Skip navigation

Dr Zaid Alwan

Associate Professor

Department: Architecture and Built Environment

Dr Zaid Alwan, a Senior Lecturer  who has the academic and commercial expertise   in Low Carbon Design Sustainable construction. He is a ember of academic staff in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, UK.  

Prior to his academic career, Dr Alwan worked in the commercial sector as a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Low Carbon Assessor for both domestic and commercial buildings, working within multidisciplinary teams to optimise and deliver low carbon buildings. This cemented his belief that the vital issue of embodied energy was not fully recognised in low carbon building design and the future proofing of buildings. In 2016, based upon six journal papers and five conference papers as primary author, he completed a part-time doctorate by publication entitled ‘Building Performance Evaluation and BIM’.  In doing so, he relied upon detailed knowledge in whole energy systems and integration into BIM platforms, and developed a keen interest in steering a subject of worldwide importance from a largely professional domain towards greater recognition as an area meriting academic exploration.

 

Dr Alwan is currently supervising two doctoral students – one as main supervisor - and has acted as an external PhD examiner at different . He is an active member of BIM Academy, an industry-academia collaboration which enables technology development in the construction sector. His role in the Academy has been as a specialist in low energy developments, BIM and Building Performance, and he has been involved in organising workshops and mentoring for various industry partners, and taking Part in CPD development for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. He is also an active member of the BIM Academic Forum, (http://www.bimtaskgroup.org/bim-academic-forum-uk/) a UK-wide university network that aims to  bring BIM approaches to higher education curricula.

Dr Alwan has rapidly developed a strong academic expert profile, and has acted as an academic reviewer for various high impact journals and conferences, covering academic papers, reviews and invited speeches, and chairing sessions at international conferences. More recently, he has been invited to join the scientific committee of the International SEEDS (Sustainable, Ecological, Engineering and Design for Society) conference, hosted by Leeds Beckett University.

Zaid Alwan

  • Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
  • Passivhaus Post Occupancy Evaluation and Proposed BIM-Based Intelligent Model, Novogrodskis, A., Alwan, Z., Jones, B. 17 Jul 2024, Proceedings of the 2024 European Conference on Computing in Construction, European Council on Computing in Construction (EC3)
  • The Integration of Early Stage Life Cycle Analysis into Architectural Practice Through An IT Supported Process, Sinclair, C., Alwan, Z. 17 Jul 2024, Proceedings of the 2024 European Conference on Computing in Construction, European Council on Computing in Construction (EC3)
  • Automation of Embodied carbon calculation in digital built Environment- Tool utilizing UK LCI database, Mohamed, R., Alwan, Z., Salem, M., McIntyre, L. 1 Nov 2023, In: Energy and Buildings
  • Green building system integration into project delivery utilising BIM, Marzouk, M., Ayman, R., Alwan, Z., Elshaboury, N. 1 May 2022, In: Environment, Development and Sustainability
  • IFC-based embodied carbon benchmarking for early design analysis, Alwan, Z., Ilhan Jones, B. 1 Oct 2022, In: Automation in Construction
  • Embodied Carbon as a Material Selection Criterion: Insights from Sri Lankan Construction Sector, Nawarathna, A., Siriwardana, M., Alwan, Z. 18 Feb 2021, In: Sustainability
  • Embodied carbon in commercial office buildings: Lessons learned from Sri Lanka, Nawarathna, A., Alwan, Z., Gledson, B., Fernando, N. 1 Oct 2021, In: Journal of Building Engineering
  • Framework for parametric assessment of operational and embodied energy impacts utilising BIM, Alwan, Z., Nawarathna, A., Ayman, R., Zhu, M., Elghazi, Y. 1 Oct 2021, In: Journal of Building Engineering
  • A conceptual methodology for estimating embodied carbon emissions of buildings in Sri Lanka, Ranathungage, A., Alwan, Z., Gledson, B., Fernando, N. 2020, Sustainability in energy and buildings, Singapore, Springer
  • BIM for sustainable project delivery: review paper and future development areas., Mohamed, R., Alwan, Z., McIntyre, L. 2 Jan 2020, In: Architectural Science Review

  • Rana Mohamed Enhancing the integration of sustainability assessment within dynamic BIM enabled design projects Start Date: 01/10/2017 End Date: 25/06/2022
  • Amalka Ranathungage ESTIMATING EMBODIED CARBON IN SRI LANKAN BUILDINGS: AN EARLY DESIGN STAGE PREDICTION MODEL Start Date: 25/03/2018 End Date: 02/03/2022

  • Engineering BSc (Hons) June 30 1996
  • MSc Clean Technology Engineering 1997
  • Fellow (FHEA) Higher Education Academy (HEA) 2001


a sign in front of a crowd
+

Northumbria Open Days

Open Days are a great way for you to get a feel of the University, the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the course(s) you are interested in.

Research at Northumbria
+

Research at Northumbria

Research is the life blood of a University and at Northumbria University we pride ourselves on research that makes a difference; research that has application and affects people's lives.

NU World
+

Explore NU World

Find out what life here is all about. From studying to socialising, term time to downtime, we’ve got it covered.


Latest News and Features

Volunteering builds inroads and supports communities. In this photo, UN Volunteers interview community members to assess basic health services in the rural areas of Rwanda. Copyright UNV, 2023
HICSA partners at the site
Jupiter with a spot visible at the south pole
Image of mother and baby
Imogen Russell sitting on a sofa
Dr Rosie Morris, Director of Northumbria University’s Physiotherapy Innovation Laboratory.
More news
More events

Upcoming events

SAFECONOMY- H2Economy: Hydrogen Economy
-
Living a Reproductive Life in the Workplace
Commercialising Social Sciences for Impact

Back to top