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Building performance and climate change

summary

Led by Professor Ali Bahadori Jahromi, our dedicated academic research group specialises in the intersection of building performance and climate change. With a focus on developing sustainable engineering solutions, we provide a collaborative platform that brings together academics, industry experts and practitioners from diverse backgrounds.

About the project

Our academic research group takes great pride in collaborating with esteemed industry partners and professional bodies, including: 

  • The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) 
  • The Concrete Centre 
  • Hilton Hotels 
  • Lidl 

We invite you to watch our captivating video showcasing the research of Radwa, one of our PhD students, as she explores the realm of near-zero energy buildings (NZEBs).

About the Building Performance, Energy and Climate Change research group

Our research group is dedicated to addressing current industry challenges through impactful research. We strive to provide research-led teaching to our Civil and Environmental Engineering students, offering them opportunities to engage in real-life case studies and projects.

Sustainability and environmental aspects: Pioneering future-proof buildings in the face of climate change

As our planet faces the mounting challenges of climate change, the consequential effects on our built environment are becoming increasingly stark. Our research group is at the cutting-edge of understanding and mitigating climate change impacts on various building types.

Our passionate and dedicated research team delves into projects that cover the breadth of energy use, thermal performance and indoor air quality within buildings. We investigate the implications of climate change on commercial and residential structures and propose proactive adaptation strategies to meet the energy demands of the future. In tandem, we assess the resilience of buildings against extreme weather events and scrutinise the impact of emerging technologies on buildings' thermal performance and energy requirements, with a focus on maintaining optimal air quality.

Utilising advanced simulation modelling techniques, including computational fluid dynamics and artificial intelligence, alongside robust experimental and fieldwork methodologies, we are committed to enhancing the resilience, energy efficiency and healthiness of buildings in an era of unprecedented environmental shifts. Our work aims to empower industry professionals and researchers with critical insights to design and retrofit buildings that can withstand the evolving climate of the future.

Structural engineering and sustainability: Merging theory and practice

Our team firmly believes that sustainability cannot be fully realised without an in-depth understanding of structural design. In our research group, we seamlessly blend experimental work and computational modelling to examine design codes, all while collaborating closely with our partners. 

Moreover, our team takes on consultancy roles to evaluate the performance of innovative structural materials. This enables us to effectively incorporate our research findings into the curriculum, enhancing the delivery of key modules such as Advanced Structural Analysis and Design of Structural Elements.

Findings and knowledge sharing

Our research activities across the various aspects of our group lead to a substantial body of publications. These works, listed under the individual profiles of our team members, serve as a comprehensive record of our research progress and achievements. Through these publications, we disseminate our findings and share our academic insights both within the UK and internationally.

This knowledge sharing is integral to our mission of fostering a vibrant exchange of ideas and promoting a deeper understanding of structural engineering and sustainability. 

Engineering Future Sustainability journal

In addition to our research efforts, our group takes pride in leading the open-access journal, Engineering Future Sustainability. This journal, with Professor Ali Bahadori-Jahromi serving as its contact person and chief editor (ali.jahromi@uwl.ac.uk), provides a platform for further dissemination of practical cases that explore the impact of climate change and mitigation methods for maintaining sustainability.

If you have any inquiries or wish to learn more about our research group, please feel free to reach out. 

Research projects

Explore this section, which showcases a selection of our projects, to gain a deeper understanding of the breadth and depth of our research activities.

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Building performance and climate change research projects

Doctoral research

  • Achieve nearly zero energy in educational building and investigate its impact on airborne virus (full scholarship - open to students worldwide)

    Location: London 

    Funding for: Students worldwide (full scholarship)

    Funding amount: £12,000 per annum plus tuition fee waiver for three years  

    Hours: Full-time 

    Closing date: 3 March 2022

    Start date: May 2022 

    Principal Supervisor: Professor Ali Bahadori-Jahromi (Sponsored by The London College, Civil Engineering Division) 

    Summary of Project 

    Indoor environment quality plays an important role in peoples’ lives as they may have to spend 60% of their lifetime in buildings. In past decades, indoor environment quality studies mainly targeted the combination and balance of promoting occupiers’ comfort and reducing energy consumption in buildings.  However, the pandemic has changed the demands or their proprieties of building users as the health and safety against virus spreading come up as the most important requirement in a building. Educational buildings as a type of highly dense indoor environment play an important role to provide from virus spreading. Based on the current medical research, it claims that the COVID 19 and its variants will be with us for a long time.  Therefore, it becomes very timely and important to re-exam and improve our building of indoor environments while the impact of such modification will be considered in relation to energy performance of the building for achieving nearly zero energy as well as CO2 and GHG emissions. 

