Professor Chris Tweed

Chair in Sustainable Design

: tweedac@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2087 6207
: Bute Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB

: Media commentator
: Available for postgraduate supervision

I studied architecture at the Welsh School of Architecture before specialising in research on energy in buildings. I later developed my expertise in the area of information and communications technology applied to a range of topics and problems in the built environment, including knowledge

Currently my research focuses on how people experience and use the built environment, which embraces topics around thermal comfort, aesthetics and usability and includes heating and cooling technologies, so-called smart buildings and retrofit.

I studied at the Welsh School of Architecture and conducted research for a doctorate on energy modelling in buildings.

I have 30+ years’ experience researching and teaching architecture, information technologies, energy conservation and sustainable design of the built environment. I was appointed Chair in Sustainable Design and Director of the BRE Trust Centre for Sustainable Design of the Built Environment (SuDoBE) in 2007 and have a track record of attracting research funding from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and from the European Commission.

Before returning to Cardiff I was Head of the School of Architecture at Queen’s University of Belfast from 2002-2005, a Visiting Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh in 2000, and Director of the EdCAAD (Edinburgh Computer Aided Architectural Design) at the University of Edinburgh.

I have published extensively in peer-reviewed, international journals and conferences on sustainability, energy conservation, CAD and information systems. I was a member of the sub-panel for Architecture and the Built Environment in the UK’s Research Assessment Exercise 2008, and am currently a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and reviewer for the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR).

I was appointed Head of the Welsh School of Architecture in January 2014.

Honours and awards

Member of the Research Assessment Exercise sub-panel on Architecture and the Built Environment 2008.
Member of the Research Excellence Framework 2021 sub-panel for Architecture, Planning and the Built Environment.
External assessor for Universiti Putra Malaysia.
BRE Research Fellow.

Professional memberships

Fellow, Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

2024

Hou, G., Tweed, C. and Wei, S. 2024. An investigation of occupants’ thermal requirements in indoor transitional space in entertainment buildings. Buildings 14(7), article number: 1896. (10.3390/buildings14071896)

2022

Gupta, B., Lannon, S., Robinson, E. and Tweed, C. 2022. Perspectives of Welsh social landlords on smart meter data research for assessing benefits of energy efficient housing improvements. Presented at: Housing Studies Association Annual Conference 2022, Sheffield, UK, 4-6 April 2022.

2021

Guerra Santin, O., Grave, A., Jiang, S., Tweed, C. and Mohammadi, M. 2021. Monitoring the performance of a Passivhaus care home: lessons for user-centric design. Journal of Building Engineering 43, article number: 102565. (10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102565)
Sibley, M., Pezzica, C. and Tweed, A. 2021. Eco-hammam: the complexity of accelerating the ecological transition of a key social heritage sector in Morocco. Sustainability 13(17), article number: 9935. (10.3390/su13179935)
Marchesi, M. and Tweed, C. 2021. Social innovation for a circular economy in social housing. Sustainable Cities and Society 71, article number: 102925. (10.1016/j.scs.2021.102925)

2020

Patel, H., Tweed, A., Perisoglou, E., Lannon, S. and Abbott, J. 2020. Building performance digest [May 2020]. Cardiff University.
Perisoglou, E., Patel, H., Tweed, A. and Abbott, J. 2020. Building performance digest [April 2020]. Cardiff University.
Tweed, C., Patel, H. and Abbott, J. 2020. Building performance digest [February 2020]. Cardiff: Cardiff University.

2019

Marchesi, M., Tweed, C. and Gerber, D. 2019. Circular design for affordable, human-centred and zero-waste urban housing. Presented at: 19th European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP 2019), Barcelona, Spain, 15-18 October 2019 Presented at Segalas, J. and Lazzarini, B. eds.Proceedings of the 19th European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production Circular Europe for Sustainability: Design, Production and Consumption. Book of abstracts. ERSCP 2019, Barcelona pp. 204.

2018

Poortinga, W., Jiang, S., Grey, C. and Tweed, C. 2018. Impacts of energy-efficiency investments on internal conditions in low-income households. Building Research and Information 46(6), pp. 653-667. (10.1080/09613218.2017.1314641)
Tweed, C. and Zapata-Lancaster, G. 2018. Interdisciplinary perspectives on building thermal performance. Building Research and Information 46(5), pp. 552-565. (10.1080/09613218.2018.1379815)
Poortinga, W. et al. 2018. The health impacts of energy performance investments in low-income areas: a mixed-methods approach. Public Health Research 6(5), pp. 1-182. (10.3310/phr06050)

