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Prof Robert Hairstans' Outputs (46)

Timber MMC Retrofit Case Study Analysis of Embodied Carbon Impact (2025)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Jiar, S., Hairstans, R., Livingstone, A., Saint, R., & Stinson, J. (2025, July). Timber MMC Retrofit Case Study Analysis of Embodied Carbon Impact. Paper presented at International Retrofit Conference 2025, University of Salford Energy House Labs

The demand for energy efficient retrofitting in residential buildings is rising, particularly in the UK, which has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe. Existing retrofit strategies primarily focus on operational energy savings while overlookin... Read More about Timber MMC Retrofit Case Study Analysis of Embodied Carbon Impact.

Sunamp Heat Battery as a Pre-heating Solution for Domestic Hot Water Heating: A Case Study Evaluation (2025)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Dobas, C., Ernest, G., Hairstans, R., Irfan Abbas Gani, M., Livingstone, A., Stinson, J., & Keyworth, A. (2025, July). Sunamp Heat Battery as a Pre-heating Solution for Domestic Hot Water Heating: A Case Study Evaluation. Paper presented at International Retrofit Conference 2025, University of Salford Energy House Labs

To meet the UK Government’s net-zero target by 2050 requires a radical rethink around how existing households optimise and manage energy. Therefore, to accelerate the path to net-zero ‘Clean Heat’ homes, the research focuses on transitioning from car... Read More about Sunamp Heat Battery as a Pre-heating Solution for Domestic Hot Water Heating: A Case Study Evaluation.

Local resources inform design mid-point results from the Building from England's Woodlands project (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Tamagnone, G., Charleson, F., Cramer, M., Seminara, P., Plowas, W., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Hairstans, R. (2024, August). Local resources inform design mid-point results from the Building from England's Woodlands project. Presented at International SEEDS Conference 2024, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Considering the energy consumption and carbon equivalent emission of the construction industry, a massive shift towards more sustainable and less carbon intensive materials and building techniques is desirable. In this regard, wood and timber product... Read More about Local resources inform design mid-point results from the Building from England's Woodlands project.

Establishing A Timber-Focused Competency Framework To Up- And Re-Skill Built Environment Professionals To Meet Sustainability Goals Sustainability Goals (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Hitt, S. J., Hairstans, R., & Connell-Skinner, K. (2023, September). Establishing A Timber-Focused Competency Framework To Up- And Re-Skill Built Environment Professionals To Meet Sustainability Goals Sustainability Goals. Presented at 51st Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) 2023, Dublin, Ireland

Engineers equipped with skills for a sustainable built environment have never been more critical, as government and industry sustainability goals such as the 2050 net zero target have significant implications for the construction sector. Concurrently... Read More about Establishing A Timber-Focused Competency Framework To Up- And Re-Skill Built Environment Professionals To Meet Sustainability Goals Sustainability Goals.

Theorising a new educational agenda for sustainable built environment professionals: timber technology, engineering, and design (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Al-Attili, A., Hairstans, R., Belden, T., Tamagnone, G., Hitt, S., Binding, T., & Walters, J. (2023, June). Theorising a new educational agenda for sustainable built environment professionals: timber technology, engineering, and design. Presented at World Conference on Timber Engineering 2023, Oslo, Norway

The paper reports on the most recent activities undertaken on the local and national levels to create a competency framework for timber engineering in an effort to change the traditional construction methods into more sustainable and environment frie... Read More about Theorising a new educational agenda for sustainable built environment professionals: timber technology, engineering, and design.

The New Centre for Advanced Timber Technology: A Living Lab for Designers, Industry and Education (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Tamagnone, G., & Hairstans, R. (2023, June). The New Centre for Advanced Timber Technology: A Living Lab for Designers, Industry and Education. Presented at World Conference on Timber Engineering 2023, Oslo, Norway

To meet the net zero requirements, UK industry will need to change how it operates, relying on more sustainable resources and practices. Within this scheme, the construction industry must move, when possible, from carbon-intensive material to more en... Read More about The New Centre for Advanced Timber Technology: A Living Lab for Designers, Industry and Education.

Developing Strategic Partnerships through a Sustainability Enrichment Week (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Hitt, S. J., Hairstans, R., Leitch, K., & Connell-Skinner, K. (2022, September). Developing Strategic Partnerships through a Sustainability Enrichment Week. Presented at SEFI Annual Conference, Barcelona

This paper describes the development of a mini-module focused on sustainability and timber engineering as a component of a strategic partnership designed to broaden Transnational Education, increase staff/student mobility, and further develop industr... Read More about Developing Strategic Partnerships through a Sustainability Enrichment Week.

Decision Support Tool for Enhancing the Economic Impact of Construction using Offsite Systems (2019)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Duncheva, T., & Hairstans, R. (2019, May). Decision Support Tool for Enhancing the Economic Impact of Construction using Offsite Systems. Presented at Modular and Offsite Construction Summit, Banff, Canada

The construction industry is facing productivity stagnation across the globe, and several hypotheses to explain this phenomenon exist, most often associated with low use of digitisation, skills shortages and unpredictable market trends. Yet the econo... Read More about Decision Support Tool for Enhancing the Economic Impact of Construction using Offsite Systems.

