Tag: CABER

Event on the sustainability of natural materials for construction to mark COP30

Author Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research | Posted on

By Freya Wise, Alice Moncaster, Hector Archila and Tavs Jorgensen

On the 3rd of December Caber ran an action-packed hybrid event to mark COP30. After a short introduction reflecting on the COP30 outcomes we then had excellent presentations on three natural building materials which UWE researchers are involved with: bamboo, cob and timber. This blog reports the highlights of the session for a wider audience.

Reflection on COP30 by Dr Freya Wise

The reflection on COP30 by Freya highlighted that the overall outcomes were felt to be disappointing and lacked ambition but were not as bad as they could have been and that a range of useful things were achieved. It will be interesting to see if taking forward the fossil fuel and deforestation roadmaps outside the official COP process will actually allow them to be more ambitious and progress more quickly with willing countries.

Concerns were highlighted around a lack of acknowledgement of the latest climate science from the IPCC in the final document and the dropping of language on the need to fight misinformation. From a positive perspective however this was the first COP for several years in a countries where mass protests are possible and had strong civil society and cultural engagement around the city of Belem, including from high numbers of indigenous people.  

Specifically on the built environment, Freya identified a number of initiatives, guides and standards were launched at COP which have positive relevance. These included the Belém health action plan, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), ‘Beat the Heat’ initiative, and the Bélem ‘call for action for sustainable and affordable housing’ as well as initiatives on circularity and low carbon materials. If these are enacted, they will have positive implications for decarbonising the built environment and links to all can be seen at the end of the article.

Following on from some of the initiatives at COP around low carbon and biobased materials, we then had three engaging short talks on three different natural materials.

The benefits of Bamboo by Dr Hector Archila

Hector took inspiration for his talk from the ‘BambooBoost Initiative’ from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR).

Hector explained that bamboo is a very sustainable material with rapid biomass production which translates to a high yield and excellent CO2 sequestration in both the biomass and the soil. Bamboo, which is actually a grass, is one of the fastest-growing ‘woody’ plants and thrives on degraded land. Over fifty years a tropical bamboo species produces between 5 and 8 times more biomass than Scots Pine and Oak, resulting in 5 to 8 times as much carbon sequestration as those trees over the same period.

Figure 1: Carbon yield for bamboo and selected wood

Hector highlighted that, according to UNFCC, if bamboo were cultivated on around 70-174 million hectares of degraded forestland it could sequester roughly 2 Gt of CO2 annually (for reference Spain and Portugal combined are cover about 68 million hectares). This would equate to 2% of current global greenhouse gas emissions and would also deliver significant net economic benefits. In terms of climate action, it therefore makes a lot of sense to plant bamboo forests which will produce carbon and fibre rich biomass in 4–6-year periods which can then be used in long-lived products to act as carbon stores.

In terms of biodiversity enhancements, Hector suggested that if more bamboo was planted less wood forest would need to be used thus reducing deforestation and providing ecosystem services. Bamboo forests themselves also have good biodiversity with a plethora of animal species. Bamboo can provide ecosystem and community resilience for the many people who rely on solid biomass for cooking such as charcoal or briquettes, with fast growing highly renewable biomass. Bamboo can also be converted to gas or pellets to provide a source of electricity and heating, thus reducing deforestation and use of fossil fuels

Finally, research at UWE by Hector on the project SmartBioC has shown how Biobased Building Systems for UK housing using engineered bamboo as the main structural component can provide better Natural, Human and Social benefits than traditional building systems used in the UK.

Figure 2: One of the biobased systems Hector has developed

Innovative earth building research at UWE by Dr Tavs Jorgensen

Tavs provided an introduction to cob or earth as a local, low carbon building material with a long history of use and increased research interest in recent decades. However, challenges were also highlighted with traditional cob construction around the thicknesses required to meet insulation levels in modern building regulations and the length of time that building traditional cob walls requires.

Tavs then discussed the research that he has been leading at UWE to investigate how to use 3D printing processes to make dies to extrude cob bricks in different shapes, which has the potential to substantially speed up the production process while allowing creativity in the creation of different brick shapes and forms.

