Centre for Sustainability of the Built Environment (CSBE)
The School of Environment and Technology at the University of Brighton has a proven track record of research and taught courses on many aspects of sustainability in the built environment. From this the Centre for Sustainability of the Built Environment (CSBE) has emerged, which examines the environmental performance and impact of buildings throughout their life cycles: from the winning of raw materials, the design, construction and operation of buildings, through to demolition and re-use and recycling of materials and components. Key areas of research include life cycle analysis, embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions, thermal storage, bioclimatic architecture, sustainable energy, sustainable water, indoor environmental quality and facade engineering.
The CSBE possesses a suite of instrumentation, environmental assessment tools and specialist software to both model and monitor internal and external environmental conditions and energy consumption. Specialist software are used to evaluation the environmental performance of buildings at different stage of the life cycle, e.g. the thermal models of innovative design solutions for ‘bioshader’ and 'earthtube'. One long term project monitors the Brighton Earthship, data from thirty sensors around the building is recorded and analysed.
The CSBE enjoys good links with international institutions in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. A recent major EU funded project collaborating with the University of Rouen, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Association des ingénieurs en climatique, ventilation et froid ( AICVF) has established a network of stakeholders interested in sustainability of the built environment, and produced a series of case studies exploring good practice. These case studies together with other publications can be viewed from the DURABUILD project web site.
The CSBE in collaboration with Centre for Collaboration and Partnership (CCP) hosts Continuous Profession Development events aimed at professionals engaged in delivering sustainability in the built environment such as CPD for the 6* Code for Sustainable Homes. Members of the CSBE also takes key roles in the delivery of the Master Degree course in Sustainability of the Built Environment.
The Centre also has an excellent track record of partnership in government funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects. Recent projects include: Development of phase change wall lining with Omnova; Development of knowledge base for sustainable refurbishment with Rydon Construction, Deveopment of tool for assessment of carbon footprint for domestic buildings with environmental consultant Phlorum, Development of thermodynamic modelling to evaluate external blinds with AMA Building Services Consultant.