Bio
My passion is for architecture teaching, practice and research that makes a difference and responds to current societal and environmental challenges. Originally born in Belgium, I am a UK chartered architect (ARB/RIBA) with over 15 years of experience in designing, building and teaching sustainable architecture. My specialty is low energy, affordable housing design and housing retrofit. I am particularly interested in how buildings and spaces work in reality, and how architecture exists and changes over seasons and time. This includes how building use and users change and adapt buildings (i.e. actual performance and user satisfaction (POE/BPE)), and how architecture shapes uses and users. I am also interested in pedagogical methods for embedding time, user and performance aspects, and in holistic sustainability approaches. 
In my work I attempt to bridge the information gap between research and architectural practice. As such, I single authored ‘The Environmental Design Pocketbook, a comprehensive publication which distils environmental science, legislation and guidance into one easy to use single source, now in its 2nd edition (edition 3 due in 2021). This publication received commendation by the RIBA President's Medals for ‘Outstanding Practice-located Research' (2012) and was ‘Highly Commended’ for the UKGBC/PRP ‘Rising Star award’ 2013. For selected endorsements see here. Together with Judit Kimpian and Hattie Hartman, I am co-author of 'Energy, People, Buildings: Architecture for a Changing World', due by RIBA Publishing in 2020, and with Elizabeth Donovan and Ula Kozminska at the Aarhus School of Architecture and Aidan Hoggard at the Sheffield School of Architecture we have been commissioned by the RIBA to write a 'climate emergency' architecture student curriculum' due in 2021 - we know it cannot come soon enough. Finally, with Nick Newman from Studio Bark I am also working as volume co-editor on a new RIBA journal and sustainable architecture, also due in 2021 - so watch this space!

In addition to my architecture degree, I hold 2 specialist masters degrees: an MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies (UEL, 2000), and a Masters in Research (MRes) in Building Energy Demand from UCL (2012). After teaching sustainable architecture at the University of East London (2001-2011), I completed my PhD at the Bartlett, UCL's Faculty of the Built Environment on the retrofit of the UK's existing pre-1919 housing stock, in particular investigating ground floor heat loss (2012-2016). I used in-situ U-value measuring techniques and undertook pilot studies to validate the effect of insulation interventions on floor heat loss. In October 2015, I took up a part-time Environmental Design lectureship at Sheffield University School of Architecture where I also co-led the MSc in Sustainable Architecture Studies and undertook UK industry and government funded research. I was also part-time Head of Research at ECD Architects (London + Glasgow) where I supported architects with evidence-based design. Following the UK Brexit referendum, I joined the Aarhus School of Architecture (Denmark) as Assistant Professor in Sustainable Architecture where I co-founded a collaborative and transnational research group 'Nordic Sustainable Architecture' with Elizabeth Donovan and Urszula Kozminska. I am now Assistant Professor (tenure track) Sustainable Architecture & Housing Design at the Tampere University School of Architecture  (Finland) and Chair of the ASUTUT - Sustainable Housing Design research group and together with colleagues I direct the teaching curriculum in this area. 

In early 2020 I was commissioned with other colleagues to write on climate emergency and architecture - see here.

I am an Associate Editor of Buildings and Cities - an Independent, not-for-profit OA peer-review transdisciplinary journal.

You can find out more about my work on the links below: 
Research Projects
Publications
Other activities
Recognition
Social Media Links