Faculty of Art, Design and the Built Environment

Introduction

The Built Environment Research Institute (BERI), one of 15 other RI's in the University of Ulster, is within the Faculty of Art, Design and the Built Environment. The Faculty comprises three Schools (Built Environment (SBE), Art & Design, Architecture & Design), a Research Graduate School and two RI's (Built Environment, and Art & Design). Within BERI, specialisms are developed and nurtured in four research centres, each of which is lead by a research director. Each of the research centres with BERI operates has its own internal sub-units.

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) has a specific research focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy, materials and sustainability. The research combines theoretical approaches with extensive measurement and modelling to underpin the development and testing of practical solutions at a scale appropriate to the built environment. The Centre for Research on Property and Planning (RPP) brings together research in real estate, housing, spatial and strategic planning and transportation embracing activities across development, investment and user perspectives with a focus on applied and empirical aspects with policy implications. The Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology (FireSERT) offers innovation in the design, assessment and protection of materials in fire, informs regulations and fire safety enhancement in the built environment, industry and transport, advances fire risk management and investigates the human response for an effective evacuation in fire events. In particular, FireSERT has focused in three areas of safety research: structural fire engineering, fire dynamics and materials; and human behaviour and risk. The Hydrogen Safety Engineering Research (HySAFER) centre specialises in hydrogen safety science and engineering and is focused on research into the safety aspects of hydrogen as an energy carrier to underpin the introduction of emerging hydrogen and fuel cells systems within the built environment.

Research students are at the core of the Institute and represent a highly significant resource. The international standing of the Built Environment Research Institute is reflected by the global reach of our doctoral programmes with students drawn from China, India, Malaysia, Middle East, Africa, North America in addition to home (UK/Ireland) and European based students.