Summer 2015
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
CIBSE IBG
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group
Intelligent Building
“An intelligent building is one that is
responsive to the requirements of
occupants, organisations and society.
It is sustainable in terms of energy
and water consumptions besides
being lowly polluting in terms of
emissions and waste: healthy in terms
of well-being for the people living
and working within it; and functional
according to the user needs.”
Clements-Croome 2010
Our group membership is up from
10484 to 11,744 (out of these 3,753
are CIBSE members). The group can
be joined (forecasters free) by
sending email to [email protected]
or alternatively to Eva D’souza, the
Group Secretary at
[email protected]
Special thanks to:
Prof. Derek Clements-Croome,
Delroy N. Davey, Eva D’souza, Lee
Funnell, Nyree Hughes, Trevor
Keeling and Kasida Chumnandee for
their contributions to the
eNewsletter.
Editors:
Dr Isaac Jamieson & Dr Sirinath
Jamieson
If you would like to have news and
information included in the
eNewsletter, please send them to
Dr Isaac Jamieson at
[email protected]
http://www.cibse.org/
NEWS
Air Pollution: Improving Air Quality
through Building Design
In April 2015, UK Supreme Court Justices ordered the UK
Government to take “immediate action” to reduce illegal
levels of air pollution in Britain and stated it must deliver
comprehensive new plans to curb air pollution by the end of
the year. It is expected that this historic ruling will save tens
of thousands of lives annually and help greatly improve many
people’s quality of life, particularly the young, older people
and those with asthma, heart or lung conditions. Air pollution
is also a risk factor for dementia. The use of Building
Integrated Vegetation (BIV) could prove a highly
beneficial measure for Governments to endorse to
reduce air pollution. More…
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Summer 2015
Putting People First: Designing
for Health and Wellbeing in the
Built Environment - An
Introduction
This timely new report, written for the British
Council for Offices by CIBSE IBG Chairman
Professor Derek Clements-Croome in
conjunction with Ann Marie Aguilar and
Mallory Taub from Arup Associates, covers best
practice design issues and discusses the
opportunity architects and engineers have to
positively impact people’s health and wellbeing.
More…
Health and wellbeing will be
trillion dollar industry by 2017.
(Euromonitor International, 2012)
Climate Change
The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and
Climate Change provides information on the
potential international impacts of climate
change and policy responses that can be
undertaken to help achieve the highest
attainable standards of health for populations.
Its chief message is that tackling climate change
may provide the greatest global health
opportunity of the 21st century. More…
End of UK’s Zero Carbon
Buildings Policy
The UK Government is discontinuing its zero
carbon buildings policy. Both the 2016 zero
carbon homes target and the 2019 target for
non-domestic zero carbon buildings are to be
dropped. There will be no changes to Part L of
the Building Regulations during 2016. More…
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Contents
NEWS
Improving Air Quality through Building Design
Putting People First
Climate Change
End of UK’s Zero Carbon Buildings Policy
Corporate Social Responsibility
Cyber Security
Fibre Optics
Anti-Microbial Films
Cellulose as a Future New Super Material
Drones as a New Fabrication Tool
Electricity from Plants
Environmental Sensitivity
Energy Storage
The World's First 3D-printed Office
Printed 3D Houses
3D-Printed Cooling Bricks for Passive Cooling
Internet of Things
The Smartest Smart Building in the World
Meter Safety Concerns
Eco Wi-Fi
Smart Home Devices
Security of Wireless LANs
Pregnancy Wi-Fi Router Creates Controversy
Rethinking Relaxation
Signals Interference Possible in 2016
Carbon-Positive Buildings
Atmospheric Water Collection
Urban Farming on Buildings
Water Conservation
Perovskite Crystals Used for Solar Cells in the US
Japanese Billionaire and Solar Power in India
Quieter Wind-Turbines
Waterless Laundry Machines
UKCW Reveals BIM Survey Results
ARTICLES / ESSAYS
A Bright Future for Dark Skies
Advantages of Using Shielded Cabling Systems to
Power Remote Network Devices
5G Mobile Phone Research Centre
Developments in Li-Fi Wireless Communications
RESEARCH
PAST CIBSE/IBG EVENTS
Well-Being and Health in Buildings Seminar
Biomimetic Architecture
Future CIBSE/IBG Seminar Series
ONLINE
COURSES AND TRAINING
The full ‘Productivity Plan’ can be found here.
http://www.cibse.org/
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Summer 2015
Corporate Social Responsibility
Sometimes we all need a pick up to help us
remember why we do what we do to make the
World a better place. The late Ray C. Anderson
had an inspiring vision for ecologically friendly
zero environmental footprint commerce.