2017

Zapata-Lancaster, M. and Tweed, A. 2017. Users in context: actions and practices in four BREEAM certified buildings. Presented at: Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), Edinburgh, UK, 3-5 Jul 2017PLEA 2017 Proceedings. NCEUB
Zapata-Lancaster, M. G. and Tweed, A. C. 2017. Users in context: actions and practices in low energy buildings. Presented at: Passive and Low Energy Architecture PLEA Conference 2017, Edinburgh, UK, 2-5 July 2017.
Vargas, G., Tweed, C. and Zapata-Lancaster, M. 2017. Connecting householders with their homes using low-cost technological interventions. Presented at: Passive Low Energy Architecture (PLEA) 2017, Edinburgh, UK, 3-5 July 2017 Presented at Brotas, L., Roaf, S. and Nicol, F. eds.Design to thrive: Proceedings, Vol. II. Edinburgh: NCEUB pp. 2983-2990.

2016

Zapata-Lancaster, G. and Tweed, C. 2016. Tools for low-energy building design: an exploratory study of the design process in action. Architectural Engineering and Design Management 12(4), pp. 279-295. (10.1080/17452007.2016.1178627)
Tweed, A. C. and Zapata-Lancaster, M. G. 2016. Smart people in stupid homes: the skill in creating preferred thermal environments. Presented at: DEMAND 2016, Lancaster, UK, 13-15 April 2016.

2015

Tweed, C., Humes, N. and Zapata-Lancaster, G. 2015. The changing landscape of thermal experience and warmth in older people's dwellings. Energy Policy 84, pp. 223-232. (10.1016/j.enpol.2015.03.011)
Guerra Santin, O. and Tweed, A. C. 2015. In-use monitoring of buildings: an overview and classification of evaluation methods. Energy and Buildings 86, pp. 176-189. (10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.10.005)

2014

Zapata-Lancaster, M. G. and Tweed, A. C. 2014. Designers' enactment of the policy intentions. An ethnographic study of the adoption of energy regulations in England and Wales. Energy Policy 72, pp. 129-139. (10.1016/j.enpol.2014.04.033)
Zapata Poveda, M. G. and Tweed, A. C. 2014. Official and informal tools to embed performance in the design of low carbon buildings. An ethnographic study in England and Wales. Automation in Construction 37, pp. 38-47. (10.1016/j.autcon.2013.10.001)
Guerra Santin, O., Tweed, A. C. and Zapata Poveda, M. G. 2014. Learning from design reviews in low energy buildings. Structural Survey 32(3), pp. 246-264. (10.1108/SS-08-2013-0030)
Tweed, A. C., Dixon, D., Hinton, E. and Bickerstaff, K. 2014. Thermal comfort practices in the home and their impact on energy consumption. Architectural Engineering and Design Management 10(1-2), pp. 1-24. (10.1080/17452007.2013.837243)

2013

Guerra Santin, O., Tweed, A. C., Jenkins, H. G. and Jiang, S. 2013. Monitoring the performance of low energy dwellings: Two UK case studies. Energy and Buildings 64, pp. 32-40. (10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.04.002)
Guerra Santin, O. and Tweed, A. C. 2013. Summer post-occupancy evaluation of a Passivhaus care home in the UK. Presented at: PLEA 2013 Sustainable Architecture for a Renewable Future, Munich, Germany, 10-13 September 2013PLEA 2013 Munich: Sustainable Architecture for a Renewable Future.
Tweed, A. C. 2013. Socio-technical issues in dwelling retrofit. Building Research & Information 41(5), pp. 551-562. (10.1080/09613218.2013.815047)

2011

Awawdehl, S. A. and Tweed, A. C. 2011. Buildings’ energy efficiency and building energy codes: a literature review. Presented at: Jordan International Energy Conference (JIEC 2011), Amman, Jordan, 20th to 22nd September 2011.
Tweed, A. C. 2011. The development of thesauri by English Heritage. In: Falquet, G. et al. eds. Ontologies in Urban Development Projects. Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing Vol. 1. London: Springer, pp. 197-202., (10.1007/978-0-85729-724-2_15)
Falquet, G. et al. eds. 2011. Ontologies in urban development projects. Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing Vol. 1. London: Springer. (10.1007/978-0-85729-724-2)
Tweed, A. C. 2011. Developing and using ontologies in practice. In: Falquet, G. et al. eds. Ontologies in Urban Development Projects. Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing Vol. 1. London: Springer, pp. 169-172., (10.1007/978-0-85729-724-2_11)
Zapata Poveda, M. G. and Tweed, A. C. 2011. From low carbon policy intent to design practice. Presented at: PLEA 2011: 27th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 13-15 July 2011 Presented at Bodart, M. and Evrard, A. eds.Plea 2011 - Architecture & Sustainable Development (vol 2): 27th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Louvain-la-Neuve: Presses universitaires de Louvain pp. 71-76.
Tweed, A. C. 2011. Some observations on the case studies: lessons learned and future challenges. In: Falquet, G. et al. eds. Ontologies in Urban Development Projects. Advanced information and knowledge processing Vol. 1. London: Springer, pp. 229-235., (10.1007/978-0-85729-724-2_19)

2010

Tweed, A. C. 2010. Exploring the affordances of telecare-related technologies in the home. In: Schillmeier, M. W. J. and Domenech, M. eds. New Technologies and Emerging Spaces of Care. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 57-76.