Figure 3: Extrusion equipment and extruded cob bricks

Work has taken place to engage students in this research through competitions and a ‘Cob Club’ as well as a number of wider hands-on workshops exploring the qualities of different earth and the potential of the material. A ‘Cob Comp’ (cob competition) in 2024 enabled UWE students to explore extruded cob block technology and the winners’ ideas were used to successfully build a shelter on the University grounds.

Figure 4: The bricks and the shelter created by Cob-Comp in 2025

Tavs also took the opportunity to launch this year’s iteration of the competition, Cob Comp 2: Earthly Enquiries. This is an ideas competition to design a structure built from pressed earth brick units of students’ own ingenious designs and from materials found only within the boundaries of UWE’s Frenchay Campus. The competition aims to explore the structural capacities and concepts of making and building with compressed earth. There are plans to build the winning design in summer 2026.

Tavs therefore highlighted both the benefits of innovative methods for cob and the importance of engaging students in hands-on research and creativity.

Sustainable timber and biogenic carbon standards by Professor Alice Moncaster

Alice highlighted the new principles for Sustainable Timber Construction and which were officially launched at COP30 (see link below). Alice then went on to give a quick introduction to lifecycle assessment (LCA) which measures the carbon emissions associated with the whole life of a material including its extraction, manufacture, transport, installation, maintenance and end of life disposal.

Figure 5: Lifecycle stages

She then discussed how the biogenic carbon stored in natural materials (and then released back into the atmosphere at the end of the of the material’s lifespan), is treated in a range of national and international standards on whole life carbon reporting. Biogenic carbon storage is one of the key benefits of natural materials and is particularly valuable in buildings as they theoretically last a long time, thus storing carbon for many decades (but not permanently). For a full LCA, the biogenic storage in phases A1-A3 is then reemitted in phase C, while most standards currently require that if only upfront carbon is assessed, biogenic carbon is reported separately.

Alice discussed multiple standards and reported on discussions at a recent meeting of International Energy Agency (IEA) Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC) Annex 89, ‘Ways to implement net-zero whole life carbon buildings’. Climate science says that biogenic carbon is not equivalent to fossil carbon and cannot be added together. The discussions therefore focussed on whether biogenic carbon should be reported separately throughout all LCAs. This does not mean that the biogenic storage of natural materials is not useful and positive but does highlight that it is not a simple silver bullet and cautions against some of the evangelical calls for over-building with timber as a form of carbon removal from the atmosphere.

Alice therefore opened the discussion and posed some questions on how we should be reporting sustainable timber use for everyone to consider. 

Summary

The session was well received the main concern seemed to be that we would all have enjoyed more time for discussion! During the questions Hector made a very good point that no natural material is ‘The Solution’ on its own and what is actually needed is a balanced diet or menu of the most appropriate materials for different scenarios and locations. We look forward to continuing the discussion.

Links to further information from all the presentations

COP30 reflections and initiatives

Bamboo

 Earth Buildings

Sustainable Timber and biogenic carbon

CABER members can view the recording of the event on Teams

Sustainable buildings in Trondheim

Author Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research | Posted on

Author: Alice Moncaster

Trondheim is just outside the Arctic Circle, and late November means limited daylight and plenty of snow and treacherous ice. Winters are not as cold as they used to be however according to our host. This is an increasingly common refrain. And while you might not mind milder winters, the excessively hot summers and increasing disasters around the world are making it absolutely crystal clear that we all need to do whatever we can to limit carbon emissions and climate change.

Nidaros Cathedral and Trondheim by night

I was in Trondheim at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for two events trying to address the 40% or so of our carbon emissions which are from the construction and operation of our buildings. The first event was a conference, part of the long-established Sustainable Built Environment (SBE) series.  I first attended an SBE conference in Helsinki in 2011, and over the years they have led to the development of a shared community of practice around the world. I particularly enjoyed Trondheim’s SBE25 Cities and Climate Change. Organised by Rolf Andre Bohne and colleagues, and Scientific Committee led by Freja Rasmussen, it had a distinctively friendly and open atmosphere, which had a noticeable impact both for early career researchers (who were less nervous), and for more senior researchers (who were less combative!). Of the research shared, I’d pick out the ARV project presented by Niki Gaitani (NTNU) and others, and the INDICATE-LIFE project presented by Giovanna Cassavia (TU Graz) and others, for special interest.

