Building Knowledge: Architecture Specialists Secure National Funding to Share Expertise with Businesses

Architecture specialists at the University of Lincoln, UK, have secured almost £300,000 of national research funding to partner with businesses on collaborative research projects to develop new innovations in built environment and construction science.

Lincoln’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment has been awarded the funding for two new Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs). The grants were confirmed by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency which drives productivity and growth by supporting businesses to realise the potential of new technologies, develop ideas and make them a commercial success.

The first KTP, a partnership with Scunthorpe-based SME Floor & Wall Limited, will involve experts from the University’s schools of Architecture and Engineering who will work with the business to research, develop and commission a light-weight, portable structure to enable specialist-coating operations to take place during inclement conditions.

The research, which could have far-reaching implications for the sector as a whole, aims to help the company to meet work schedules regardless of the weather and enhance the comfort and wellbeing of staff, further increasing productivity.

In its second KTP, Lincoln’s School of Architecture and the Built Environment will work with Eltherington Group Ltd, a manufacturer of cladding and glazing systems for architectural applications based in Hull, to identify new and innovative products and manufacturing systems, and to develop and implement new product information tools to help users specify their products.
KTP Associates will be appointed to work alongside University academic staff and the businesses on each of the projects, which run for two years.

The Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment has a track record of success in industry collaboration through KTPs, including an acclaimed partnership with the award-winning Hill Holt Wood social enterprise which won a prestigious Lord Stafford Award. The latest funding awards demonstrate the University’s innovative industry-engaged approach to teaching and learning. Earlier this year Lincoln was one of only eight universities across the country commended by the Higher Education Funding Council for England for its strategic approach to knowledge exchange.

Professor Behzad Sodagar, Director of Research in the Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment, said: “These KTPs contribute to the on-going research in the School, providing practical cases of applied research and developing further industrial links which could lead to more research projects in the future.”

Professor Glen Mills, Head of School, added: “These projects highlight the new strategic direction of the School, which is focused on developing new programmes in construction science and management, as well as other disciplines in the built environment. We look forward to the impact these KTPs will have on the School’s teaching and research programmes.”

To find out more about the Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment, go to: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/abe/.