Between 1996 and 2008, the company Ray was
CEO of reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by
82%, its fossil fuel use by 60% and its water
usage by 75%. At the same time, it substantially
increased its sales and doubled its profits.
More…
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
contingency plans in place for periods when
such systems are unavailable. More [5, 6, 7].
“Most published security protocols may
engender a false sense of security. The
key defence is to ensure a ‘fall-back’,
‘black start’, ‘dumb capability’ within the
intelligent building.” (Fisk, 2012)
In the UK alone, where the financial cost of
cyber security breaches doubled within a year,
the average cost of the most severe online
security breaches for big businesses is now
around £1.46 million. For small and medium
sized businesses, the average cost of such
breaches is presently between £75,000 and
£310,800. More [8, 9].
It is suggested by the UK Government that
those taking cyber security threats seriously will
secure a competitive advantage of their rivals.
Fibre Optics
Image: https://youtu.be/A35hen_d6eA?t=15s
More information: Ray C. Anderson (1999), Mid-Course
Correction: Towards a Sustainable Enterprise: The
Interface Model. Peregrinzilla Press.
Cyber Security
Cyber security experts propose that as building
automation systems and smart grids can be
highly vulnerable to cyber attacks, appropriate
measures should be taken to help protect
intelligent buildings against potential malicious
hacking threats on such highly networked
control systems. It has been claimed that at the
very least, a whole-system design approach
should be undertaken by building service
professionals, with building owners and
occupiers becoming more proactive and having
http://www.cibse.org/
Healthy growth is continuing in the use of fibre
optics in commercial buildings. In 2014,
business fibre penetration in company-owned
and multi-tenant buildings in the US increased
to 42.5%, representing a rise of 31.6% since
2004. More…
Anti-Microbial Films
A new technological approach using biomimicry
has been developed to inhibit bacterial
attachment, colonisation and growth on surfaces
without the application of chemicals or
antimicrobials. This feat is achieved as a result
of surface patterning alone which is derived
from the textures and patterns of the dermal
denticles of sharkskin. More…
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Cellulose as a Future New Super
Material
Finland’s Design Driven Value Chains in the
World of Cellulose (DWoC) 2.0 project is
developing innovative design-driven
applications for cellulose in addition to
investigating new ways to add value to cellulosebased ecosystems. It is intended that such
developments will allow the replacement of
fossil-based raw materials, such as those used for
interior decoration elements and textile
products, with sustainable cellulose based
products. Additional “high added value”
applications are also envisaged. More [3, 4].
Drones as a New Fabrication
Tool
Drones with cable dispensers are now being
programmed to rapidly build lightweight tensile
structures in the air that can be attached to
existing structural elements. So far trials of this
novel application, which will expand what it is
physically possible to construct, have only been
undertaken indoors. More [10, 11, 12].
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Environmental Sensitivity
On 18th May the Fifth Paris Appeal Congress
was held at the Royal Academy of Medicine in
Belgium. Its theme was “Environmental
idiopathic intolerance: what role for EMFs and
multiple chemicals?” and presentations given at
it can now be viewed online. They provide some
interesting insights into possible areas that
could be addressed in the design of future
intelligent buildings and environments. More…
Energy Storage
There is presently much being written about the
Tesla Powerwall, a rechargeable lithium-ion
battery system designed to store energy at
residential level for back-up power, load shifting
and increased self-consumption of selfgenerated solar power.
Electricity from Plants
It is intended by the manufacturers that such
units, which could provide the backbone for a
new clean energy system, will help provide
independence from the utility grid, an
emergency power supply backup and also allow
electric vehicles to be powered up completely
off-grid. The wall-mounted storage units can
each store up to 10 kWh of energy and provide
up to 2 kWh continuous power.
Scientific research undertaken at Wageningen
University has shown that living plants can be
used to effectively generate electricity even in
remote locations. This breakthrough now allows
the possibility of buildings and infrastructures
being powered green roofs and adjacent green
spaces to become a reality. It appears that
electrical energy can be generated at virtually
ever type of site where plants can grow.