2009

Tweed, A. C. 2009. Exploring the home/alien structure of Husserl’s generative phenomenology in architecture and sustainable design. Presented at: Architecture and Phenomenology. 2nd International Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 26-29 June 2009.
Mai, W., Tweed, A. C., Hung, P., McLoone, S. and Farrell, R. 2009. A practical perspective on building identification from low-resolution mobile images. In: Ibrahim, I. K. ed. Handbook of Research on Mobile Multimedia. 2nd ed.. London: Information Science Reference, pp. 329-346.
Jones, P. J., Pinho, P., Patterson, J. L. and Tweed, A. C. 2009. L-CUBE European carbon atlas. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: ESF and Welsh School of Architecture. Available at: http://www.lcube.eu.com/Euro_Carbon_Atlas/C23%20European%20Carbon%20Atlas.pdf
Jones, P. J. et al. eds. 2009. European carbon atlas. Cardiff: Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University.
Tweed, A. C. 2009. Occupant interactions with low energy architecture: exploring usability issues. Made

2008

Tweed, A. C. and Mcleod, R. 2008. Meeting the 2011 zero carbon buildings target for Wales using the Passivhaus standard. Presented at: PLEA 2008 - Passive and Low Energy Architecture. 25th International Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 22-24 October 2008.

2007

Tweed, A. C. and Sutherland, M. 2007. Built Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development. Landscape and Urban Planning 83(1), pp. 39-49. (10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.05.008)

2004

Tweed, A. C., Dodds, G. and Mai, W. 2004. A PDA-based system for recognising buildings from user-supplied images. Mobile and Ubiquitous Information Access 2954, pp. 143 - 157. (10.1007/b95483)

2001

Tweed, A. C. 2001. The Social Context of CAAD in Practice. Automation in Construction 10(5), pp. 617 - 629. (10.1016/S0926-5805(00)00064-9)
Tweed, A. C. 2001. Highlighting the affordances of designs. Presented at: Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2001, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 8–11 July 2001 Presented at Vries, B. d., Leeuwen, J. v. and Achten, H. eds.Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2001. Kluwer Academic Publishers pp. 681 - 696., (10.1007/978-94-010-0868-6_51)

2000

Tweed, A. C. 2000. A phenomenological framework for describing architectural experience. Presented at: Phenomenology and Culture conference,, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, July 2000.

I lead the People and Buildings module on the MSc Advanced Building Performance Evaluation. I provide lectures on Human-Centred Design and Experiencing Architecture on modules in the BSc programme.

I have taught topics across the architectural education spectrum ranging from thermal aspects of building technology and acoustics through to philosophy in design and environmental psychology.

My current teaching relates closely to research interests described above and focuses on how developing a better understanding of human factors can inform architectural and urban design to produce a better built environment, aligned more closely to people’s needs and wants.

My main interests lie at the interface between people and the built environment and its technologies.

Within this broad area, a recurring theme in my studies is the tensions between formal and official policies, procedures and structures, and the informal, ad hoc responses of those on the receiving end of policy, guidance/advice and designs.

This work is being advanced through funded research, such as the recent EPSRC projects, Carbon, Control and Comfort: User-centred control systems for comfort, carbon saving and energy management and Conditioning Demand: Older People, Diversity and Thermal Experience.

It is also evident in the research carried out by the PhD students I supervise, who are conducting research on such topics as the informal responses to low carbon design advice and legislation in architectural practice, insulation installer practices on site, ad hoc low impact housing development in Wales, how people use transition spaces in public buildings, and community based apple harvesting in urban areas.

A second key interest is how people experience the built environment with a particular emphasis on thermal comfort and experience. This currently manifests itself in an overarching interest in designing for usability and delight.

This is summarised in mytalk at TEDxCardiff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exBl7wJfDhg

Research projects

Main expertise

Human interaction with designed environments and technologies
Human-centred low carbon design
Socio-technical studies of architecture and the built environment.

Supervision experience

I have supervised eight students to completion at the Welsh School of Architecture, and am currently supervising four PhDs.