Mark Gaterell is Professor of Sustainable Construction and Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Technology at Portsmouth University. He has been involved with different aspects of the field of sustainable built environments for over twenty five years, working for companies such as Thames Water, Scott Wilson and the Building Research Establishment as well as receiving research degrees from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College.
Mark’s work is characterised by multidisciplinary approaches, working together with ecologists, social scientists, urban designers, architects, economists and engineers. His most recent research has focused on the potential of overheating risk, particularly in dwellings, and how the further development of adaptive comfort approaches can help us understand more fully the likely implications of such risk. Part of this is to evaluate how different perceptions of comfort can affect the perceived performance of the built environment and establish how such an understanding can be used to refine design guidelines.
The development of sector-wide approaches that improve building performance are crucial if we are to deliver a cost-effective, sustainable and resilient built environment. The BPN has the potential to effect real change in this field and, through its membership, the University of Portsmouth hopes to contribute effectively to this debate.