BRE Trust Review 2014

The BRE Trust Review 2014 summarises recently completed projects funded through the BRE Trust’s research programme in the areas of sustainability, fire, energy, health and materials. It describes a wide range of recent publications presenting some of the latest research, knowledge and guidance on these issues ranging from the effects of lighting on human health to reducing waste in infrastructure projects.

The Review also reports on developments in the Trust’s two themed research programmes; future cities and building resilience:

• Launched in April 2012 with over 70 public and private partners, the collective value of projects in the BRE Trust Future Cities research programme is more than £30m. The research involves 16 universities and 14 cities in the UK, the European Union and Brazil.
• The Resilience of the Built Environment programme began work more recently in April 2015. BRE Group Research Director, Dr Deborah Pullen said, “Resilience of the built environment has been identified as one of the main priorities of governments around the world. They are responding to the increasing risks presented by extreme weather, natural and man-made disasters, terrorism and cyber-crime, a burgeoning global population and increased urbanisation.” The Trust will provide £1m of funding for the two-year programme of resilience research, to underpin an effective partnership linking BRE, government, academia and industry. Plans to attract other significant funding will create one of the largest single initiatives for improving the resilience of the UK’s built environment.

Finally, the Review includes an update on the built environment research and education activities at the five BRE Trust supported University Centres of Excellence. There have been a total 170 PhD studentships, 100 staff and a portfolio of more than £60m of research completed or underway since the 2006 launch of the Centres of Excellence in Bath, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Strathclyde, and Brasilia.

The BRE Trust Review 2014 can be downloaded here.

--BRE 3 July 2015