I was also proud to present (CABER Visiting Prof) Morwenna Slade’s beautifully illustrated paper (Blenheim Palace! Medieval churches!) explaining how understanding the vulnerabilities of individual heritage buildings, combined with projected localised climate change, can help develop maintenance plans towards future resilience – and how this ‘conservation philosophy’ can also be applied to improve resilience across all buildings. On the second day I then presented my former student Jon Andrew’s paper based on his MSc dissertation, which explored the motivations and actions for the new student accommodation at UWE – why Passivhaus was supported, while aspirations for net zero whole life carbon were dropped.

Conference dinner at E.C.Dahls brewery with new colleagues and old

The conference illustrated again for me how important direct and personal communication is. We are bombarded with webpages and reports and social media notifications (yes, I see myself 🙂 ) every day, and yet nothing works as well as talking to each other.  This is a problem, as only a few have the opportunity; there is a very real financial limitation on who can attend conferences, and often, on top of that, personal limitations due to disability and caring responsibilities. So, while attending conferences is amazing, those of us lucky enough to be there need to remain conscious of the voices which aren’t heard. There were important lessons in all the papers presented, but how many will read them or even hear of them outside Trondheim, I wondered?

Alexander Passer, Operating Agent for Annex 89, presents to the group

The second half of the week was spent in a scientific meeting of the IEA EBC Annex 89, ‘Ways to implement net-zero whole life carbon buildings’. Colleagues from around the world came together to develop and discuss our emerging results and the variations in what is happening in the 30+ countries we represent.  As a subtask 4 co-lead, I am particularly interested in gathering case studies which help us understand how the transition to low carbon buildings happens in practice – in projects, through industry initiatives, and in policy. How do we make it happen more widely?

A tour of the plant room in the ZEB Lab at NTNU

It was super interesting to hold the meeting in the Zero Emission Building Laboratory at NTNU, and to have a tour of the plant room. In sub-zero temperatures it clearly worked – and the mass timber construction, including the stairwell, made an attractive and comfortable environment. As a living laboratory, the building is also used as a demonstrator, and the plant room is huge just so that visiting groups can enter and see everything working.

But is this the future of the built environment? I think not.  ‘Net zero’ means that the carbon is paid back over the years, but the construction still costs carbon upfront, even in timber. We don’t have the carbon budget remaining to rebuild our cities. In Europe we already have the building stock we need. Our dual focus now needs to be on retrofit and adaptation for future climates, and on social change to ensure everyone has a roof over their head.

Annex 89 participants braving the ice for a group photo

Introducing the new co-Directors of CABER, Professors Alice Moncaster and Patrick Manu

Author Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research | Posted on

Alice Moncaster and Patrick Manu applied to be co-Directors of CABER, and were appointed in February 2025, taking over from the previous director Lamine Mahdjoubi. These are our personal stories.

Alice’s story:

I grew up in an Elizabethan (1560s) house in rural Essex, and a love of historic buildings has stayed with me ever since.  My girls’ grammar school in Colchester encouraged me to study my favourite subjects at A levels of Maths, Physics, English Literature and Art. However when I applied to Cambridge to study engineering they said that neither English nor Art were relevant (I disagree), so in the final year I had to swap Art for Further Maths.

Engineering at Cambridge in the early 90s was tough, and about 90% male, but luckily I was at an all women’s college, Newnham (also the prettiest of the Cambridge colleges) so I survived. Back then Cambridge only awarded Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees, and a Master of Arts (MA) was awarded automatically seven years after you ‘matriculate’ (first join the university) so long as you stayed out of prison.  So despite having had to give up art, I officially have a BA and MA in Engineering.