The specification of these and similar types of
units being developed elsewhere, such as in
China, or more conventional (and less expensive
but larger) lead-acid battery systems, can help
better address the transient nature of selfgenerated power provision and the needs of the
end-user user. It is predicted that global
investment in energy storage technologies will
reach $122 billion by 2021. More [13, 14]
The product, called Plant-e that has been
developed from that research is now
commercially available. More…
http://www.cibse.org/
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Summer 2015
The World's First 3D-printed
Office
Dubai is set to have the World's first 3D-printed
office. The 186m2 building will be printed layer
by layer using a 6m tall 3D printer, with layers
being assembled on site. It is claimed that the
building, which will serve as a temporary
headquarters for staff of the nearby Museum of
the Future, will be the most advanced 3Dprinted structure yet built. More…
Printed 3D Houses
Researchers at Umeå University are developing
innovative technology to enable both
components and complete houses to be 3D
printed using cellulose based materials. This
open interdisciplinary work, which includes
collaboration with partners outside the
university, forms part of its large-scale +Project
that concludes in 2018. More …
In 2014, it was reported that a Chinese firm
used 3D printing to build 10 houses within 1 day
ay a cost of less than US $5,000. They were built
predominantly from recycled materials. More …
Also in 2014, it was reported that 3D printers
had been used to provide proof-of-concept that
low cost mud houses could be created using this
technology and materials found at site. Two
people can reportedly construct the printer
within two hours. More…
3D-Printed Cooling Bricks for
Passive Cooling
Porous 3D-printed bricks that can be filled with
water have been designed to enable the passive
cooling of rooms in arid environments where
breezes are present. They utilise the principle of
http://www.cibse.org/
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
evaporative cooling, where adding water vapour
to the air lowers its temperature. More…
Internet of Things
Smart domestic products are not yet as smart as
we had hoped. A recent report from Synack
found many commonly connected smart
products contain some serious security flaws. Its
findings are similar to those reported by
Hewlett-Packard, the BBC and the Internet of
Things Top Ten Project.
The following links discuss this topic in greater
detail and also discuss how many security
problems with IoT devices can be mitigated: [15,
16, 17, 18, 19]
122 Leadenhall Street, London:
the Smartest Smart Building in
the World
There will always be debate as to which
buildings are the smartest, particularly as
growth rapidly continues in this field. A list has
recently been compiled of 10 of the smartest
buildings from around the world. More …
Meter Safety Concerns
Earlier this year thousands were left without
power after smart meters on their homes
exploded as the result of a truck crash causing a
power surge [Link]. Reports have also been
made elsewhere about damage caused to
properties and appliances apparently resultant
from poor specification and fitting [More..]
The specification of meters constructed of
nonflammable materials, which incorporate
surge arrestors in their design, would appear to
reduce such apparent risk.
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Eco Wi-Fi
Energy-saving low radiation Wi-Fi access points
are now available for use in intelligent buildings
and elsewhere. Traditional Wi-Fi routers
typically transmit signals 10 times per second
24/7 even when unused. In comparison to this,
Eco-routers switch off the transmitter for ≥90%
of the time when in standby-mode and can be
used as a wired option with the Wi-Fi disabled.
Their range can be specifically fine-tuned to
meet user requirements thereby further
reducing energy usage. More…
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Pregnancy Wi-Fi Router Creates
Controversy
Two Chinese technology firms have clashed over
a new wireless router that has a special setting
for pregnant women which reduces radiation
from the device by 70%. As shown in the table
below, China already has one of the most
stringent sets of RF exposure guidelines in the
World. More [20, 21]
General Public Exposure Limits to RF/microwave
radiation in China
Frequency
1st class
exposure
limits
2nd class
exposure
limits
Frequency
0.1-30
MHz
10 V/m
25 V/m
0.1-30 MHz
>30-300
MHz
5 V/m
12 V/m
>30-300
MHz
>0.3-300
GHz
10 μW/cm2 40 μW/cm2 >0.3-300
GHz
Smart Home Devices
In October 2014, it was reported that
approximately 13% of US households with
broadband have one or more smart home
device, with about 7% having smart devices
connected to a centralised controller. It was
predicted at that time that around 20% of US
broadband households would be likely to have at
least one smart home product within 12 months.
More…
Security of Wireless LANs
The use of vegetation barriers has in the past
been proposed to help improve both wireless
network isolation and security. In such
situations, suitably located vegetation can be
used to attenuate undesired signals from other
networks whilst protecting the chosen wireless
system from interference. More…
Such techniques could also be of use in helping
creating low EMF “white zones” where required
and reducing the energy usage of LANS, as they
would not need to continuously retransmit data
in order to overcome interference from other
units.
http://www.cibse.org/
1st class exposure limits: Exposures below these levels thought to be
safe for permanent exposure and all people (including infants,
pregnant mothers, patients, older people, etc.).
