Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
International conference explores sustainable design for society
The international conference, Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS) took place on 17-18 September and was hosted by the Leeds Sustainability Institute at Leeds Beckett. Keynote speakers, workshops and presentations focused on how to address the balance between the built and the natural environment.
Keynote speakers included Tom Cox - Research & Development Manager at Saint-Gobain, the world leader in the habitat and construction market, Simon Robinson, Professor of Applied and Professional Ethics at Leeds Beckett University, Professor Eric Rondeau from the University of Lorraine and Mike Ormesher, Technical Director Northern Europe for construction experts KNAUF.
Other speakers included Professor Malcolm Bell and Professor Chris Gorse from Leeds Beckett University and Professor Paul Chatterton and Dr Alice Owen from the University of Leeds. The SEEDS International Conference was sponsored by Saint-Gobain; CIOB and ARC Building Solutions Ltd.
The built environment has a greater impact on natural resources and produces more waste than any other industry. However, beyond the green rhetoric, research at Leeds Beckett and other institutions internationally, is being applied on the ground to address the balance between the built and natural environment.
The SEEDS Conference brought together experts from around the world to focus on the impact of the built environment, the changes that are taking place in the industry, and the benefits and consequences of change that are being predicted and measured. The focus of discussion and debate was on understanding how buildings and spaces are designed and nurtured to obtain the optimal outcome.
As well as addressing technical issues, measuring energy efficiency and modelling energy performance, emphasis was placed on the health and wellbeing of the users of spaces occupied. This approach will draw together the research themes of energy, building performance and physics while placing health, wellbeing and ecology at the heart of the conference.