Buildings and Cities

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Buildings and cities research within the energy initiative is carried out across a number of departments and research groups at the University of Cambridge.

Research includes:

Smart Buildings

• Innovative use of emerging technologies in sensor and data management.
• The design of technologies for new and retrofit low carbon buildings.
• Low-energy lighting, including new light conversion materials and next generation GaN LEDs for solid state lighting.
• The use of computation to reduce energy consumption at the building level.

Natural Building Materials

• Natural material design and research for large-scale buildings
• Efficient structures using natural materials
• Improved material properties through chemical and biochemical modification of plant-based materials

Infrastructure and Construction:

• Development of novel materials surface treatments, low carbon cements and concrete.

Sustainable Cities

• Energy demand reduction in the urban environment by integrating the design and development of novel technologies for energy efficient cities, with links to economic, policy and regulatory considerations. 
• Embodied energy in buildings, building retrofits, and insulation.

Some key research centres and initiatives include:

• The Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction
• The Natural Materials and Structures group at The Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies
• The Laing O'Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology 
• The Energy Efficient Cities Initiative
• The Centre for Sustainable Development has an extensive built environment research programme, including research investigating Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment
• B.bem Project, the Bayesian building energy management portal, uses computer simulation of building energy consumption to help energy managers understand the risk associated with energy management decisions.

We collaborate with industrial partners and are also actively involved in increasing both energy awareness and public understanding of the opportunities and challenges in buildings and cities.

Please visit individual faculty profiles to learn more about their research in the Buildings and Cities theme. The lead for Buildings and Cities is Professor Koen Steemers.