering Connections programme about the Burj al Arab. He regularly assists journalists and researchers with background on low carbon policy and sustainable construction.

Campaigning for Sustainability
An active Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Doug sits on the external affairs committee and contributes to policy work on energy and the built environment. In addition to authoring Engineering a Low Carbon Built Environment and The Case for Centres of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design he has contributed to policy reports on renewable heat and smart buildings.

Doug is a member of the RIBA Education Validation Panel, validating architectural courses, and helps with accreditation of engineering degrees for CIBSE and the Energy Institute. He is a member of Council at CIBSE, a member of the South West Design Review Panel, an advisor to the Ove Arup Foundation and sits on the RIBA Sustainable Futures Group.