2nd class exposure limits: Exposures below these levels acceptable for
short-term exposures (factories, parks, recreation spaces, etc.). Living
quarters, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, etc., not allowed to receive
such exposures.
A discussion on low EMF environments and
technologies can be accessed here.
Rethinking Relaxation
Despite most individuals seeking wireless
connectivity when on vacation, a luxury German
spa hotel has installed Internet "kill switches" in
its rooms to allow guests to relax and completely
disconnect from the Internet whenever they
wish, to allow them to relax and enjoy their
surroundings more. When the switches are
turned on, copper grids within the walls are
activated within individual rooms to block
wireless signals. Apparently around half of its
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guests have used this option during a period of
their stay. More…
Signals Interference Possible in
2016
It has been announced by Ofcom in the UK
that future mobile phone equipment in the 2.3
GHz band could interfere with Wi-Fi signals in
the 2.4 GHz band. It is particularly concerned
that the use of femtocells could compromise
such signals.
The fact that many smart meters already use
Zigbee 2.4GHz for communications may also be
a cause for concern? More…
Carbon-Positive Buildings
The World’s first carbon-positive prefabricated
dwelling has now been developed. It includes
amongst its features solar rooftop panels, inground cooling tubes, sliding edible garden walls
and wastewater treatment. More [1, 2].
Atmospheric Water Collection
The collection of water from the air is
recognised as being one of the best ways to
provide clean, drinkable water to people living
in areas experiencing severe water shortages. In
recognition of this, the Residential Atmospheric
Water Generator is being launched this year by
Water-Gen who received the prestigious
European Technology Innovation Leadership
Award in 2014 for their work in this area.
More…
http://www.cibse.org/
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Urban Farming on Buildings
The growing of crops is increasingly being
undertaken in sustainable green building
projects in urban environments. As part of this
revolution, vertical gardening techniques are
being adopted in both large and small projects.
One of these methods is the Tower Garden,
which utilises small vertical aeroponic gardens
to produce food quicker and more efficiently. It
requires 90% less land and water than tradition
crop growing methods and eliminates the need
for harmful herbicides and pesticides. Other
methods are also available. More…
Water Conservation
It has been discovered that the mycorrhizal
fungi can help make healthier, drought-resistant
gardens through increasing plants’ nutrient
uptake, thereby reducing their need for water
and also (indirectly) buildings’ water usage.
Higher crop yields have also been reported.
The possible benefits of incorporating this type
of fungi in Building Integrated Vegetation (BIV)
have yet to be directly assessed. It has already
been reported that its presence is beneficial for
around 95% of plant types, so it appears likely it
may improve the survivability of such plants on
and within intelligent buildings. More …
Perovskite Crystals Used for
Solar Cells in the US
US Researchers have created a new process for
making solar cells using perovskite crystals.
Early tests already demonstrate a solar
conversion efficiency of over 15%. The process
used allows the resultant semitransparent solar
cell film to be used on glazing systems and in a
variety of colours. It is predicted that they will
provide a substantially cheaper way to achieve a
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Summer 2015
similar or better conversion efficiency than
standard solar cells, and be able to be used for a
wide range of applications including standard
glazed walls by architects and engineers. More…
Japanese Billionaire Intends to
Invest $20 Billion in Solar
Power in India
There is growing support for solar power in
India, with new Prime Minister Narendra Modi
wishing to use it to provide energy for the 400
million Indians presently with no access to
electricity. This initiative is creating great
interest worldwide, with one Japanese investor
alone intending to invest enough money over
the next 10 years to cover around a fifth of
Modi’s solar target. Other foreign investors are
also said to be interested. More…
CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Waterless Laundry Machines
Polymer bead-based technology laundry
cleaning is now being used as an
environmentally friendly alternative to
traditional commercial laundry cleaning. Among
the claimed benefits are less wear on cleaned
garments and greater savings on water,
detergents and energy use. More…
UKCW Reveals BIM Survey
Results
BIM (Building Information Modelling) is
revolutionising the way construction operates
from design through to build, but is the industry
ready for the government's target? Our results
reveal 74% of construction professionals say the
industry is NOT ready but 85% strongly believe
the benefits to adopting BIM. More…
Quieter Wind-Turbines
Potentially quieter and more environmentally
friendly ways to harness wind power, that are of
less risk to birds and bats than conventional
wind-turbines, are being created.
The EWICON is an innovative bladeless wind
energy convertor being developed by Johan Smit
and Dhiradi Djairam at TU Delft (Solon 2013,
TU Delft 2013). It generates electricity using
charged water droplets, has no mechanically
moving parts and produces significantly less
noise and vibration than standard wind turbines.
