Informing the Industry about Sustainable Building Design

Sustainability is too important to be owned by anyone. Information must be freely shared if we are going to succeed in building a low carbon economy for the future.

This page gives access to Doug’s knowledge about innovation and sustainable development in the built environment. It contains papers, lectures and articles written by Doug on a wide variety of topics, press coverage and case studies about his work. This page is evolving as and when Doug finds the time to write up his research and lectures so keep checking in for new material.

The links open a new tab or window.

Videos

A short selection of educational videos and lectures. These are on a separate page to avoid clutter.

General Interest Articles

SMART BUILDINGS & PEOPLE Science in Parliament Spring 2014
SUSTAINABLE PROPERTY NEEDS NEW METRICS  2 Degrees Network, 18th October 2013
WHY THE WORD SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD BE BANNED The Guardian Environment Blog, 29th August 2013
FIVE VIEWS ON SUSTAINABILITY IN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION Architects Journal, 25th July 2013
GREEN FACELIFT FOR CONCRETE BUILDINGS Ingenia, July 2013
FORGET ‘ECOBLING’ – THE UK NEEDS TO CONSUME LESS ENERGY HHIC Journal, August 2012
ARCHITECTS NEED TO HELP THE GOVERNMENT SHAPE THE GREEN DEAL Architects Journal, March 2012
ZERO CARBON HOMES, UNDER ANY DEFINITION WILL NOT BE AFFORDABLE EG Magazine, September 2011
FUKOSHIMA CATASTROPHE WILL SET BACK EFFORTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE Architectural Review, April 2011
FIT FOR PURPOSE? CIBSE Journal, February 2011
THERE’S JUST NOT ENOUGH FRESH AIR IN EAST LONDON The Times, June 2010
TAYLOR MADE EFFICIENCY CIBSE Journal, February 2010
CONSERVATION BEATS GENERATION Public Servant, March 2010

Magazine CPD Articles

PASSIVE DESIGN PRIMER.
Doug’s first series of CPD articles was published in Building Sustainable Design. The series covered the basic building physics principals, such as natural ventilation and thermal mass, in their application to low energy building design.

1. Natural Ventilation December 2009
2. Solar Shading October 2009
3. Daylight Design August 2009
4. Thermal Mass June 2009
5. Building Fabric April 2009
6. Passive Design February 2009

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN MASTERCLASS
The environmental design masterclass was a series of articles, published in the CIBSE Journal, that looked in a little more depth at the application of technical principles underlying good environmental building design.

1. Systems, The Holistic Approach January 2012
2. Sustainability, The Big Picture October 2011
3. Building Heatloss August 2011
4. Principles Of Thermal Comfort June 2011
5. Zoning Building Services April 2011
6. Avoiding Overdesign In Building Services February 2011
7. Energy, Exergy & Entropy December 2010
8. Principles Of Indoor Air Movement October 2010
9. Building Passive Thermal Response August 2010
10. The Urban Wind Power Fallacy June 2010

Case Studies and Building Reviews

Innovate Green Office
THE QUIET REVOLUTIONARY Building Magazine, August 2007
BREEAM DREAM Building Services Journal, September 2007

RSC Courtyard Theatre
THE SHOW MUST GO ON Building Services Journal, April 2007

Gazeley EcoTemplate
DESIGNER DEPOTS Building Services Journal, April 2006

The British Library Centre for Conservation
AN INTRODUCTION TO BOOK-KEEPING Building Services Journal, July 2006

The Tank Museum
KING SHAW ASSOCIATES KEEPS IT SIMPLE AT THE TANK MUSEUM Building Sustainable Design August 2009
BOVINGTON’S DEFENCE STRATEGY Building Services Journal, July 2006

Conference and Journal Papers

NEW SKILLS FOR LOW ENERGY ARCHITECTURE
This paper examines the current state of education and practice in the discipline of Building Engineering Physics, a key discipline in the development of energy conservation design for buildings.
Proceedings of World Renewable Energy Congress XI, Abu Dhabi, Sept 2010, pp429-434

