ON THE RADAR
Contact | Oct 13
INNOVATION AND RESEARCH PANEL WORKSHOP REPORT
Role of research goes under the microscope
SITE VISIT
BIRMINGHAM LIBRARY OPENS TO PUBLIC
The £189m Library of Birmingham, which houses a collection of a million books, has offi cially opened. CIOB members in the west midlands have watched its progress closely having paid four visits to the site during its construction.
Dr Rennie Chadwick speaking at the event
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The library, built by Carillion, is Birmingham City Council’s fl agship project for the redevelopment of the city. It has been described as the largest public library in the UK, the largest public cultural space in Europe and the largest regional library in Europe.
The government’s chief construction adviser, Peter Hansford, has called for the
removal of barriers to increased research to enable innovation. But could too much collaboration impede research?
This was the topic for debate at a recent CIOB Innovation and Research (I&R) Panel workshop. The session, chaired by Professor Stuart Green, brought together infl uential academics and industrialists to share their thoughts.
Calls for quick solutions to long-standing problems did not sit easily with a vocal minority of researchers, argued Professor André Dorée of the University of Twente in the Netherlands. However, he pointed to cases where the implementation of new processes, supported by research, resulted in industry success. But he warned that if researchers became too self-focused industry would inevitably lose interest. All of the speakers placed good relationships and
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shared understanding at the heart of successful R&D. Professor Naomi Brookes, of the University of Leeds, considered it inconceivable that construction researchers could undertake research in isolation from the practice they were seeking to advance. Prof
Brookes argued strongly that those who insisted on only offering critiques of industry practice only marginalised themselves.
Dr Rennie Chadwick of Osborne stressed that research is a risky business but that structured research reduced industry risks. He further contended that transformational outputs were often achieved through multiple marginal gains cumulating into positive change. David Haimes gave the audience a reality check.
Talking to colleagues within Manchester Airport Group (MAG), he noted scepticism from some regarding the ability of academic researchers to deliver real world results. For MAG there needed to be a sound business case to engage in research. Haimes stressed that annual budgets were not set aside for research. In the panel discussion the battle lines were further
drawn. University of Reading’s Dr Chris Harty highlighted the danger of dichotomising industry and academia in too harsh a manner and Chris Woods, until recently of Wates Construction, argued that research must produce real world outputs. This conclusion received general consensus, although it was emphasised that industry must take responsibility for its own capacity for innovation. It was agreed that improved dialogue between industry and academia could only be positive.
It has more than 200 public access computers, theatres, an exhibition gallery and music rooms.
The library utilises an “aquifer ground source system” as a source of energy. Cold groundwater will be pumped up from within the earth and used in the air conditioning system. The water will then fl ow back into the ground via another drilled well. The use of groundwater as a source of renewable energy will lower the library’s carbon emissions.
CIOB News
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