Bim-enabled health & safety analysis of cross laminated timber onsite assembly process. (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Duncheva, T., BuHamdan, S., Hairstans, R., & Al-Hussein, M. (2018, September). Bim-enabled health & safety analysis of cross laminated timber onsite assembly process. Presented at Modelling and Applied Simulation, Budapest, Hungary

There is a global need for sustainable urban housing and offsite timber systems such as Cross Laminated Timber construction can be part of the solution to this need. However, the health and safety (H&S) impacts of CLT installation technologies have n... Read More about Bim-enabled health & safety analysis of cross laminated timber onsite assembly process..

Sustainable Communities Premanufactured from Wood (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Duncheva, M., Calcagno, C., & Hairstans, R. (2018, June). Sustainable Communities Premanufactured from Wood. Poster presented at Timber 2018

The UK produces high quantities of softwood timber through forestry plantations concentrated in Scotland, however this resource is currently under-used and its full potential for application in construction is still to be realized. However, the focus... Read More about Sustainable Communities Premanufactured from Wood.

Mass Customisable Roofing Solutions for the New Build and Retrofit Markets in the UK (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Plowas, W., Hairstans, R., & Felingham, J. (2018, March). Mass Customisable Roofing Solutions for the New Build and Retrofit Markets in the UK. Presented at Modular and Offsite Construction Summit

Major house builders and contractors in the UK are seeking alternative solutions to form the structural frame of pitched roofs for various reasons; speed, health and safety, quality ease of use. They are exploring the use of offsite systems, which ar... Read More about Mass Customisable Roofing Solutions for the New Build and Retrofit Markets in the UK.

The merits of varying forms of mass timber products for offsite and modular construction (2018)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Hairstans, R., Smith, R., & Wilson, P. (2018, March). The merits of varying forms of mass timber products for offsite and modular construction. Presented at Modular and Offsite Construction Summit

Mass timber is a family of Solid Laminate Timber Systems (SLTS) formed from smaller sections of timber connected by glue, mechanical fixings, moisture movement or a combination of methods. These products, which include Structural Composite Lumber, G... Read More about The merits of varying forms of mass timber products for offsite and modular construction.

Built Environmnet Episteology: Knowledge exchange through university-industry communities of practice (2017)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Hairstans, R., & Smith, R. (2017, June). Built Environmnet Episteology: Knowledge exchange through university-industry communities of practice. Presented at Architecture of Complexity - Design, systems, society and environment, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

This paper explores the nature of knowledge through a history of knowledge production in society. It emphasizes the modes of knowledge including explicit and tacit and argues for knowledge management and knowledge transfer as strategies to both codif... Read More about Built Environmnet Episteology: Knowledge exchange through university-industry communities of practice.

Understanding the compatibility of UK resource for dowel laminated timber construction (2016)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Plowas, W., Hairstans, R., Bell, T., & Bros Williamson, J. (2016, June). Understanding the compatibility of UK resource for dowel laminated timber construction. Presented at Integrated Design Conference

Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT also know as Brettstapel) is a technique of constructing large-scale solid timber panels for use as structural or non-structural elements. The technique utilizes smaller sawn timber sections mechanically fixed together wit... Read More about Understanding the compatibility of UK resource for dowel laminated timber construction.

Structural Timber Systems (2016)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Hairstans, R. (2016, September). Structural Timber Systems. Presented at CPD Seminar Structural Timber Engineering

Timber products and systems including solid laminate timber systems, dowel-lam, nail-lam, and cross-laminated timber.

Multi-dimensional data fitting for the structural design of a simple timber connection (2016)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Livingstone, A., Patlakas, P., Milne, M., Smith, S., & Hairstans, R. (2016, August). Multi-dimensional data fitting for the structural design of a simple timber connection. Presented at World Conference on Timber Engineering, Vienna, Austria

This paper presents a novel method of automating the structural design of timber connections and ensuring code compliance within a Building Information Modelling (BIM) context. The mathematical method of Multi Dimensional Data Fitting (MDDF) is prese... Read More about Multi-dimensional data fitting for the structural design of a simple timber connection.

Understanding the compatibility of UK resource for dowel laminated timber construction (2016)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Plowas, W., Bell, T., Hairstans, R., & Williamson, J. B. (2016, June). Understanding the compatibility of UK resource for dowel laminated timber construction. Paper presented at Integrated Design Conference

Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT also know as Brettstapel) is a technique of constructing large-scale solid timber panels for use as structural or non-structural elements. The technique utilizes smaller sawn timber sections mechanically fixed together wit... Read More about Understanding the compatibility of UK resource for dowel laminated timber construction.

Increasing need for Offsite Construction and Manufactured Infrastructure in the UK Economy (2015)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Smith, R. S., Wood, J. B., & Hairstans, R. (2015, December). Increasing need for Offsite Construction and Manufactured Infrastructure in the UK Economy. Presented at CIAT Symposium 2016

Due to increasing demand for housing and other building infrastructure the methodology of offsite construction is becoming more attractive to developers, local authorities and government organisations. This paper outlines some of the key drivers such... Read More about Increasing need for Offsite Construction and Manufactured Infrastructure in the UK Economy.

A BIM platform for offsite timber construction. (2015)
Presentation / Conference Contribution
Patlakas, P., Livingstone, A., & Hairstans, R. (2015, September). A BIM platform for offsite timber construction. Presented at Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe, Vienna, Austria

This paper discusses the potential of a BIM platform for offsite timber construction within the context of the UK construction industry. It examines the benefits, limitations, and challenges that BIM brings for offsite timber. Proof-of-concept projec... Read More about A BIM platform for offsite timber construction..