    Project objectives: 

    This is a collaborative project between the University of West London and The London College. 

    The project will: 

    • Investigate environmental performance of the currently available ventilation systems that are used in educational buildings and assess their impacts on thermal performance of the building 

    • Design a safe educational building while considering thermal comfort and energy efficiency  

    • Establish a set of recommendations for improving the carbon footprints and GHG emissions during the operational phase while maintaining indoor environment quality.

    Qualification 

    This is an opportunity for an exceptional candidate. Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at least Merit on a Master of Engineering (MEng) or Master of Science (MSc) in a relevant area including Civil or Mechanical Engineering. Applicants must also have a keen interest in energy and ventilation issues combined with an excellent knowledge of statistical analysis and computational simulation.  

    Funding 

    This project is funded for 3 years to cover the cost of tuition fees and to provide a stipend of £12,000 per year. 

    Further information

    For more details contact Professor Ali Bahadori-Jahromi ali.jahromi@uwl.ac.uk 

More research project examples

please visit our research degrees page to see more examples of our research projects including: 

  • Resilience of buildings to extreme weather events (interdisciplinary project)
  • Cost focused reduction of the embodied carbon in commercial buildings
  • Quantifying Carbon Emissions in Supermarket Building Operation
  • Reviewing UK low to medium-rise reinforced concrete frame buildings
  • Deflection of concrete slabs

PhD graduate destinations

PhD graduate destinations for the Building Performance and Climate Change research group:

  • Dr Radwa Salem: Frontiers Publication
  • Dr Reza Keihani: Lecturer and Module Leader, University of West London
  • Dr Joseph Amoako-Attah: Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University (UK)
  • Dr Athanasios Lykartsis: Principal Engineer, Ashford Council (UK)
  • Dr Shivan Tovi: Lecturer, The London College (UK)
  • Dr Reza Hakimi: Lecturer, Coventry University (UK)
  • Dr Abdulazeez Rotimi: Lecturer, Baze University (Nigeria)

Our members

  • External Members

    • Dr Anastasia Mylona: Research Manager, The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
    • Mrs Emily Halliwell: Principle Engineer, Concrete Centre
    • Dr Paulina Godfrey: Engineering Operations EMEA, Hilton
    • Marco Ferri: Team Manager - HO Store Construction - Design, Lidl Great Britain Ltd
    • Mr Charles Goodchild: Principle Engineer, Concrete Centre
    • Dr Shiva Amirkhani: Consultant, Sustainability and Climate Change , WSP

Our impact

Research at UWL in building performance and climate change is led by Professor Ali Bahadori-Jahromi.

Our work aims to provide practical solutions for reducing energy demand and CO2 emissions within the building sector, predicting future building performance, offering practical solutions to maintain building resilience in the face of a changing climate and offering cost-effective solutions for adopting new sustainable technologies.

This has been achieved by developing a methodology to realistically predict and validate the energy performance and CO2 emissions of buildings using computational fluid dynamic simulation, combined with weather data provided by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and surveying the relevant residential and commercial buildings.

Contact us

For any further details and queries to register your interest in joining the group or apply for a PhD position, please contact Professor Ali Bahadori-Jahromi.

Find out more

  • Research Centres and Groups

    Find out about our multi-disciplinary areas of expertise, PhD research, and teaching.

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  • Research impact

    Learn how our PhD research has helped communities locally, nationally and internationally.

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  • The Graduate School

    If you are interested in studying for a PhD or Professional Doctorate, the Graduate School is here to support your research.

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