Innovations for Sustainable Building Design and Refurbishment in Scotland : The Outputs of CIC Start Online Project

This book presents innovations for sustainable building design and refurbishment developed and tested through feasibility studies undertaken by researchers at Scottish universities in collaboration with small to medium size enterprises in Scotland during the ‘CIC Start Online’ project that ran from September 2009 to February 2013. The project was led by Glasgow Caledonian University in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University, Glasgow School of Art, Heriot-Watt University, the Robert Gordon University, University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde Glasgow. The book includes chapters on Context and Policies, Planning, Building Design, Technologies, Construction, Refurbishment and Performance.

The contents of each chapter are based on 63 completed studies that were initiated by businesses operating in the construction sector or providing services to the sector, indicating the scope of research required to assist the industry to develop more sustainable products and processes. The book informs the reader about the range of innovations that were tested and highlight potential future research areas. Readers can find in-depth information by accessing the project website www.cicstart.org, where full reports on most studies and the video recordings of interactive online seminars that presented the outcomes of the studies are available.

Along with the new knowledge on how innovations for sustainable building design and refurbishment can be applied in practice, the book demonstrates how joint projects of several universities can be successfully managed and how an immediate knowledge transfer can be organized by using web tools to reach over 2,200 current members nationally and internationally (in UK and 53 other countries).

As an architect and urban planner, Dr Branka Dimitrijevic started her career in practice and moved to academia following an M.Sc. in Conservation and Revitalisation of Architectural Heritage and a Ph.D. in History of Architecture. After completing an EPSRC funded research project on durability, adaptability and energy conservation in buildings (1998-2000), her research and teaching expanded to sustainable urban planning, building design and refurbishment. She has planned or/and managed academic/industry knowledge transfer projects such as Network of Construction Creativity Clubs (an EPSRC funded joint project of 14 universities across the United Kingdom, 2000-2001), the Centre for the Built Environment (a joint project of three Scottish universities, 2002-2008, funded by European Regional Development Fund and Scottish Government), Scottish Construction Centre (a joint project of Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Dundee, BRE Scotland and CIRIA, funded by Scottish Enterprise, 2008-2009) and the current project CIC Start Online (funded by European Regional Development Fund and Scottish Government, 2009-2013).

Along with academic and industry links across the United Kingdom, Dr Dimitrijevic is a Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic University of Bari and the University of Basilicata in Potenza (both in Italy) and an external researcher in the project Spatial, Environmental, Energy and Social Aspects of Developing Settlements and Climate Change – Mutual Impacts, undertaken by the Institute of Architecture and Urbanism of Serbia (funded by Ministry of Science of Serbia, 2011-2014). For the latter, she will be co-editing the book that is being prepared and planned for publishing in English in 2013. She has provide peer reviews for the following journals: Journal on Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development (Emerald), Facilities (Emerald), Construction and Building Materials (Elsevier), Sustainable Cities and Society (Elsevier),Energy Policy (Elsevier), Engineering Sustainability (Institution of Civil Engineers, United Kingdom), SPATIUM (Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, Belgrade, Serbia).