CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026
March 2026 at Loughborough University, United Kingdom
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of the CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026. Please select a date or location to show only sessions on that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view. For more information and to register your place please visit, https://www.cibse.org/symposium
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Daily Overview |
| Date: Thursday, 26/Mar/2026 | |
| 8:30am - 9:15am | REG: Registration and welcome refreshments Location: EHB Atrium Find out more and register via https://www.cibse.org/symposium Please arrive in good time to receive your delegate badge. There will be refreshments served on arrival. |
| 9:15am - 9:55am | 1.1: Welcome and Keynote Location: EHB 110B Session Chair: Mike Burton Opening Address by Dr. Anastasia Mylona, CIBSE Technical Director, followed by a Welcome from CIBSE Vice President, Mike Burton. Keynote Session (incl Q&A) by Professor Catherine Noakes, University of Leeds Integrating science, policy and practice for healthy and sustainable buildings Professor Cath Noakes OBE is the Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation and Professor of Environmental Engineering for Buildings at the University of Leeds, UK. She is a chartered engineer with substantial experience leading research into buildings and health, particularly around ventilation, air quality and infection control. She has worked closely with policy, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, including contributing to UK SAGE committee, NHS guidance on healthcare environments, WHO groups, and work with the Royal Academy of Engineering. |
| 10:00am - 11:15am | 1.2: Session 2: Managing Airborne Infection: Ventilation Limits, Emission variability and Real World Practice Location: EHB 110B Session Chair: Catherine Noakes |
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Airborne infection risk in marquees 1: Loughborough University, United Kingdom; 2: UCL; 3: Movement Strategies; 4: University of Greenwich Limits to the Effectiveness of Ventilation for Reducing Airborne Infection Risk Due to Widely Varying Emissions 1: UCL, United Kingdom; 2: University of Nottingham “We have to freeze or be deafened”: A survey on the effectiveness of CO₂ alarms in university spaces. University of Sheffield, United Kingdom |
| 10:00am - 11:15am | 1.3: Session 3: Retrofit for Real Homes: Energy Use, Comfort and Community Energy Location: EHB001 Session Chair: Mahroo Eftekhari |
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Transforming 1920-1940s housing to minimise energy use and optimise comfort 1: Cardiff University, United Kingdom; 2: University of Bath, United Kingdom More than technical: towards people-centric practices in historic building retrofits Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom Rural Renewable Energy Towns for sustainable performance fit for 2050 The University of Manchester, United Kingdom |
| 10:00am - 11:15am | 1.4: Session 4: Climatic, Vernacular and Performance‑Driven Approaches in Environmental Building Design Location: EHB002 Session Chair: Dan McNaughton |
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From Symbolism to Sustainability: Post-Occupancy Daylight Evaluation of the National Assembly Mosque in Bangladesh Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Data-Driven Optimisation of Net Zero Energy Residential Buildings in Dhaka: Integrating Evolutionary Algorithms and Vernacular Wisdom in High-Density Urban Contexts 1: Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh, People's Republic of; 2: Department of Architectural Studies, University of Missouri–Columbia, Missouri, USA Sense of Balcony: A Conceptual Model of Sense of Place in Housing Threshold Spaces Istanbul Okan University, Turkiye |
| 11:15am - 11:45am | Break: Refreshments and Networking Location: EHB Atrium |
| 11:45am - 1:00pm | 1.5: Session 5: Raising the Bar: Setting Standards for Reliable and Resilient Heat Networks Location: EHB 110B Session Chair: Ellen Salazar |
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Heat Network Metering and Monitoring Standard: Regulating metering systems within UK heat networks 1: FairHeat, United Kingdom; 2: Building Low Carbon Solutions & Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Energy security, reliability and net zero investment in a heat network portfolio: Prioritising with limited data Translating Energy, United Kingdom Setting Resilience and Equipment Condition Standards for Heat Networks FairHeat, United Kingdom Setting Standards for Pressure in Heat Networks FairHeat, United Kingdom |
| 11:45am - 1:00pm | 1.6: Session 6: Circularity in Practice: Barriers, Enablers and Solutions Location: EHB001 Session Chair: Anastasia Mylona |
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Navigating Complexity to Unlock Sustainable Building Reuse Building Safety Regulator - Health and Safety Executive The circularity potential of the Stadium building: existing reuse versus newbuild design for disassembly explored through recent case studies and interviews with their designers WSA, Cardiff University with Populous Architects, United Kingdom Unlocking Circularity in MEP and HVAC Systems: The Relevance of Digital Construction Ulster University, United Kingdom Sustainable workplace: Enhancing Health & Wellbeing through Circular Design Cundall, United Kingdom |
| 11:45am - 1:00pm | 1.7: Session 7:When Models Meet Reality: Understanding Thermal Performance in Buildings and Beyond Location: EHB002 Session Chair: Ben Abel |