After university I worked as a civil engineer for Balfour Beatty in Exeter and Sidcup, including roads, dams, sewerage treatment works, and a small geotechnical investigation for the new Channel Tunnel.  But the UK was in recession and work was slow, and I was tempted by a job in the Earthquake Engineering Research Centre at Bristol University.  Therefore I first moved to Bristol in 1994, helping first to design and build a ‘shear stack’ – a huge wobbly box sat on the shaking table filled with sand – and then my own laboratory research project using piezoelectric bender elements to measure the shear modulus of sand at very small strains, for which I was awarded an MSc. I also met my husband working at Bristol University, and when he got a new job at the British Antarctic Survey moved with him back across the country to Cambridge.

Here I moved back into industry for a few years, designing buildings at Harris and Sutherland (part of the Babtie Group at the time) and then at Mott MacDonald, while we juggled life, now with two young daughters. But I was becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and the impact of construction, and once the girls were in primary school I left Mott MacDonald, designed a low carbon extension, and wrote a research proposal. I was very fortunate to be offered PhD funding in 2007 to undertake this by Professor Jacquie Burgess in the School of Environmental Sciences at UEA. It was EPSRC funding, but Jacquie and Peter Simmons, who became my principal supervisor, were social scientists, and I am eternally grateful to them for introducing me to a whole new way of understanding the world.

Shortly after starting my PhD I was also offered a research post by Professor Peter Guthrie at the Centre for Sustainable Development at Cambridge University. I then also added two more roles at Cambridge, Deputy Director of the Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment programme, and Director of Studies for engineering undergraduates at my old college. It therefore took me until 2012 to finish my PhD, and is not an approach I’d recommend!

I was made a lecturer at Cambridge in 2014, and also Director of the IDBE. However new master’s courses in both the Architecture and Engineering Departments threatened the IDBE with closure, despite being much-loved by industry, so I was asked to review it, identifying the solution to move it into the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership where it still lives.

In 2017 I moved to the Open University as a Senior Lecturer. I joined the friendly and wonderfully multi-disciplinary Design Group, and also instigated the first Built Environment research cluster, and was then appointed the first cross-university Sustainability Lead for their new Open Societal Challenges research initiative.  I remain a Visiting Professor at the OU (and still miss my colleagues there). However I couldn’t turn down the opportunity in 2023 to return to Bristol at long last, to a professorship at UWE in the School of Architecture and Environment. I had long known of UWE for its strong focus on built environment research, and this suited my interdisciplinary background perfectly. 

In summer 2023 we moved partly to a flat in Bristol, and after 2 years living in both the East and West of the country are at last on the verge of buying a house here and moving completely.   It seemed only fair that this time my husband moved for my job, and he is now enjoying his new job at Everoze. One daughter has stayed in Cambridge for now, and the other is in Edinburgh, and we are discovering that the trains are not very quick!

I choose to work in academia because of the many things I love and value about it: working with inspiring and thoughtful colleagues, from all disciplines and all backgrounds; the opportunity to think deeply about a problem, often working with others to together create genuinely new insights and ways forward; and the chance to make a difference in the world, however small. I continue to be incredibly impressed with the excellent research achieved by our UWE and CABER colleagues, and together I believe we can develop existing and new areas of excellence in built environment research, building on CABER’s deserved reputation. I hope that CABER as a Centre can help support all its members to fulfil their research potential, and that we can help to make our built environment fit for a better future for all.

Patrick’s story:

I am Professor of Innovative Construction and Project Management in the School of Architecture and Environment at the University of the West of England. I have expertise in construction management (CM), project management (PM), and quantity surveying (QS) research, teaching, and practice. I hold BSc in Building Technology (1st Class honours), PGCert. (with Distinction) in Academic Practice, PhD in Construction Project Management, Fellowship of the UK Higher Education Academy (now Advanced HE), and chartered membership of the Chartered Institute of Building.

