Gordon Hudson, Independent Consultant, CIBSE Trainer & Northumbria University Lecturer, was asked to  present a talk to the CIBSE North East Region on sustainable design, which made him think back to his early career and the evolution of sustainable design in the Building Services Sector. "When I started in the Industry in the 1980s we had just had the “save it” campaign and it was about money but not really resources and pollution.   Delia Smith is shown in this video saving energy and money by cooking everything together(!)      The “save it” campaign was followed by the “Monergy“ campaign, again appealing to our economic interest rather than saving the planet. In the 1990s the issue of wider sustainable design emerged, and with it came tools such as BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).  I was interested in these tools a great deal as they hoped to create a market-led demand for sustainable design of buildings.  BREEAM

I am an Electrical Engineer I am encouraging diversity within the industry I am enhancing visitor experience at the National Portrait Gallery Peter Noel BEng(Hons) CEng MCIBSE is an Electrical Engineer at the National Portrait Gallery. A Grade 1 listed building, completed in 1896. It houses the most extensive collection of portraits in the world from the 16 th Century to the present day. We asked him to tell his story... Peter’s Story I started my work career as an apprentice progressing to an installation electrician.   I attended college on a part time basis studying for City & Guilds qualifications in Electrical Installation work.   I excelled while on these courses achieving full distinctions throughout many of the modules. I was then encouraged by my lecturer to continue studying to a higher professional engineer level. I started work in the Facilities Maintenance sector working for a number of high profile companies including a news broadcaster, investme

I am a Senior Building Services Engineer I am a Ken Dale Travel Bursary Winner I am doing something worthwhile for the planet Antoni Joan Sapina Grau is a Senior Building Services Engineer at WSP. He was awarded the Ken Dale Travel Bursary to spend a month researching ‘ Resilience and adaptive capacity for upcoming climate challenges’ in China, Hong Kong, Australia and the United States. We asked him about how he found the experience and his research findings… Receiving the Ken Dale award What first attracted you to apply for the Ken Dale Travel Bursary? The opportunity to learn things that are not written in textbooks.  The Ken Dale Travel Bursary offers the chance to discover, research and learn about our Industry in a wider range. On the other hand, I saw an opportunity to encourage all designers, engineers, architects and clients to focus on climate change by sharing knowledge collected around the world from the experts. Why did you choose your particular re

I am an Energy Consultant  I am a Ken Dale Travel Bursary winner I have represented CIBSE across the globe Lucy Pemble is an Energy Consultant at ICF and one of the winners of the CIBSE Ken Dale Travel Bursary 2018. As a recipient of the bursary, Lucy was funded to visit Zambia, South Africa, California and Wales for her research project on ‘Demand Management: Photovoltaics, Electric Vehicles and the Strive for Decarbonisation’ What first attracted you to apply for the Ken Dale Travel Bursary?  I’d heard of the bursary long before I applied but the year I did, I was studying for a masters. I felt it was the right time, knowing that if I was successful I could plan my research trips around my studies. I knew it would be a fantastic experience and a unique career episode. What made you choose your particular research topic? I looked at CIBSE’s research priorities and ‘systems thinking and integration’ struck me. Decarbonisation of electricity is a hot topic in

I am YEN Scotland I am a Graduate Mechanical Building Services Engineer  I am playing a part in the move towards more sustainable building services Welcome to the first of our #IamCIBSE blogs, where we'll be speaking to different individuals within the CIBSE community. We've started with  Andrew Griffiths, a Graduate Mechanical Building Services Engineer at Arup and part  of the Young Engineers Network (YEN) in the Scotland region.  On Building Services Engineering…  I work in mechanical building services engineering working on thermal modelling, CFD, ventilation, heating, cooling and domestic water supply in a wide range of sectors I always had an interest in engineering, buildings and renewable technologies, but it was not until visiting Northumbria University on an open day and going to a talk about Architectural Engineering, that I realised building services was the best option for all of my interests. Playing a part in the move towards more sustainable b

To celebrate International Women's Day, we're sharing this thought-provoking article by CIBSE YEN South West Chair, Gemma Taylor on the importance of role models (male or female) in the engineering industry.  Why are role models critical to the engineering industry? I have always been the type of person that likes to solve problems. I like to make the impossible, possible – and that’s why I’m an engineer. I was brought up in the real world, not a pink and blue one. A world where Dad does the ironing, and mum does the DIY. It’s hardly surprising that there have always been zero barriers in becoming an engineer for me. I plotted my path through school, college and university to achieve the same qualifications, if not more, than the male counterparts that work around me - so I ask a simple question, ‘what’s with all the recent fuss of females in engineering?’ My mum has worked as a Mechanical Building Services Engineer for her entire life. At the age of 18, she was told

To celebrate International Women's Day 2019 CIBSE has conducted a series of interviews with different women across the industry. Rimmy Vij,  Associate Director at WSP Façade Engineering and  member of the Society of Façade Engineers (SFE) , shares with us her story... CAREER SUMMARY Rimmy Vij is a Chartered Façade Engineer and has been working at WSP Façade Engineering since 2013. With an academic background in Architecture and Façade Engineering, she has worked on interesting projects, gaining significant experience in the design and construction of a variety of buildings with signature architects and blue-chip clients.  Rimmy worked for other leading Façade Contractors before joining WSP and has experience in developing bespoke design solutions, which enables her to have a sensitive and collaborative contribution to the work of a Lead Façade Engineer.  Rimmy  is continually involved with the SFE and has been organising SFE’s Façade of the Year Competition since 20

By Stuart Shell, AIA at BranchPattern Whilst we all agree about the occupants needing to have more meaningful influence on their built environment, it is the infamous operable window that allowed at the CIBSE Technical Symposium 2019 for an exchange of views and practices on an enhanced end-user involvement (and understanding) as a key input in the process of transforming the engineering of built environments. Read his original pre-Symposium thought-piece below.  T he theme for this year’s CIBSE Technical Symposium jumped out from the clutter of my inbox: transforming built environments; driving change with engineering . Why does it seem true that we have plenty to learn about driving change? As technical experts, what would it look like for us to be leading innovation in how we use buildings? I’m honoured to be presenting an opinion paper on this topic at the symposium. To prime the conversation, I would like to tackle a contentious subject that’s beleaguered me for year