Building environmental engineering higher education

Abstract

During the last fifteen years undergraduate courses in building environmental engineering have been established at a few universities and polytechnics. New professional disciplines take time to be accepted by industry, to be recognised by the public, and to receive academic status within the education establishments themselves, but against this difficult background graduates have emerged who are making a valuable contribution towards progressing building design. The engineer's aesthetic involves working with the architect to evolve a built form compatible with the climate and the human requirements at an economic total cost. Education and training are necessary investments to ensure this can happen in the future but this needs whole-hearted participation by practitioners, professional bodies as well as educationalists.