I grew up in my home country Ghana where I did my basic and secondary education. While I was not the “sharpest” in my school, I was considered one the sharpest in my year group, and so at a point I was nicknamed, “Archimedes” or “Archi” for short, by my mates in secondary school who thought I was good at physics. My academic career started at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana) as a teaching assistant (TA) in 2005 after obtaining my BSc from the university. My academic career took a break at the end of my TA post in 2006, and I worked as a contractor’s quantity surveyor providing project management support on several building projects of varying scale and complexity. During that period, I led and won bids for my employers, and I also developed my own spreadsheets for project cost estimating and cashflow analyses, which I subsequently gave to QS professionals for a fee but gladly gave it to my then father-in-law to-be (a quantity surveyor) for free – a fantastic future investment! I also developed spreadsheets to help university students to plan their studies and predict their academic performance – haha! I was just fascinated with numbers and MS Excel.

My journey towards becoming a lecturer continued when I enrolled on a PhD programme at the University of Wolverhampton (UK) on a studentship in 2009 and completed in 2012. From that period, I have held academic posts at the University of Wolverhampton, University of West London, City University London (now City St George’s, University of London), University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), and more recently University of Manchester where I was a Reader and School Deputy Head of Research before rejoining UWE in 2023.

Construction is one of the most hazardous industries worldwide, and this fuels my passion for construction safety, health, and well-being research to make construction safer. Besides occupational safety, health, and well-being, I am also interested in the application of digital technologies in construction. I have been involved as principal investigator (PI) and co-investigator in several research projects funded by organisations including government agencies and charities such as Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Health and Safety Executive, British Council, Academy of Medical Sciences, and Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT). I led (as PI) a large international consortium to develop the first web-based application for assessing design for occupational safety and health organisational capability, which won an innovation award from HS2 Ltd. Additionally, I was co-investigator of the novel BIM-based risk library which has been awarded two prestigious industry awards (i.e., the buildingSMART International Awards 2020, and the Health and Safety Software of the Year – Construction Computing Awards 2021).

I enjoy writing about my research and I have over 150 publications including articles in leading Q1 journals. I led an international initiative to publish the first book on construction health and safety in developing countries, which won the 2019 Taylor & Francis Outstanding Book and Digital Product Award within the best monograph in engineering category. Subsequently, I have led international initiatives to produce two novel books titled: (1) Handbook of Construction Safety, Health and Well-being in the Industry 4.0 Era; and (2) Construction Safety, Health and Well-being in the COVID-19 Era.

I love teaching and supporting the development of others including students and colleagues to enable them to excel in their academic and career paths. Across my career I have taught, assessed and mentored over 3,000 students in higher education including supervising dissertations, undertaking assessments, and supervising and examining doctoral candidates in UK and overseas universities. I have had the privilege of publishing exciting articles with several of my students.

Beyond publications and involvement in research projects, over the years my contribution to the research and knowledge exchange has included serving as: associate editor for three journals (i.e., Safety Science; Heliyon; and ICE Management Procurement and Law of Heliyon); a member of the EPSRC peer review college; a detailed assessor for the Australian Research Council; a member of British Council Newton Fund Engineering and Physical Sciences Panel; a member of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) committee; and a member of the standard setting committee and co-author of the International Construction Measurement Standards (ICMS). Additionally, I review for several built environment and multidisciplinary journals and conferences. I have delivered talks and keynote lectures at major academic and practitioner conferences and events in UK and overseas.

In case you are wondering what I do when I don’t have my academic hat on, well, I have a lovely family – a wife and three kids (including a baby) – who keep me occupied. Helping with kids’ homework is a big thing. I once read that if you are a kid and you think you hate homework, wait till you become an adult with kids, and you’ll hate it even more! I couldn’t agree more, but it’s not all gloomy as I get to occasionally play video games and enjoy movie nights with the kids and their friends. “Puss in Boots” (El Macho Gato) is one of my favourites.

As I conclude, I wish to note that all that I have achieved till date has been enabled by others – my parents, pastors, teachers, collaborators, colleagues, mentors, managers, students, friends, family, and more. Thanks to them all and thanks to CABER!

