CIOB International innovation and research awards 2016

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is the world's largest and most influential professional body for construction management and leadership.

CIOB International Innovation & Research (I&R) Awards celebrate achievement across the built environment, from academic research to industry innovation. The Awards highlight the importance of innovation and research in raising performance levels, enhancing best practice and improving the quality of the built environment. They also encourage the brightest industry newcomers: the recent graduates and post graduates who are making a valuable contribution and could lead on innovation in the future.

The 2016 Awards were launched in Jun 2016, and the winners were announced in February 2017.

The competition received more than 160 entries from 18 different countries. Submissions covered a broad spectrum of ideas including; an exploration of the performance of origami floor joists, the use of lime in an external render, an open source BIM platform, and an innovation strategy that helped develop cats eyes which illuminate when roads are frozen.

Announcing the results, the judging panel said: “It’s immensely encouraging to see both a high volume and quality of applications across each category. Each of the finalists was able to demonstrate clearly to the panel the value of their research or innovation to professional practice. We extend our congratulations to all those recognised by the awards – on what is a truly fantastic achievement.”

Innovation achievers:

• Premier Award: Ms Chloe Smith and Mr Robert Jones (Fulton Hogan Ltd.) – “Leading the Way - Fulton Hogan’s New Innovation Strategy”.
• Highly Commended Award: Prof Rahinah Ibrahim and Dr Navid Nasrollah Mazandari (University of Putra Malaysia/ University of Automotive Malaysia) – “i-STP: Modular Sewage Treatment System for Remote Coastal Settlements”.
• Merit Award: Dr Narguess Khatami (Hilson Moran Partnership) – “NV LogIQ Wall Controller”.

Digital innovation:

• Premier Award: Dr Jozef Dobos and Mr Tim Scully (3D Repo Ltd.) – “3D Repo – Open Source BIM Platform”
• Highly Commended Award: Dr Songye Zhu, Mr Shiguang Wang and Mr Gary Hui (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University/ Chevalier Ltd.) – “A Real-Time Monitoring, Assessment and Alarming System for Construction-Induced Vibration Impact on Hospital Buildings”
• Merit Award: Mr Simon Kaufman and Richard Baker (AssetScape Ltd.) – “AssetScape World Management System”

Innovation in education and training:

• Premier Award: Tony Burke and Rob Garvey (University of Westminster) – “The First Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Digital Construction”
• Highly Commended Award: Christina Duckett and Dr Geoff Cook (University of Reading) – “The Breaking down Barriers Project at Reading: Educating for twentieth-century lives. Promoting an inclusive society through innovation in built environment professional education, by embedding the design, construction and management of inclusive environment into curricula across the university using a collaborative approach.”

Research paper:

• Premier Award: Guillermo Tardio and Slobodan Mickovski (Glasgow Caledonian University) – “Implementation of eco-engineering design into existing slope stability design practices.” (Published in Ecological Engineering, Vol. 92; pp.138-147, 2016)
• Highly Commended Award: Natalya Sergeeva (University College London, UK) – “What makes an ‘Innovation Champion’?” (Published in European Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 19; Issue 1, pp. 72-89, 2016)
• Merit Award: Mark Mulville and Spyridon Stravoravdis (University of Greenwich, UK) – “The Impact of Regulations on Overheating risk in Dwellings.” (Published in Building Research and Information, Vol. 44; Issue 5-6, pp. 520-534, 2016)

Undergraduate dissertation:

• Premier Award: Mark Lee and Stephen Hetherington (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) – “A Comparative Study of the Physical Properties of Natural Hydraulic Lime and Ordinary Portland Cement Binders for the Application of External Renders.”

• Highly Commended Award: Grace Di Benedetto and Chris Beckett (University of Western Australia) – “An Exploratory Investigation of Earth Printing”

• Merit Award: Anthony Butera and Vivian Tam (Western Sydney University) – “Experimental Study on Recycled Concrete Behaviour”

Masters dissertation

• Premier Award: Gemma Small and Neil Currie (University of Salford, UK) – “Engineered Cardboard Origami Floor Joists: Part 2”
• Highly Commended Award: Gemma Webb and Samantha Organ (University of the West England, UK) – “Investigation into the Practice of Home Improvement by Owner-Occupier Families with pre-school children.”
• Merit Award: Abdul Aziz Abas and Masran Saruwomo (University Teknologi Mara, Malaysia) – “Variation in Price of Preliminaries in Construction Projects during Tender Stage”

You can read more about the winners on the CIOB website.

--CIOB