Dr Maurizio Sibilla

MSc Architecture, PhD in Environmental Design, AFHEA

Senior Lecturer in Architectural Technology

School of the Built Environment

Maurizio Sibilla

Role

I am a Senior Lecturer in Architectural Technology at Oxford Brookes. I lead national and international research focused on the low carbon transition. In detail, I am exploring the socio-technical and design implications related to the process to put Distributed Renewable and Interactive Energy System into practice. 

My work experience over the past years has focused on the construction of a bridge between technology and design culture, reconfirming my interest and enthusiasm for the environmental technologies where I have carried out relevant academic and professional activities. 

Over the last twenty years, I have obtained solid teaching experience both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. In 2020, I achieved the status of Associate Fellow (AFHEA) and the licensure of Associate Professor in Italy.

Areas of expertise

  • Environmental Design
  • Integrated Design and planning
  • Architectural technology 
  • Low energy/carbon design
  • Process innovations
  • Collaborative working
  • Energy use in buildings and cities
  • Distributed generation in cities 
  • Socio-technical Transition

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

  • Contemporary Approaches to Urban Design: Theory and Practice 
  • Urban Design in Challenging Contexts 
  • Introduction to Building Design and Appraisal
  • The Construction and Appraisal of Real Estate 
  • Introduction to Building Construction and Practice
  • Professional Practice 

Supervision

Co-Supervisor PhD thesis:

  • Ali Alsaied - The determinants for prosumers to initiate community energy projects and sustain participation in Europe

Mentor postdoctoral researcher:

  • Mentee assigned: Dr Ann Ndiuini Post Doctoral Research Assistant in Society and Global Challenges

Research

My research interests are focused on deepening our understanding of emerging properties concerning new forms of sustainable energy infrastructure, such as Distributed Renewable and Interactive Energy Systems (herein DRIESs). The hypothesis is that this new form of energy infrastructure co-evolves with the settlements. Thus, it can be adopted to regenerate the environmental, architectural and urban qualities of pieces of the city as a niche of innovation to promote a broader Low Carbon Transition (LCT).

I am interested in exploring theoretical, socio-technical and designing implications of DRIES as a Low Carbon Transition tool. In detail, exploring these issues implies the creation of complex organisational systems and the implementation of several primary strategic measures such as the hierarchical organisation of buildings as active (i.e. the renewable energy production from the building is greater than its consumption), neutral and passive nodes of the energy network.

In this regard, I am also interested in new cross-sectorial alliances (i.e. the so-called Technology Support Net) to establish how to put DRIES into practice at the local level. I am promoting Transformative Pedagogies to prepare a future generation of professionals to act as the main intermediaries of the transition. Here, another peculiarity of my research plan lies, integrating my research and teaching ambitions through the development of a pedagogical approach to developing skills and competence to manage these alliances.

Research grants and awards

  • 2020, InClimate, Erasmus+, European Commission, €282,224.00 (OBU, €55,466.00)
  • 2020, Oxford Brookes’ Research Excellence Awards 2020-21, £18,480.24
  • 2019, Transforming Construction Network Plus, UK Research and Innovation, £76,606.24
  • 2018 Oxford Brookes  Global Challenges Collaborative Research Award (£12,319)
  • Funding for collaboration with Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and The Beijing City Lab (BCL), Tsinghua University- two premier research and teaching institutions in China
  • 2017 Oxford Brookes Collaborative Research & Travel Grant (£3600
  • 2017 H2020 Marie-Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship (€183,454)

Research projects

2020-now: InCLIMATE. Integrating climate resilience in EU higher education

  • Funds: European Commission - ERASMUS+ KA2 – Cooperation and Innovation for Good Practices- Strategic Partnerships. Oxford Brookes University (OBU)
  • Partner: Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis, Greek (Coordinator) | Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy | Universitatea De Architectura Si Urbanism Ion Mincu Din Bucuresti, RomaniaMalta Intelligent Energy Management Agency Miema, Malta |  Universidad Pablo De Olavide Upo, Spain
  • Budget: €55,426 (OBU)

2021-22: Transforming Construction Impact Programme

  • Funds:  Innovate UK. Oxford Brookes University (OBU)
  • Team: Tech Transfer Office representative: Dr Eduard Cole, OBU
  • Business Advisor: Stephen Brown, OBU
  • Researcher: M. Manfren, Southampton University, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science
  • Budget: £3940

2019-21: Integration of BIM and LCA for supporting the implementation of DRIES in Urban Environment

  • Funds: Oxford Brookes’s Research Excellence Award
  • Partner: School of the Built Environment | Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
  • Budget: £18,480

2020-21: Co-creation of distributed renewable and interactive energy systems & citizen-centred low carbon cities

  • Funds: Collaborative grant, TDE Faculty, Oxford Brookes University
  • School of the Built Environment and School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University
  • Budget: £60,000.00

2020-21: Developing a Tool Kit for Knowledge Integration: Envisioning Buildings-as-Energy-Service

  • Funds: UK Research and Innovation - Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund - UCL
  • School of the Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University
  • Partner: Southampton University, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Science |  Active Building Centre | SMARTKLUB – Empowering Communities Ltd; Energy System Catapult Ltd.
  • Budget: £76,606.59

