September 2011 For immediate release Graduate is constructing a carbon-free career

A Leeds Metropolitan University construction graduate has been praised by a prestigious body of building industry professionals for his research and innovation in eliminating carbon emissions in refurbished homes. David Farmer, originally from Harrogate, has been highly commended for his research 'Homes fit for Carbon Zeros: Refurbishing Interwar Council Housing' in the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)s undergraduate dissertation award as part of its Research and Innovation Awards 2011. David produced the study as part of his degree in Construction Management. David will collect his award at the CIOB Research and Innovation Awards ceremony in Watford on Tuesday 4 October. Davids dissertation revealed how low carbon housing stock could help alleviate the problems of climate change, fuel poverty, and the UKs overdependence on fossil fuels. The dissertation used a 1920s council house as a case study to investigate the options available for refurbishing homes to a zero carbon emission standard. This involved undertaking a house survey, appraising the suitability of currently available low carbon technologies and energy modelling. housing. David commented: It is a highly satisfying feeling having won this award in the face of such stiff competition and great recognition for the lost month of This work resulted in guidance and performance standards being proposed for the zero carbon refurbishment of interwar

my life spent at the computer. I am immensely grateful for the invaluable support and encouragement I received from the university while undertaking my dissertation. Dissertation supervisor and Senior Lecturer, John Bradley, added: We are very proud of Davids achievement and the recognition by the prestigious Chartered Institute of Building of the outstanding quality of Davids research. The refurbishment of our housing in this country is one of the biggest challenges that we face in tackling climate change. Little research has so far been carried out in this area and Davids work is a significant contribution. David has now joined the Leeds Metropolitan research group in the Centre for the Built Environment, working to expand its innovative work in the area of low carbon housing. For more than a decade the Chartered Institute of Building has been promoting the importance of new ideas and technology through its International Innovation and Research Awards. There are no other awards in the built environment that acknowledge innovation and research on an international scale and are inclusive of the whole construction process, from design to delivery.

Ends For further details please contact Carrie Braithwaite in the News and Media team at Leeds Met on 0113 812 3022 or email c.braithwaite@leedsmet.ac.uk Notes for editors: Leeds Metropolitan University has 30,000 students and 3, 000 staff. The University has achieved its best ever Research Assessment Exercise results. Sports-Related Studies is in the top 6 institutions in the country with research rated at the highest levels of 4* and 3*.

Leeds Met has been rated the top university in the UK for its language support, accommodation quality and learning spaces in the 2010 Autumn Wave of the International Student Barometer and sixth in the world for the quality of its lectures.

The

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Broadcasting Place, voted the best tall building in the world in 2010 by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and also winner of the 2010 Leeds Architecture Awards New Building category, the iconic Rose Bowl building, awarded Best Commercial Property Development in the 2009 Yorkshire Property Awards and the pioneering Carnegie Village student accommodation. Leeds Metropolitan is one of only a handful of UK universities to have been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.