Digital Construction Climate Nexus 2025: can digital construction become a genuine driver of climate action?

Author Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research | Posted on

by Ahmed Hagras, Senior Lecturer in Building Information Modelling, Co-programme leader MSc BIM

In 2024, we brought people together from across the built environment to ask a big question: “Are We There Yet?” It was a moment to pause and reflect on our collective progress in using digital technologies to meet the demands of the climate crisis. The conversation was open and honest.

What became clear was that while there has been real progress, we’re still a long way from fully connecting our digital capabilities with meaningful climate outcomes. So, for 2025, we’re not asking the question again. We’re taking the next step.

Digital Construction Climate Nexus 2025, hosted at UWE, is built around a new theme: From Asking to Acting. This year is all about moving the conversation forward, focusing less on where we stand and more on what we’re doing. The event brings together a rich mix of academics, industry professionals, researchers, and students to explore how digital construction can become a genuine driver of climate action. It’s not about repeating the same talking points. It’s about sharing what’s working, what’s scalable, and where the most significant challenges still lie.

One of the real strengths of this event is the diversity of its voices. You’ll hear from those working on the ground with retrofit projects, those pushing innovation in monitoring and data capture, and those developing strategies to embed carbon thinking into the earliest design stages. The breakout sessions, particularly the one led in partnership with buildingSMART UK & Ireland and nima, offer a space where technical experts, standards organisations, and academics can come together to explore real solutions.

Another exciting addition this year is the UWE & RBI Breakout Room, which will shine a spotlight on Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) opportunities and success stories. This space focuses on building stronger bridges between academia and industry through collaboration and co-creation. Attendees can expect presentations of impactful KTPs, talks from CABER members on how their research aligns with digital construction and climate goals, and a dedicated poster session, especially encouraging PhD students to showcase their work. It’s an essential reminder that research doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and when paired with practical applications, it can drive real innovation in practice.

The event is supported by CABER (Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research) here at UWE, whose generous funding helps make it possible. Events like this work because of people. They succeed because individuals are willing to share, challenge, and collaborate. And they matter because they remind us that meaningful progress only happens when we connect knowledge with action.

As Professor Alice Moncaster, Co-Director of CABER, puts it:

“In the construction sector, ‘digital innovation’ is often spoken of in the same breath as ‘climate action’. But exactly how do our rapidly growing digital tools and skills support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the mitigation of climate change? The Digital Construction Climate Nexus on 20th June will provide much-needed clarity on this issue, by bringing together academic and industry experts to present, debate and discuss the hottest topics.”

There’s something powerful about bringing together students, academics, software developers, and industry leaders in one space. It creates the kind of energy where ideas spark into something more tangible.

From Asking to Acting isn’t just a theme. It’s a reminder that every project, every piece of data, and every conversation can either move us closer to change or keep us where we are.

This year, we choose to move.

UWE Bristol, Ocean and Sir David Attenborough

Author Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research | Posted on

by Thomas Appleby, Associate Professor in Property Law

Academics have an extraordinary role to play in society. In normal employment, workers are too busy doing the job to gain objectivity. But teaching and research, particularly on practical disciplines, require reflection upon how and why things are done the way they are. Occasionally, we get the chance to take those reflections and influence the world around us. Sir David Attenborough is one of the most trusted voices alive today. So imagine what it feels like for us academics when UWE Bristol research and projects UWE Bristol has supported make the centrepiece of his latest film, Ocean. Despite all the harm to the natural world Sir David has witnessed over his long life, he has highlighted overfishing and its consequent damage to the marine environment as the single most important activity we need to resolve. 

The film is a beautifully told story of damage and hope for restoration. It includes local voices from Scotland, Liberia and Hawaii. The Scottish narrator, Don MacNeish, helped create the first no-take zone in Scotland and large marine protected area around the island of Arran, Don co-founded the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST).

UWE Bristol supported COAST from the outset providing impact funding and legal guidance as to how to make a marine protected areas by law (an unusual take on real estate management). The COAST project formed part of our impact case studies.