The Vortex Bladeless, which is being developed
in Spain, also has no moving external parts. It
has a far lower carbon footprint than standard
units and is designed to be a low maintenance
and low cost alternative to existing units.
It will be interesting to observe how these
disruptive technologies perform against their
rivals in the marketplace. More [22, 23, 24]
http://www.cibse.org/
CIBSE/IBG Management Committee meeting at
BuroHappold, London, on 20th May 2015.
Attendees:
Trevor Keeling (BuroHappold), Dr Isaac Jamieson
(Biosustainable Design), Lee Funnell, (Siemon) Prof.
Derek Clements-Croome (University of Reading) Eva
D’souza (CH2M) Delroy Davey (University of Surrey)
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CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Articles / Essays
A Bright Future for Dark Skies
By Dr Isaac Jamieson, Biosustainable Design
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9
Observability of celestial objects and light pollution interference in Bortle Scale (Class 1-9)1
Images: http://academo.org/demos/bortle-scale/
There is a growing body of science demonstrating that strengthening our links with Nature through
the intelligent design of buildings and their surroundings can greatly benefit health, wellbeing and
productivity. At present our built environments have increasingly divorced us from Nature to a great
degree. As a result, we have become inadvertently detached from many of the wonders that surround
us, including the stars in the night sky.
In particular, the observation of stars at night is often greatly hampered by urban skyglow. Nature
needs dark skies at night. Light pollution compromises this need and detrimentally effects
biodiversity, particularly nocturnal mammals, insects, migrating birds and even humans.
Major sources of light pollution are businesses, domestic security lighting, sports grounds, streetlights
and supermarkets. Many modern architectural schemes are starting to address this through sensitive,
proactive designs that once more restore our innate bond with Nature. With LEED, the backlight,
1
Bortle Scale, Class 1: Excellent dark sky site. Class 2: Typical dark sky site. Class 3: Rural sky. Class 4: Rural/
suburban transition. Class 5: Suburban sky. Class 6: Bright Suburban sky. Class 7: Suburban/Urban transition. Class
8: City sky. Class 9 Inner City sky. More…
http://www.cibse.org/
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CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
uplight and glare (BUG) reduction method can be used to optimise night-time lighting. Other highand low-tech solutions too can be applied.
Examples of this are the introduction of ‘Lights Out’ education and advocacy programs that reduce
skyglow, protect migrating birds and better enable us to see the stars. A growing number of cities, and
building design teams, are already adopting or developing such measures in order to become more
environmentally friendly, reduce light pollution and save energy. National laws related to reducing light pollution are already in place in the Czech Republic and
Slovenia. Light pollution legislation is also in place within the UK, though results are dependent on
how seriously local authorities take this issue and can recognise the benefits of dark skies.
Reducing inefficient lighting practices saves money, energy and the environment. It is also aids health
and wellbeing and helps us create a more beneficial future through intelligent design.
More information: Audubon (2015), New York Turns Out the Lights. and Professor Paul Bogard (2015), The End of
Night. Biophilic Cities Project.
A discussion on Professor Bogard’s work by BiophilicCities can be read here. An artist’s impression of cities without
urban skyglow can be viewed here.
Advantages of Using Shielded Cabling Systems to Power Remote
Network Devices
By Lee Funnell CDCDP, CTP, EMEA Technical Manager, Siemon
Remote powering applications utilise the copper balanced twisted pair IT cabling infrastructure to
deliver dc power to IP-enabled devices. The popularity of this technology and the interest in
expanding its capabilities is staggering. Consider:
• Over 100 million Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled ports are shipping annually
• Cisco® 60W Universal PoE (UPOE) technology is driving the adoption of virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI) and, when paired with Cisco's EnergyWise IOS-based intelligent energy
management solution, supports using the IT network to monitor and control power consumption as
well as turn devices on and off remotely to save power when the devices are not being used.
• Published, but not yet commercially available, Power over HDBaseT (POH)1 technology can deliver
up to 100W over twisted pair cable to support full HD digital video, audio, 100BASE-T, and control
signals in television and display applications.
• The IEEE 802.3 4-Pair Power over Ethernet (PoE) Study Group has been formed to investigate
developing a new remote powering application that will provide superior energy efficiency than a 2pair application and expand the market for PoE systems.