2018-19: Users & Distributed Renewable and Interactive energy systems (DRIEs):a comparative study between the United Kingdom and China

  • Funds: Oxford Brookes Global Challenges Collaborative Research Award
  • School of the Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University
  • Partners: Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), Dr. Marco Cimillo |  The Beijing City Lab (BCL), Tsinghua University, Prof. Ying Long
  • Budget: £13,947.00

2017-19: CmapER: Innovative Learning Platform for Knowledge Integration in Energy Retrofit

  • Funds: H2020-MSCA-IF-2016 
  • Host Institution: School of the Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University
  • Budget: €183,454.00

2016-17: Distributed renewable and interactive energy systems in Urban Environment

  • Funds: Oxford Brookes Collaborative Research & Travel Grant
  • Oxford Brookes University, UK | Sapienza University of Rome
  • Budget: € 4,075.00

Groups

Projects

Projects as Principal Investigator, or Lead Academic if project is led by another Institution

  • Integrating CLIMATe resilience in EU higher Education (01/10/2020 - 31/12/2022), funded by: European Commission, funding amount received by Brookes: £44,373

Publications

slide 1 of 6

Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

  • Member of the Italian Order of Architect (no. Latina 838).
  • Member of the Editorial Board - International Journal of Design Sciences and Technology (Scopus)
  • Member of the International Scientific Committee - International conference -Architecture Across Boundaries,  Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China
  • Member of Marie Curie Alumni Association

Conferences

  • 2020_AGORA CAUMME 2020. Mediterranean: Between Expansion and Regeneration, The German University in Cairo, November 25-29 /(on-line)
  • Transforming The Energy Infrastructure. Assessing a New Set of  Indicators Through The Case Study of School Buildings
  • 2020_Architecture & Urbanism in the Age of Planetary Crisis, London, UK, 23-24 October /(on-line)
  • Using case studies to explore the concept of Building-as-Energy-Services
  • 2020_Tenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment, University of California Berkeley, Clark Kerr Campus, Berkeley, CA, United States, 13-14 May/on-line
  •  Exploring emergent properties of Distributed Renewable and Interactive Energy Systems in Built Environments.
  • 2019_Architecture Across Boundaries,  Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China, 19-21 June
  • Built Environment Education Across Boundaries. The Case of Energy Retrofit As a Tool for Low Carbon Transition
  • 2019_Education, Design and Practice – Understanding skills in a Complex World, Stevens Institute, New York / New Jersey, 17-19 June.
  • An innovative approach to introducing effective interdisciplinary education in Architecture. 
  • 2018_S.Arch- 5th International Conference on Architecture and Built Environment, Venice, 22-24 May
  • Energy retrofit: a review of transdisciplinary approaches.
  • 2018_6th International Conference on Sustainable Development, Rome, 12 - 13 September
  • Knowledge Integration for Low Carbon Transition: The Case of Energy Retrofit
  • 2017_Innovation in Built Environment Education, Birmingham, 7-8 September.
  • A novel application of cognitive maps and meaningful learning activities in designing technological solutions for deep energy retrofit.
  • 2017_5th International Conference on Sustainable Development, Rome, 6-7 September
  • Nature and Identity. Agro Pontino case study
  • 2016_Energy Planning in Mediterranean Cities: research paths and innovation practices, Rome, Italy, 15. June 
  • Advanced training on Energy Efficiency in Historic Heritage
  • 2016_Energy Efficiency in Historic Heritage, Labin, Croatia, 30 June 
  • The cognitive map - effective tool for organization and systematization of knowledge on energy efficiency in historic heritage
  • 2015_Conference_3^ edition of “Inhabiting the Future”- Living together, Naples,1-2 October
  • Local and urban development plans. “Aprilia Innova” case study.
  • 2014_INPUT 2014 - 8th International Conference - Innovation in Urban and Regional Planning, Naples, 4-6 June
  • Virtual power plant. Environmental technology management tools of the settlement processes.

Consultancy

  • Institute for Cultural Heritage Sciences - CNR National Research Council of Italy
  • IN/Arch Istituto Nazionale di Architettura
  • MIEMA – Malta Intelligent Management Agency
  • WWF Ricerche e Progetti

Further details

www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/tde/projects/inclimate

www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/tde/projects/c-maper

www.brookes.ac.uk/research/units/tde/projects/envisioning-bases

Other experience

  • 2003 -now professional architect
  • 2011-2017 Research Fellow, Sapienza University of Rome
  • 2007-2010 PhD student, Sapienza University of Rome
  • 2002-2007 Teaching assistant, Faculty of Architecture, University of ROMA TRE

Referee

  • Energies 
  • Building Research and Information
  • Applied Science 
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • Il progetto Sostenibile

Other publicity

Prize - Architectural Contests

  • 2015, Neighbourhood the City of Science, RomeFinalist Team
  • 2014, Guggenheim Helsinky Honorable mention
  • 2010, Pass Sustainable social housing design, Tiburtino III, Rome 2nd Prize
  • 2010, Extension of the Farnesina Lyceum, Rome Mention
  • 2009, Social Housing, Milan-Figino | 4th prize
  • 2009, Social Housing, Milan-Cenni | Mention
  • 2008, Radicelli Park, Rome 3rd Prize