Environment, Sustainability and Technology
The Environment, Sustainability and Technology in Architecture (ESTA) Research Group investigates
- low and zero carbon architecture
- life cycle analysis and operational and embodied carbon in sustainable design
- the impact of climate change on building performance
- daylight and biophilic design
- buildings and climate in different cultural contexts
- the history of environmental design
- financial aspects of sustainable design
- the circular economy and sustainability in the built environment
- soil-structure interactions
- the structural integrity of masonry and steel-concrete composite structures
- digital design and digital construction techniques
- the use innovative material technologies in architecture
ESTA’s researchers include Asterios Agkathidis, Dr Han-Mei Chen, Dr David Chow, Dr Stephen Finnegan, Dr Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez, Dr Ranald Lawrence, Dr Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi and Professor Steve Sharples, together with a cohort of approximately 35 PhD and MSc students.
ESTA’s work has received funding from EPSRC, RIBA, the UK government, the European Regional Development Fund and international and commercial organisations. The group’s projects are characterized by their wide range and interdisciplinary nature – for example, recent projects have included analysing the drivers of occupant window opening behaviour in Chinese offices; sustainable energy technologies in buildings; the whole life impact of a new Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF) home; developing advanced techniques to reclaim existing end of service life (EoSL) bricks; developing the world’s first Zero Carbon Safari Park; digital manufacturing and construction and sustainable architectural design through the exploration of emergent materials and technologies, particularly ceramics.
Much of the work undertaken by ESTA, especially by its PhD researchers, is international and examines sustainability and built environment issues in countries such as China, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Mexico, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The work undertaken by ESTA is both analytical (using software such as DesignBuilder, ENVI_MET, IES, Revit and One Click LCA) and experimental (involving the measurement of environmental parameters in buildings and urban environments). The outputs from ESTA are widely published in leading international research journals and are presented at major international conferences.
Academic staff in ESTA are also involved with the teaching and research supervision related to the one-year MSc programme Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability in Architecture (CRESTA)
For more information about research and consultancy opportunities in ESTA please contact:
Professor Steve Sharples
School of Architecture
University of Liverpool
25 Abercromby Square
Abercromby Square
Liverpool L69 7ZN
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)151 794 2607