In less than a decade, remote powering technology has revolutionised the look and feel of the IT
world. Now, devices such as surveillance cameras, wireless access points, RFID readers, digital
displays, IP phones, and other equipment all share network bandwidth that was once exclusively
allocated for computers.
http://www.cibse.org/
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CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
However, many architects, building designers, facility and IT managers aren't aware that remote
power delivery produces temperature rise in cable bundles and potential electrical arcing damage to
connector contacts. Heat rise within bundles has the potential to cause higher bit errors because
insertion loss is directly proportionate to temperature. In extreme environments, temperature rise
and contact arcing can cause irreversible damage to cable and connectors. Fortunately, the proper
selection of network cabling can completely eliminate these risks.
Further information: http://www.siemon.co.uk/us/white_papers/13-06-04-siemon-shielded-powerbenefits.asp
5G mobile phone research center design revealed
Delroy N. Davey, former Principal Electrical/Electronic Engineer & Project Manager, Estate & Facilities
Management at the University of Surrey
THE first glimpse of a new £35 million center at the University of Surrey to develop the next
generation of mobile phones has been revealed. Building was completed in January 2015 and will mean
the university campus will be the first place in the world to test the next major phase for mobile
phones, 5G.
The center will house 130 researchers and around 90 PhD students who will test the new technology
by using lampposts and Pico antennas as mobile signal base stations around the campus, in an area
that will cover 4km. These lamppost and antennas are currently been installed along with the requisite
cabling, Pico and Macro cell devices positioned around the main campus.
Currently, mobile phones in the UK mainly use 3G, but this in some cases have already moved towards
the next generation, 4G, which focuses on improving the speed at which a phone operates. The next
step will see researchers focus on providing more network capacity with lower power consumption,
and it is estimated 5G will be in use in about eight years.
Professor Rahim Tafazolli, the director for the new center at the university, said: “It’s an exciting
vision of what promises to be a very important center for not only the university but for the whole of
the UK and beyond. “The designs reflect our aim of being at the very forefront of technology in a
fast-moving and interconnected world.”
Scott Tallon Walker are the architects chosen to create the 5G Innovation Centre.
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CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group eNewsletter
Peter Dudley, Scott Tallon Walker’s director of science and technology, said: “We see the new center at
the University of Surrey as a place where some of the finest minds in mobile communications from
around the world will be sharing their visionary ideas.
“The Scott Tallon Walker practice is obviously delighted to have won such a prestigious competition
but my colleagues working on the project are equally excited as they really want to see their ideas for
this creative community in action.”
As well as attracting big hitter researchers from the mobile phone industry, fellows from the
university will also be involved in this project. The building has been designed to be environmentally
friendly and, when finished, will receive an ‘excellent’ rating under the Building Research
Establishment Assessment Method.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England as well as mobile phone operators and
infrastructure providers, including Huawei, Samsung, Telefonica Europe, Fujitsu Laboratories of
Europe, Rohde and Schwarz and AIRCOM International, have provided the funding for the project.
This innovating communication project may also herald the adoption & implementation of intelligent
buildings thus enabling dialogue between people and buildings they spend so much time in both
domestic & commercial.
Developments in Li-Fi Wireless Communications
By Dr Isaac Jamieson, Biosustainable Design
Visible Light Communication is short-range optical wireless communication technology that utilises
LEDs for both communication and illumination. The combination of light provision with
communication helps reduce energy use and simplifies infrastructure complexity.
LiFi is an advanced form of this technology which is bidirectional. It has low ecological impact and
enables high-speed device-to-device connectivity at very high data density. It can also be used in areas
where the use of radio frequencies is undesired or impractical. Among its possible applications are:
communications within aircraft; communications in hazardous environments; healthcare; interactive
toys; location based services (LBS); mobile connectivity; RF spectrum relief; smart lighting; smart
urban communications networks; underwater communications; vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)
communications; and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications.
LiFi is recognised as providing inherent security advantages over WiFi with regard to both
containment and control.
In China, LiFi is seen as providing a cheaper way to provide Internet connections. It is also being
rolled out elsewhere.
More…
http://www.cibse.org/
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RESEARCH
Global Research Call on Green Energy
A call has been made by academics, economists, scientists and former chief executives for a major
programme of publicly funded research to be undertaken to investigate how to more quickly reduce
the costs of renewable energy in order to better meet the World’s increasing energy needs.
The Global Apollo Programme is intended to provide an internationally coordinated scheme of
research and development that will focus on energy storage technology, smart grids and renewables.
