DecarboN8 role: Theme Lead – Digitisation, Demand and Infrastructure
Job title: Senior Lecturer in Architectural Engineering
Organisation: University of Sheffield
Profiles: Google Scholar | LinkedIn | Orcid
Danielle is passionate about reducing the impact of the built environment on the planet, particularly focusing on how our use of materials can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thus minimise climate change. Her research looks into both the materials used in creating structures, and the design of structures. She takes a multi-disciplinary, multi-scale approach to tackle this problem, working with colleagues from the Departments of Materials Science, Geography, Architecture, Urban Planning, Computer Science, and Automatic Control and Systems Engineering on a diverse range of projects, from investigating public perception of low-carbon materials, to understanding resource in informal settlements, through to her work as a Director of the Urban Flows Observatory.
The Urban Flows Observatory seeks to understand the flow of energy and resources in cities, with Danielle leading the work on resource flows, and in particular trying to answer the question, ‘what is Sheffield made of?’. Understanding existing built environment stocks enables strategic retrofit, material salvage and reuse when demolition occurs, reducing the demand for new materials. This work will develop an approach to measure the circular economic potential of a city’s built environment.
Danielle’s previous roles have included leading the work on material efficiency in construction in the UK INDEMAND Centre at the University of Cambridge; where she worked with industry to understand the practical challenges and opportunities of reducing material demand in the built environment. She has also worked on the multi-disciplinary BIG Energy Upgrade Project at the University of Sheffield, exploring the environmental impacts of external wall insulation and advising partner local authorities on best practice retrofit. Her PhD was in design for deconstruction and material reuse and her undergraduate degree in Structural Engineering and Architecture. Throughout her research she aims to work with industry partners in order to put research into practice, and deliver a real change in the built environment.
This Future of Structures podcast includes more details about Dani’s research interests, including discussions about circular economy principles and reducing the carbon impact of construction practices.