Phil Hampshire - Research Engineer, with Buro Happold, cohort 3 (2008-09 start)
Supervisors: Rob Cooke, Industrial Supervisor (Buro Happold)
Dr. Paul Goodwin, Academic Supervisor (University of Bath); Dr.Theo Tryfonas (Systems Supervisor, University of Bristol)
Roof systems can have a large influence on buildings and can collectively define the character of whole man made landscapes. Despite this they remain undervalued in the design and construction process. This research aims to improve the delivery of sustainable roofs to increase the whole life value of buildings.
Climate change, energy security, resource depletion, flooding and the economy are some of the greatest challenges that society as a whole currently faces. Buildings have a significant impact on all of the above. Thus it is widely accepted that their environmental, social and economic impacts will have to be significantly reduced to meet these challenges. Fortunately this has lead to the development of a vast number of technologies, systems and methods that can be applied to create increasingly sustainable buildings. However, a new problem has arisen. The complex and multidisciplinary design teams typically involved in the design process are now faced with a plethora of options and little time or money to decide on which combination offers the best way to progress. Additionally there is a lack of data to make comparisons and also a lack of a comparison system to be able to put different data into context. Subsequently decision making in the design process is not holistic or transparent, often leading to designs and component selections with considerable room for improvement. Considering this the purpose of the research is to improve the design and selection of one common and critical building component – the roof. The roof was chosen as the focal point as it is a component which often has a large influence on the impacts of a building. Additionally it has not yet received significant attention and offers a high potential for improvement. Holistic roof design and material selection could therefore reduce the adverse impacts of buildings significantly.
The primary outcome of the research is intended to be the formulation of a framework and decision support tool for use by engineers, architects and clients to quickly, but holistically consider roof options with respect to their lifecycle environmental, economic and social impacts. To find out more please contact Phil Hampshire at Phil.Hampshire@BuroHappold.com.
