The new CDT will be situated within the University’s Department for Architecture and Civil Engineering and housed in a new building, due to open in 2015. It will see between 50 and 100 PhD students completing game-changing research into zero and low-carbon building technologies.
The research themes covered will address some of the challenges facing the decarbonisation of the built environment including: materials and structures, building physics, construction management processes, control and digital systems, social science, resilience and climate change, architecture, policy and economics. The Centre will help bridge the gap between academic research and an industrial and societal need.
The first intake of students will start in October 2014 with the programme led by Professor David Coley who has a wealth of first-hand experience in combining low-energy building design with usability, designing developments that are fit for purpose well into the future.
Professor Coley leads the University’s EDEn (Energy and Design of Environments) research group which is at the cutting-edge of research in design sustainability, natural processes and renewable energy, and attracts international funding due to its strong reputation.