In the film itself, Sir David reflects that coastal states own the fishing rights in their adjacent waters, they therefore belong to the public, it is up to us how they are managed. Law is not normally part of nature documentaries but UWE Bristol’s research treating oceans as public property also made it into the film and even influenced the decision to have the film commissioned.

From an academic perspective, particularly an academic working in the College of Arts, Technology and Environment (CATE) at UWE Bristol, the film raises (at least) three big questions.

Firstly, how should we be assessing and distributing fishing rights to commercial users? (A real estate management, environmental management and social geography question).

Secondly, the film shows some shocking footage of the damage caused by some commercial fishing methods. At what point does the act of fishing become on act of  vandalism because of the widespread collateral harm? (A real estate management and an environmental management question).

Thirdly, filming of the activity (by artists and conservationists) drew attention to obvious consequences of bottom-trawling, why is video evidence so rarely used to monitor fishing? (An environmental management, environmental scientist and art question).

So go and see the film: it is sad and beautiful and hopeful.

But also, when you are researching, teaching or studying, if you have ideas that the world is not the place it should, share those ideas with all and sundry. And serendipity may well take you and your research places you never expected.

Rethinking real estate: a new era of valuation

Author Lynn Goh | Posted on

By Rabab Raydan, MSCA Doctoral Researcher at QuiVal

The impact of natural disasters on real estate value

Natural disasters pose a significant threat to real estate value, as they can cause extensive property damage, disrupt market stability, and reshape investor confidence in affected regions. The recorded frequency of natural disasters has risen sharply from 1900 to 2023, with a particularly steep increase observed from the mid-20th century onward. This trend, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 below highlight the escalating impact of environmental hazards. The frequency of reported natural disasters has seen also a significant increase from 1970 to 2024, with floods, storms, and extreme temperatures being the most prevalent. Hence, natural disasters are becoming more critical and frequent each year. This growing impact of environmental hazards is detrimental on global communities and real estate markets.

Wildfires, heatwaves, hurricanes, floods and others have resulted in $313 billion in global economic losses in 2022 alone1 on the real estate sector and the projections are still on the rise. These figures are not merely statistics; they signify communities at risk, livelihoods in jeopardy. Despite scientific warnings about rising sea levels, waterfront properties in cities like New York for example remain highly sought after, reflecting a complex interplay between perceived risk and lifestyle aspirations. This paradox illustrates the inadequacy of traditional valuation models, which fail to account for cultural and social factors driving property demand.

Globally, climate change is reshaping property markets, from increasing insurance premiums for coastal properties to shifting demand toward climate-resilient urban areas. Climate action failure is the most severe global risk of the next decade 2.  Starting to increasingly acknowledge climate risk as a key investment consideration can be a key driver in transforming the way the industry works.

Highlighting the urgent need to factor environmental risks into property valuations, it remains a global responsibility to ensure that the impact of climate change on asset performance is well understood.

Figure 1: Types of natural disasters reported globally
Figure 2: Trend in number of disasters globally

QuiVal, a Horizon-Europe funded multi-national project

At the heart of the drive for transformation is QuiVal (Quantum Inspired Valuation of Circular Real Estate). QuiVal focuses on redefining real estate valuation by integrating environmental and societal values, particularly in the context of circular and CO₂-neutral real estate. This transdisciplinary research initiative is a project funded from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and hosts 13 doctoral research projects across multiple universities in The Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Estonia, Belgium, the UK, and Switzerland. It brings together eight universities and fourteen practice partners through a collaboration which aims to develop new valuation approaches that account for sustainability, circular economy principles, and digital advancements, and redefine how we assess the true value of the built environment.

This research challenges existing valuation norms and seeks to provide actionable recommendations for implementing new approaches, ensuring that the transition towards circular and climate-conscious real estate valuation is both practical and effective. Inspired by quantum theory, QuiVal embraces the complexity of real-world professional practice, working directly with valuers, investors, and industry experts to drive meaningful change in the built environment answering the urgent call for a novel approach to property valuation.

