BR+A Consulting Engineers’ Post

We're playing a key role in how our University is contributing to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Find out how with the launch of our SDG website. Our Faculty of Engineering features in 9 of the 17 goals and in half of the stories on the research page. Proof that our engineers, architects and designers are shaping the real world 🌍 #sdgs #sdgs2030 #engineering #architectureanddesign

Opportunities for increased sustainability and efficiency are everywhere; just look around. What could be improved about the space you're in right now? You'll likely find more than a handful of possible improvements so then the question is, how come they haven't been implemented? Where's the bottleneck? According to Charles Lankester, graduate of the Master of Engineering Leadership at UBC, these problems cannot be solved within any single discipline; they require traversing the space between business and technology. Implementing sustainability solutions means bridging the often large gap between those with technical skill and those with business savvy. “Working in a big company, I saw a lot of communication issues between the technical and business teams,” he says. “I realized how important it is for engineers to be able to speak the language of business: if you were pitching an optimization project to management, you had a better chance of success if you presented the business case for bottom-line returns.” The MEL in High Performance Buildings program was a natural extension of Charles Lankester’s professional background and passion for sustainability – and it’s enabled him to move into a career where he could bridge this gap for a more sustainable future. If you want to learn more about bridging this gap, follow the link in the comments to read about Charles' experience doing just that. #UBCMEL #HighPerformanceBuildings #ProfessionalLeadershipMasterDegrees #programspotlight #regenerativearchitecture #architecturalengineering #masterofarchitecture #smartcities #sustainability #vancouver

💥𝗧𝗨/𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 ‘𝗨𝗣𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗘’ 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 NWO (Dutch Research Council) 𝗞𝗜𝗖 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 - part as one of four research projects in the NWO KIC funding scheme for 𝘾𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮: 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝘜𝘗𝘚𝘊𝘈𝘓𝘌 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 €1.3 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘞𝘖'𝘴 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 (𝘒𝘐𝘊) 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 ‘𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺: 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦’, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘜/𝘦-𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 ‘𝘜𝘗𝘚𝘊𝘈𝘓𝘌’, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 👇 Three PhD projects are granted in Eindhoven University of Technology, Delft University of Technology, and Utrecht University, under supervision of Pieter Pauwels, Ekaterina Petrova, Laura Piscicelli, Qi Han, Tong Wang Ph.D., Daniel M. Hall, Rik Eshuis, and Paul Chan. Hogeschool Rotterdam will actively participate and support in bringing this to market and practical application through the lead of Tomasz Jaskiewicz, and in interaction with SPARK Campus and VONK Rotterdam of City of Rotterdam. The project includes active industry participation by ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and Huisrijk, as well as VolkerWessels, Witteveen+Bos, Adex Groep, BIM-Connected, InnoTractor, Madaster, and Martens keramiek bv. Eindhoven University of Technology will contribute primarily with a novel IT infrastructure, besides coordinating. Congratulations to all involved, and especially to our Associate Professor Pieter Pauwels, and our Assistant Professor Ekaterina Petrova! 👏 🎉 We are looking forward to hearing more about the project and, of course, sharing it with the world! 🌐 #linkedbuildingdata #circularity #AEC #PhD #research #innovation #BIM #digitaltwinning #behavior #economy #circulareconomy

💡 Another assembling event on the topic "Sustainability Competences as the Кey to Transformation", this time in Skopje! ☑️ Hosted by Institute for Research in Environment, Civil Engineering and Energy (IECE) on 20th February 2024 , this event provided a platform for discussions on pivotal topics such as the Catalyst Project's progress, the establishment of the Center for Vocational Excellence in Sustainable Systems and Business Transformation, and the collaborative opportunities presented by the CATALYST network.🌐 📢 Throughout the event, there were showcased significant strides made within the Catalyst Project and also it established the CoVe model and the different opportunities for joint effort between educational and business entities. Read more about the event on: https://lnkd.in/d_qwXrMy Institute for Research in Environment, Civil Engineering and Energy (IECE) Gradezen institut Makedonija AD Skopje Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) bells Communication across Cultures Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft (BNW) FH Joanneum Apflbutzn FaireModeGraz ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa ICAA - Intellectual Capital Association CENTIMFE - Technological Center for Mouldmaking, Special Tooling and Plastic Industries Resees, Research Laboratory AUEB CRETHIDEV Athens University of Economics and Business Sporos Platform UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Youth #sustainable #transformation #sustainabilityevent #competences #catalyst #catalystproject #CoVe #collaboration #networking

Wrapping up three great days at the #SCUP2024 Annual Conference in Philly, I am excited about the #HigherEd themes and trends I heard in conversations and sessions. 1. Almost every college and university is facing significant challenges decarbonizing their buildings and central plants, but the long-term commitment to achieve Net Zero is very strong. 2. Data-driven strategic planning can drive university-wide coordination and better decision-making. This function should sit at the President level to be most effective for the institution. 3. Creating a “culture of planning” within individual schools and departments is essential to practice integrated university-wide decision-making. 4. Institutions and design teams are creating amazing buildings that support increasingly diverse groups of students, teachers, and staff. These themes align closely with our WSP #FutureReady and #BuiltEcology approach, so I am looking forward to leaning into of them over the next year.