It suggests it should be possible through very focused RD&D to discover disruptive new technologies
that can “help produce clean energy on a massive scale before it is too late.” It also sets targets for new build base-load energy from renewable sources to become cheaper than
new-build coal within sunny parts of the World by 2020 and worldwide by 2025. All results of this initiative are to be made publicly available. Patentable intellectual property however
is to be protected and will remain with those making the discoveries. More [25, 26]
Carbon brainprint – An estimate of the intellectual contribution of
research institutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Julia Chatterton, David Parsons, John Nicholls, Phil Longhurst, Mike Bernon, Andrew Palmer, Feargal
Brennan, Athanasios Kolios, Ian Wilson, Edward Ishiyama, Derek Clements-Croome, Abbas
Elmualim, Howard Darby, Thomas Yearley, Gareth Davies (2015), Process Safety and Environmental
Protection, 96, 74–81.
Abstract
Research and innovation have considerable, currently unquantified potential to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by, for example, increasing energy efficiency. Furthermore, the process of knowledge
transfer in itself can have a significant impact on reducing emissions, by promoting awareness and
behavioural change. The concept of the ‘carbon brainprint’ was proposed to convey the intellectual
contribution of higher education institutions to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by other
parties through research and teaching/training activities. This paper describes an investigation of the
feasibility of quantifying the carbon brainprint, through six case studies. The potential brainprint of
higher education institutes is shown to be significant: up to 500 kt CO2e/year for one project. The
most difficult aspect is attributing the brainprint among multiple participants in joint projects.
More…
http://www.cibse.org/
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SmartBuildingAnalyser: A parametric early-stage analysis tool for
multi-objective building design
James Ramesden, Trevor Keeling, Paul Shepherd, Andy Shea, Shrikant Sharma (2015), CIBSE
Technical Symposium, London, UK. 16-17 April 2015. 15pp.
Abstract
This paper introduces SmartBuildingAnalyser (SBA), a set of components developed for Grasshopper
to support rapid parametric design at early stages in the project lifecycle of building design. SBA is
demonstrated on two projects to optimise a design for daylighting and for occupant productivity.
Development of SBA is strongly governed by the needs of practising engineers and has been
developed in such an environment where the challenges of industry workflows are acknowledged.
These projects demonstrate some early usefulness of SBA in discovering Pareto optimal designs and
visualising data sets, and the potential benefits of SBA are expected to grow with continued work on
developing the user interface and in linking further analysis engines.
More…
Field studies of occupant experience in seven UK offices
Trevor Keeling, Etienne Roesch, Derek Clements-Croome, Andy Keelin (2015), The 7th International
Conference of Sustainable Development in Building and Environment. Reading, UK, 2015.
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of field studies carried out during the summer of 2014. An
environmental sensory design approach is used to understand the environmental conditions and
occupant experience. The findings reiterate the difficulty of summing up complex issue of
environmental quality with single numbers, such as background lux levels, and simple concepts, such
as comfort. Buildings that achieve fixed background levels can have environments that are
comfortable but not stimulating. The perceived character of a building is dependent upon the
interaction of design features and a socially constructed identity. Observation of how the buildings are
controlled, reveals that how a building is controlled depends upon the culture of the office, this could
have an impact on the suitability of different technical systems.
More…
http://www.cibse.org/
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PAST CIBSE/IBG EVENTS
Past CIBSE/IBG Seminar Presentations can be found here.
Well-Being and Health in Buildings Seminar
27th May 2015, BuroHappold, London.
Written by Dr Isaac Jamieson, Biosustainable Design
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The CIBSE Intelligent Buildings Group, conjunction with the Feeling Good Foundation, held this
fully booked one-day seminar at BuroHappold in London on 27th May. It proved to be a highly
informative event.
The morning session was chaired by Derek Clements-Croome, who started the day by providing a
concise overview of the programme’s events, before handing over to Laura Kudrna and Sophie Smith
who co-presented an inspiring and highly thought-provoking opening address entitled ‘Happiness by
Design’.
Derek then gave the next presentation, ‘Well-being and health for liveable intelligent buildings.’ This
built nicely upon the themes of the first talk, covering a number of aspects that should be considered
when seeking to maximise health and wellbeing through integrated design.
This was followed by Jamie Anderson’s informative talk, ‘Research review on well-being’, which
covered the findings of both his own PhD research and work by others. In it he stressed the benefits
of bringing positive psychology more into play and the need to ‘move the goalposts’ to create
flourishing health through adopting appropriate design measures.
Next up was a joint presentation by Richard Francis and Chris Pottage providing insights into the
‘World Green Building Council Report 2014’ as related to well-being and health. Encouragingly, they
noted that there is a very powerful business case that can be made for creating healthier
spaces. The final presentation before lunch was by Trevor Keeling discussing ‘Environmental sensory design’.
