The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen is set to host a prestigious conference on climate change next month
.The conference, which will take place on Wednesday 10 March, is part of The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Climate Change Lecture Series 2010.
Leading architect and sustainable design pioneer, Dr Michael Lauring, will deliver the first lecture of the day. Entitled 'Architecture, Energy and Climate, the Danish Perspective', Dr Lauring's lecture will describe Danish low energy architecture, as well as the strategies they have in place for future low energy buildings.
Assistant Professor at Aalborg University in Denmark, Dr Lauring has considerable experience and science-based knowledge in relation to sustainable architecture. He is the author and editor of a number of books aimed at architectural practice covering subjects such as life-cycle analysis of building materials. He has worked as a consultant at the Danish Centre of Urban Ecology, and has links to an extensive network of scientists, writers and publishers, lecturers and institutions, ecological and building organisations, as well as practising architects and engineers.
Dr Lauring has lectured at the Architecture Schools in Copenhagen and Aarhus, as well as the Aarhus School of Engineering. He is now in charge of Education in Environmental Architecture in the Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology at Aalborg University, Denmark.
Mr Michael Pawlyn will deliver the second lecture of the conference, entitled 'Architecture and Climate Change'. Mr Pawlyn established Exploration Architecture in 2007 to focus exclusively on environmentally sustainable projects that take their inspiration from nature.
Prior to setting up the company he worked with Grimshaw for ten years, and was central to the team that radically re-invented horticultural architecture for the Eden Project. In 1999 he was one of five winners in 'A Car-free London' - an ideas competition for strategic solutions to the capital's future transport needs and new possibilities for urban spaces.
Mr Pawlyn has lectured widely on the subject of sustainable design in the UK and abroad. In 2007 he delivered a talk at Google's annual 'Zeitgeist' conference and at the Royal Geographical Society's annual conference 'Sustainability and Quality of Life'.
The Scott Sutherland School's own Professor Gokay Deveci will chair the event, which will also include question and answer sessions, a debate between the speakers and a RIBA presentation to students. A world-leading expert in environmentally sustainable architectural design, Professor Deveci has won national and international awards for his work, and designed and built a number of innovative projects. His most recent project, in Dunoon, became the first houses in Scotland to be awarded official Passivhaus status, a rigorous energy efficiency standard.
Professor Deveci said, "This event could not be more timely given that the issue of climate change was recently discussed at the Copenhagen Summit. Furthermore, the study of architecture and built environment in Aberdeen exploits the School's unique northerly location which has much in common with our Nordic neighbours. The School is committed to developing its Nordic connections in order to share expertise in areas such as low energy design. As such we are extremely fortunate to learn from Dr Lauring, who has world-renowned expertise in low energy buildings, architectural education and integrated design.
"The Scott Sutherland School is committed to delivering socially responsible practitioners for the built environment, and we are delighted that Dr Lauring and Mr Pawlyn, who both have an immense pedigree in the field, have agreed to speak at the School."
David Gloster, RIBA's Director of Education said, "We are delighted that the Robert Gordon University is partnering with the RIBA to host the RIBA Climate Change Lecture Series in Scotland. Through this programme of talks and debates the RIBA aims to encourage a wider understanding of the role of architecture and sustainable design solutions in both adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change through expert presentations and talks."
The conference will take place on Wednesday 10 March at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen. It will begin at 2pm, and conclude with a reception at 6.30pm.
The conference is free to attend, and open to the public, staff and students of the University. However spaces are limited, so anyone wishing to attend should contact Helen Aggasild on (01224) 263700 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text36368 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > to reserve a space.