- Existential sustainability - In recent years, there has been a growing need in society to broaden the conversation about sustainability beyond the traditional pillars of social, environmental and economic concerns. There's a call to include the existential dimensions of human life. The Agenda 2030 Graduate School offered a PhD course on existential sustainability, which concluded with a student conference with paper presentations. The course was collaborative effort between the Center for Theology and Religious Studies and the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at LTH. Take the opportunity to read some of the texts and reflect on all aspects of sustainability that could affect our human and planetary wellbeing. ➡Ida Sandström, Johanna Gustafsson Lundberg, Lovisa Nyman: Expanding the Discourse on Sustainability: Existential Sustainability ➡ Alice Jansson: Existential Sustainability and The Energy Transition ➡ Gubb Marit Stigson: Challenging capitalism: Rethinking sustainability in the age of environmental despair ➡ Kristina Carlsson Stylianides: Acknowledging Existential Sustainability in Social Work ➡ Tide Garnow: Vulnerability and care – keys to an existential sustainable society? #existentialsustainability #sustainability The Faculty of Engineering at Lund University

MSc MADE research forms a huge portion of our impact in tackling Amsterdam’s pressing urban challenges. Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering (MSc MADE) - a joint degree from Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University & Research - is housed within the AMS Institute building on the Marineterrein Amsterdam, and the ‘urban engineers’ in training forge close links with our work via Living Labs, experiments, and more. With #Amsterdam as a Living Lab, students are connected to real-world challenges in the city and work alongside researchers, the City of Amsterdam, businesses, and others. 💥 The slider below highlights two brilliant pieces of research from MSc MADE students: 🌟 Jonas van der Ham’s circular economy research explores how biobased materials, such as straw and #hemp, can be used as low-carbon alternatives in building insulation materials. 🌟 Matias Cardoso Suter’s Mobility research into the ‘walkability’ of Amsterdam assesses different streets in the city, and the results are featured in a dashboard that the Municipality uses. 🌟 Check back next week for more student research highlights! 💭 Are you a student interested in pushing boundaries in practice and science and motivated to work on hands-on projects? Then read more about MSc MADE here: https://lnkd.in/ekuftwWa 👉🏼 Want to learn more about AMS Institute’s impact, from students to startups? Dive into our Annual Report 2023 here: https://lnkd.in/etvcU8Xy #research #sustainableamsterdam #circularbuildings #walkablecities Maurice Harteveld Vasileios Milias Stefan van der Spek Joke Dufourmont Francesco Pittau Juliëtte Mohamed Stijn Brancart Elizabeth Migoni Alejandre Arjan van Timmeren

For those of you interested in the potentials (and challenges) of SDGs in EIA, I gladly share this new paper, published just before the summer holidays! It is based on a case study for a new metro in Copenhagen, and shows what can and can't be done when working with SDGs with a focus on actor collaboration and co-creation of integration approaches. This paper also marks the official last chapter of my PhD. A major thanks to Lone Kørnøv as my academic partner and guide and to Jens Ulrik Jensen for inviting us into this project with enthusiasm and a willingness to rethink EIA with a greater focus on sustainability. https://lnkd.in/df5qeFp8

🌃 What happens when an industrial plant closes? ❗️ In general, this closure poses significant challenges to affected regions and municipalities. In the past, the most common reactions were efforts for a short-term, swift reopening of the closed plant – ideally with a new cash-injecting investor or the transformation towards a new post-industrial function, such as community area, culture or commercial centre.   🌻 In the medium to long term, however, plant revitalisation can be considered an opportunity to shift previous paths of economic development towards green and innovation driven growth by promoting the establishment of a robust and more sustainable economy.   Our colleague Oliver Ziegler together with Martin Eichler and Dominique Foray in a new paper shares experiences from the Horizon Europe project #RIS4Danu on how to facilitate this process by applying a revised #EntrepreneurialDiscoveryProcess (#EDP) inherent in #SmartSpecialisation (#S3).   Their novel approach to industrial site revitalisation includes four particular aspects:   1) better aligning local (business) interests with regional strategic priorities; 2) reconciling business interests and opportunities for green economic growth; 3) identifying and building on existing (regional) assets and opportunities; and 4) identifying funding synergies and addressing barriers to innovation.   Check our publication https://lnkd.in/eTM9pW9Y Institut für Innovation und Technik (iit), INFRAS, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

We are delighted to announce that the Lehrstuhl und Institut für Städtebau of RWTH Aachen University joins an 18-month Interreg North-West Europe project, ASSET, to help accelerate the transition to a circular built environment for the Eurodelta. ASSET (A Spatial Strategy for the Eurodelta, boosting a circular built environment) Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) project that focuses on understanding the concept of a circular built environment (CBE) by finding innovative spatial solutions through collaboration at various scales within the Eurodelta. The project partners of ASSET are working on a spatial strategy for the Eurodelta to boost the circular transition of the built environment. Cities, regions, associations, and the academic field are aligning their research agendas to explore the added value of collaboration on the scale of the Eurodelta, to reach the goals of the EU Green Deal. Within the project, the project partners are investigating, together with students, the building stones for a spatial strategy at different spatial scales, including within their own administrations and the Eurodelta - based the Circular Spatial Strategy of the Province of South Holland. Key details WHO: City of Amsterdam (lead partner), Province of South Holland, City of The Hague, Krefeld Business, Brussels Perspective, Brussels Environment, RWTH Aachen University, Delft University of Technology, METREX, Duisburg Business, Vereniging Deltametropool + over 30 associated partners from four countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Northern France) in the following sectors: government, economic/business associations, industry/logistics, academia and civil society  WHERE: North-West Europe (specifically the Eurodelta) More information: Dagmar Keim – City of Amsterdam, project lead fabio bayro kaiser – RWTH Aachen University