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Beyond Simplistic Assumptions: The Critical Need for Advanced Infiltration Modelling in Dynamic Thermal Simulations Inkling, United Kingdom Limitations of Compliance Modelling in ‘Smart Building’ Evolution 1: Bath Spa University, United Kingdom; 2: Atamate, United Kingdom; 3: University of Sussex, United Kingdom A Modelica-based Model for Dynamically Simulating the Energy Performance Degradation of Closed-loop Hydronic Heating Systems 1: Loughborough University, United Kingdom; 2: VEXO International Ltd Dynamic thermal modelling of roof insulation effects in a buried service reservoir: a UK case study Mott MacDonald, United Kingdom |
| 1:00pm - 2:15pm | Lunch: Lunch and Networking Location: EHB Atrium |
| 2:15pm - 3:15pm | 1.10: Session 10: Navigating Retrofit in Complex Public Buildings Location: EHB002 Session Chair: Maria Kolokotroni |
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Inclusive and Low-Carbon Mechanical Retrofit in Healthcare Hoare Lea, United Kingdom Planning whole house energy retrofits in social housing – investigating stakeholder needs to ensure effective and efficient decision making Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, United Kingdom Internal Stakeholder Perspectives on Retrofit in the Museum Sector UCL, United Kingdom |
| 2:15pm - 3:15pm | 1.8: Session 8: Rethinking Certification for Healthier, Higher‑Performing Buildings Location: EHB 110B Session Chair: Ellen Salazar |
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Passivhaus delivery lessons from two UK projects Introba, United Kingdom From Office Block to Award-Winning Residence: St Crispin’s House Champions Student Wellness Introba Consulting, United Kingdom Beyond Certification: Designing for Brain Health and Wellbeing through Certified Environments HKS Inc, United Kingdom |
| 2:15pm - 3:15pm | 1.9: Session 9:Measuring Thermal Behaviour and Envelope Performance Location: EHB001 Session Chair: Jaydeep Bhadra |
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Empirical Methods for Measuring Thermal Responsiveness in Buildings: Impacts of Monitoring Design on Short-Term Flexibility Assessment 1: Loughbough university, United Kingdom; 2: UCL, United kingdom Characterisation of dynamic building physics during overheating tests under controlled conditions 1: University of Salford; 2: Loughborough University MEZeroE Open Innovation Test Bed for building envelope products: fostering the collaboration between industry and research 1: Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy; 2: Tecnalia, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Azpeitia, Spain; 3: ZAG, Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Slovenia; 4: ITeC, Barcelona, Spain; 5: University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; 6: Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark; 7: CUT, Cracow University of Technology, Poland; 8: LEITAT Technological Center, Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain; 9: Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy |
| 3:15pm - 3:35pm | Break 1.2: Refreshments and Networking Location: EHB Atrium |
| 3:35pm - 4:35pm | 1.11: Session 11: Heat Pumps: From Models to Measured Experience Location: EHB 110B Session Chair: Ewan Jones |
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A hybrid approach to predicting indoor temperature of residential heat pumps using system identification and physics-informed neural networks. 1: Birmingham City University, United Kingdom; 2: Birmingham City University's Centre for Future Homes Air source heat pump sizing: a sensitivity analysis The University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom Heat pump noise in schools: influence of heat pump placement on noise exposure University of Salford, United Kingdom |
| 3:35pm - 4:35pm | 1.12: Session 12:Transforming Building Services with AI and Machine Learning Location: EHB001 Session Chair: Divya Chavda |
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A High-fidelity Multi-Building Simulation Platform for Reinforcement Learning-based Coordinated Control Strategies Training and Benchmarking University College London, United Kingdom Integrating Surrogate Modeling and LLMs for Data-Driven Life-Cycle Carbon Assessment in Building Retrofitsarning Approaches School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, UCD Energy Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland An AI-Powered Feedback Ecosystem for Circular and Carbon-Conscious Building Design Cundall, United Kingdom |
| 3:35pm - 4:35pm | 1.13: Session 13: Overheating and Health Risk in a Hotter Climate: Weather Data, Cooling and Resilience Location: EHB002 Session Chair: Jasmine Ng |
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Where air conditioning is essential - Raising a red flag ten times University of Leeds, United Kingdom Assessing overheating risks of UK buildings and severity of health impacts Hoare Lea, United Kingdom |
| 4:40pm - 6:05pm | 1.14: Session 14: Panel Discussion Location: EHB 110B Session Chair: Vanda Dimitriou Session Chair: Bill McQuade Hear from guest speaker Bill McQuade, ASHRAE President, followed by a Panel Discussion chaired by Vanda Dimitriou (Loughborough University) and Bill McQuade (ASHRAE President). Fit for 2050: Are Building Services Engineers Being Replaced, Repositioned - or Reinvented by AI?”
Bringing together leading academics, practitioners, and professional voices, the session will explore how AI is reshaping performance, simulation, wellbeing, and the future role of the engineer - challenging assumptions and inviting the audience into the conversation.
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| 7:00pm - 9:00pm | Recep 1: Evening Reception Location: Burleigh Court |