THE ZERO CARBON SKILLS GAP
This paper provides an overview of the current state of skills appropriate to low carbon and sustainable construction.
Construction Research & Innovation, Volume 1 Issue 1 pp24-29, London, Chartered Institute of Building 2010

INNOVATE GREEN OFFICE: A NEW STANDARD FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS
The paper describes the design features of the Innovate Green Office, which achieved the highest BREEAM rating ever.
Proceedings of the ICE, Energy, Vol 160 Issue 3, August 2007, pp105-111

AN EXAMPLE OF MIXED MODE COOLING USING TERMODECK WITH CHP
This paper describes the innovative heating and cooling control strategy incorporating CHP at the Innovate Green Office in Leeds.
Proceedings: Air Conditioning and the Low Carbon Cooling Challenge, NCEUB Windsor 2008

COMFORT AND ENERGY USE IN THEATRES
A paper describing the interactions of both building thermal response and audience psychosomatic response in the design of theatre HVAC systems for comfort and enjoyment.
Proceedings of Theatre Engineering and Architecture, London, 2002, Vol 3 pp10.1-10.6

A NEW SUPERSTORE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM
The paper sets out the proposed concept design that resulted in the Millennium Sainsburys store built at Greenwich.
Proceedings of the CIBSE National Conference 1998, pp105-111

Reports

ENGINEERING A LOW CARBON BUILT ENVIRONMENT
This is the report that introduced the discipline of building engineering physics to the construction industry and UK politics.
Engineering a Low Carbon Built Environment ISBN 1-903496-51-9, Royal Academy of Engineering 2010

THE CASE FOR CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN
This report presents the outcome of an exercise to establish the costs and benefits for the UK economy of creating a network of centres of excellence in integrated, sustainable design for construction.
The Case for Centres of Excellence in Integrated Sustainable Design ISBN 1-903496-80-2, Royal Academy of Engineering 2012

Selected Lectures

CHOOSING ENERGY EFFICIENT COOLING SYSTEMS
An overview of the options available for low carbon and energy efficient cooling in buildings.
BSJ Low Carbon Building Services Conference

ENGINEERING UK BUILDINGS FOR ZERO CARBON
A public lecture providing a strategic overview of the issues surrounding the drive to zero carbon construction by 2020. Video.
Royal Academy of Engineering

INNOVATE GREEN OFFICE – THE UK’S GREENEST OFFICE?
A lecture describing the technical design of the Innovate Green Office, the building which broke the BREEAM Excellent ceiling. Video.
The Concrete Centre

THE BLING GENERATION
A short public lecture on the inappropriate use of small scale renewable generation on buildings.
Bath Science Cafe

SUSTAINING SUSTAINABILITY – EDUCATION FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS
A keynote address on the need to improve education and skills for low carbon construction. Video.
British Business Embassy Global Summit on Education

TV Demonstrations & Interview

ENGINEERING CONNECTIONS: THE BURJ AL ARAB
Doug consulted on the segment of the programme dealing with the impact of stack pressures in tall buildings and designed the apparatus for the live experiment. He appeared on the programme demonstrating the experiment. First Broadcast BBC2, May 2011

COUNTRYFILE: JOHN CRAVEN INVESTIGATES WINDPOWER
Doug supplied background information to the programme researchers on the impact of the new Feed in Tariff on renewable energy in the UK and appeared briefly providing expert comment. First Broadcast BBC1 February 2010

Other Press Coverage

Interview Building 4 Change, 19 November 2012
Makeover SOS: The Urgent Need to Retrofit The Environmentalist October 2012
Outstanding Achievement Award New Civil Engineer, Awards March 2012
BD’s Top 50 Green Leaders Building Design, March 2012
Building engineering physics is the key to buildings of the future Modern Building Services, April 2010
The projects that broke new ground Building Services Journal, September 2008

Doug’s Comments reported in the Press

Bit of a blow as home turbines are condemned as “eco-bling” The Times, January 2010
Eco-bling is a waste of time Daily Telegraph, January 2010