LU-ARC welcomes research proposals on a wide breadth of architectural topics, especially around our strengths of building structures and materials, digital fabrication, adaptable architecture, history and theory, and urbanism and heritage. We also invite practising architects with exciting research agendas to join our new practice-based PhD programme.

We believe that better buildings are essential for a healthy, sustainable, and zero-carbon future. This research group operates from a world-class research, teaching and learning environment where our expertise in modelling and measurement methods is used to address four key research themes: Low energy buildings; Building performance evaluation; Health, wellbeing, and indoor air quality; Smart buildings, communities and cities.

One of the world’s longest established construction groups specialising in delivering innovative solutions that enhance the construction, operation and maintenance of complex buildings and infrastructure. The group’s three research subthemes are (1) Digital Construction, (2) Projects, Performance and Productivity, and (3) Social Value (including health, safety and wellbeing). Holistic in outlook, we span the physical, social and computer sciences.

Research in this area develops novel engineering solutions for sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including geotechnical asset management, built environment geohazards and climate change impacts. This comprises numerical modelling and experimental investigations, and the development of new sensing technologies.

Research in this area covers practical and theoretical approaches to resilient infrastructure and cities, sustainable materials and constructions, and cutting-edge technologies applied to construction, maintenance and repair. This includes the performance of engineering structures against earthquakes, winds, fire and other natural and human-induced hazards, efficient through-life design solutions, greener and innovative cementitious composites, process optimisation and automation of infrastructure delivery and repair.

This group conducts fundamental, innovative and policy-relevant research in the areas of autonomous and intelligent transport, smart and sustainable cities, and urban big data analytics. We envision a strong integration of our research with real-world practices, policies and decision-making by working with partners to maximise the impact of our research.

Research in this area covers hydrodynamics, hydrology, disaster and risk management, water treatment and the development of sustainable and resilient water infrastructure, including management and policy. The group uses a range of methodologies including experiments, fieldwork, interviews and surveys, numerical modelling and spatial data analytics to address theoretical questions as well as those of practical concern.

Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT) integrate PhD research and an enhanced research training package into a four-year integrated programme. The School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering currently participates in two centres:

• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water and Waste Infrastructure Systems Engineered for Resilience (WaterWISER), in partnership with Leeds and Cranfield universities.
• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy Resilience and Built Environment, in partnership with University College London and MaREI Research Centre (Ireland).