Figure 3: Transitioning to a circular economy3

CABER’s role within QuiVal

CABER at UWE Bristol is one of the QuiVal project partners. Our doctoral candidate Rabab Raydan is exploring how valuation practices evolve and how structural changes both internal, such as frameworks and data, and external, such as governance and policy, shape professional standards and practices in the industry, under the working title ‘Towards a paradigm shift in real estate valuation’.

Capturing a property’s comprehensive value in a rapidly evolving world is a particularly crucial approach as the digital revolution is reshaping the real estate landscape. A paradigm shift is needed but this is not merely about numbers; it is about storytelling, capturing the full narrative of a property’s value in a world where climate resilience, digital integration, and social dynamics are intertwined. To bridge this gap, it is significantly important to offer frameworks that not only meet regulatory demands but also align with investor priorities and societal expectations. This serves as an answer to the growing emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria which demands more effort on creating a re-evaluation of how property values are defined.

Supervised by Professor Alice Moncaster and Grazyna Wiejak-Roy, Rabab is working for the next three years alongside the other 12 doctoral candidates as part of this multi-disciplinary, multi-partner consortium to ensure that this applied research can address industry and the real-world complexity. Her project also includes two three-month secondments, with one of the QuiVal industry partners, JLL in London, and with one of the academic partners, ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. In turn, UWE Bristol and CABER will host another of the doctoral candidates, Xinyi Jiang, from the University of Southern Denmark.

Imagine a future where property valuations drive sustainable urban growth, promote community well-being, and support climate-resilient cities. This vision is not only possible but necessary. QuiVal is paving the way for more than financial gain; it is about creating value that endures, ensuring that our built environment supports not just the present but the future of our planet. This is the narrative we are crafting, towards a paradigm shift 4.

References

  1. Value of climate risk: How real estate owners can adapt | JLL. Accessed March 11, 2025.
  2. Global Risks Report 2023: the biggest risks facing the world | World Economic Forum. Accessed February 17, 2025.
  3. Realizing the value of circular economy for real estate development. Accessed March 11, 2025.
  4. Homepage – Quival. Accessed March 11, 2025.

Acknowledgements

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101169048.

This work is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, as listed by UKRI, Grant Ref: EP/Z534791/1.

Enhancing the online engagement strategy for the Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research

Author Lynn Goh | Posted on

By Eduardo Costa

In today’s digital age, effective online engagement is crucial for research centres to connect with their audience, share knowledge, and foster collaboration. The Centre for Advanced Built Environment Research (CABER) has recently launched a comprehensive online engagement strategy, aimed at enhancing its digital presence and facilitating better interaction with stakeholders. This strategy includes an updated website, a LinkedIn group, and a brand new blog.

Updated website 

CABER’s website is being updated, making it easier for visitors to find information about ongoing projects, recent publications, and upcoming seminars. The website also includes information about our three main research areas, the amazing CABER team, and postgraduate opportunities. These enhancements ensure that the website serves as a central hub for all things related to built environment research, providing valuable resources to academics, industry professionals, and the general public.

CABER website

LinkedIn Group

Recognizing the importance of professional networking, CABER has established a LinkedIn group dedicated to built environment research. This group serves as a platform for researchers, practitioners, and students to connect, share insights, and discuss the latest trends in the field. Members can participate in discussions, post updates about their work, and collaborate on projects. The LinkedIn group also provides opportunities for CABER to showcase its research, engage with industry leaders, and attract potential collaborators.

CABER LINKEDIN

Brand new blog

To further enhance its online presence, CABER has launched a brand new blog. This blog features articles written by CABER researchers, covering a wide range of topics related to the built environment. From sustainable building practices to innovative construction technologies, the blog aims to provide readers with in-depth analysis and thought-provoking content. Regular updates ensure that the blog remains a dynamic and engaging platform for sharing knowledge and sparking conversations.

CABER BLOG

By implementing this multifaceted online engagement strategy, CABER is poised to strengthen its digital footprint, foster meaningful connections, and drive forward the field of built environment research.

Back to top

Follow this blog

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.