His talk centered on his PhD work investigating how individuals’ emotions and experiences can be
mapped, analysed and potentially acted upon to positively enhance building design and occupant
experience.
The afternoon session was chaired by Isaac Jamieson who introduced the remaining speakers.
The first of these was Bridget Juniper talking about ‘Joining the dots between people, performance
and places; tales from the sharp end’. She discussed case studies, the costs of reduced health and wellbeing and emphasised that as best practice solutions become more widely known, more companies are
likely to seek to develop strategic health and well-being programmes.
The next speaker was Mike Loosemore with his talk entitled ‘Active Working’. He revealed further
factors to be considered. These included the benefits of exercise on performance, the perils of sitting
too long and how sedentary behaviour can be reduced through intelligent redesign of the
environment.
Isaac Jamieson then gave a talk entitled ‘Intelligent buildings need biophilic design’ which provided a
detailed overview of numerous health, well-being and productivity benefits that can be gained as a
result of more fully introducing links with Nature into the design of the built environment. He
emphasised and provided proof that such innovative measures often create significant financial
returns.
The final talk of the day entitled ‘Wellbeing matters: views on the impact of the built environment on
wellbeing’ was given by Elina Grigoriou, who provided insights into the important work that the
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Feeling Good Foundation undertakes as a hub for research expertise and best practice for industry
leaders and others seeking to integrate health and well-being within their projects.
After that closing comments and review of what was covered during the seminar were provided by
Zosia Brown, with Derek finally rounding off the day by thanking his co-presenters and all those who
had contributed to this being such an enjoyable and thoroughly thought provoking event.
Biomimetic Architecture
19th November 2014 at Arup
This event was relocated from IOM to Arup for logistics reasons. We would like to take this
opportunity to thank Arup staff, particularly Michael Beaven, for helping with arranging this, as well
as providing the venue and refreshments. The following presentations were given and well received by
all who attended:
Lessons from nature - Derek Clements-Croome
Agent Architecture: How nature builds - Rupert Soar
Digital Biomimetics – on the fingers of one hand - Julian Vincent
What is the architect doing in the jungle? - Petra Gruber
Social insects: building services engineers of the natural world - Mark Worall
Using smart materials to mimic nature in architecture - Jonathan Gilder
Derek later gave an interview to Petra Gruber from Swedish radio discussing the day’s events and the
lessons and likely future directions of biomimetic architecture. It appears very likely this topic will
continue to grow in importance. Many thanks to all who contributed to a very informative day!
FUTURE CIBSE/IBG SEMINAR SERIES
Topics/events for future
• BIM Debate
Possible Topics for debate suggested are below but these can be extended:
• Low carbon buildings v user (Low carbon buildings can be non-sustainable,)
• Are we over regulated?
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• Can technology keep pace with demand?
• Should we design our buildings to be more environmentally stimulating?
• Health versus safety, what are the limits for intelligent buildings?
• Intelligent buildings 2020 --- will they be similar to intelligent automated cars using nano sensors?
• Does temperature rule the world?
• Holistic approach to blame it on others
• Intelligent building design for refurbishment of existing buildings
• Resilient design
• Dynamic Facades
• Technologies
• Technologies which will influence intelligent buildings of the future
• 3D and 4D printing
• Sound
• Health sector
Combined Seminar with CIB W098 and Others
All our events are run in ASSOCIATION with CIB. We could extend this to include CABA and the
UK Green Building Council
* Collaboration with RIBA – there is a possibility Paul Fletcher could represent RIBA.
* CIBSE/ASHRAE Southern Africa Intelligent Buildings Group
* WBC of CIB in 2016 in Tampere Finland “Intelligent Built Environment for Life”- Derek, Mark,
Sirina, Isaac, Peter have shown interest in contributing The speakers agreed so far
are shown below but others are invited for our seminar within the programme called “Intelligent
Liveable Buildings and Cities “.please let Derek know.
ONLINE
• http://www.cibse.org/networks/groups/intelligent-buildings
• http://www.buildingecology.com/
• http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=725
• http://www.uniformat.com/
• http://www.caba.org/index.html
• http://www.automatedbuildings.com/index.htm
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• http://www.vttresearch.com/?lang=en
• http://www.greenintelligentbuildings.com/
• http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tibi20/current
COURSES AND TRAINING
• MSc Intelligent Building Technology and Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology. [http://www.sengpp.ust.hk/programs/ibtm/en/index.html ]
• CIBSE courses [http://www.cibse.org/events ]
• Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment (IDBE), University of Cambridge. [http://
www.idbe.arct.cam.ac.uk/ ]
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