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 the built environment. From this, The Centre for Sustainability of the Built Environment (CSBE) has emerged, reflecting a strength in the study of the life-cycle environmental performance of buildings.
The work of the CSBE is aimed at examining the environmental performance 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 and indoor environmental quality.
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 is also used to develop thermal models of innovative design solutions such as the ‘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 Sussex Enterprise, Engineering for Excellence (E4E) hosts an annual conference aimed at professionals engaged in delivering sustainability in the built environment together with a series of CPD events (e.g. the 6* Code for Sustainable Homes) and seminars throughout the year.
The Centre also has an excellent track record of partnership in government funded Knowledge Transfer projects. Recent projects include: Development of phase change wall lining; Development of knowledge base for sustainable refurbishment ; and Deveopment of tool for assessment of carbon footprint for domestic buildings.