Environment, Sustainability and Technology

Current PhD students

Research topics currently undertaken by PhD students in the Environment, Sustainability and Technology in Architecture (ESTA) Research Group at Liverpool include low carbon architecture, passive cooling techniques, designing for climate change, sustainable retrofitting, thermal comfort, urban environments and life cycle analysis.

Abdulwahab Abdulmajeed

PhD Title: Affordable mascostomised dwellings for Saudi Arabia

Supervisors: Asterios Agkathidis, Davide Lombardi & Theodoros Dounas


Mehmet Arif Aktog

PhD Title: Energy Optimisation During AEC Conceptual Design

Supervisors: Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Mohammad Alabbasi

PhD Title: Concrete 3D printing of building components for affordable housing in Saudi Arabia

Supervisors: Asterios Agkathidis & Hanmei Chen


Weaam Alhabashi

PhD Title: Sustainable construction: enhancing earth brick dtrength and durability through interdisciplinary analyses and biomimicry

Supervisors: Daveed Chow & Han-Mei Chen


Bushra Al-Ali

PhD Title: Life cycle performance of a SIPS building

Supervisors: Steve Finnegan & Steve Sharples


Ali Aldersoni

PhD Title: Adapting traditional passive strategies within contemporary house to decrease the future climate change challenge impact in Nejd Region, Saudi Arabia

Supervisors: Daveed Chow & Steve Sharples


Abdulaziz Alsharif

PhD Title: Investigation of the Urban Heat Island in the central area of Makkah, Saudi Arabia and its impact on energy consumption

Supervisors: Daveed Chow & Steve Sharples


Mohammed Alsuwaidi

PhD Title: Integrating VR into architectural design education

Supervisors: Asterios Agkathidis, Davide Lombardi & Adonis Haidar


Nissa Ardiani

PhD Title: Net zero energy building in Indonesia

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Dilek Arslan

PhD Title: Prefabricated retrofit elements for improved building energy performance in hot climates

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Abeeha Awan

PhD title: Gamification of architectural education

Supervisors: Davide Lombardi & Asterios Agkathidis


Khalid Bazughayfan

PhD Title: Managing design issues in the planning systems of Saudi Arabia

Supervisors: Fei Chen & Daveed Chow


Nurcihan Bektas

PhD Title: Adapting the architecture of Gelemic, Turkey to be resilient to climate change and global warming

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Chitraj Bissoonauth 

PhD Title: Toolmaking in Parametric Façade Design

Supervisors: Konstantinos Papadikis, Thomas Fisher, Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez & Christianne Herr


Iona Campbell

PhD Title: Creating cost effective zero carbon module homes

Supervisors: Steve Finnegan & Steve Sharples


Xi Chen

PhD Title: The energy retrofit of the existing residential building stock in Jiangsu Province

Supervisors: Daveed Chow, Marco Camillo & Bing Chen


Rowena Creagh

PhD Title: The embodied carbon impact of heritage buildings

Supervisors: Stephen Finnegan & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Roberto Cruz Juarez

PhD Title: Adobe as a passive solution for sustainable construction planning considering climate change in Puebla, Mexico.

Supervisors: Steve Finnegan & Daveed Chow


Sinan Dadagilioglu

PhD Title: BIM-based process management model for energy efficient refurbishment of domestic building stock in the UK: a novel decision support system

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Zehra Disci

PhD Title: The impact of cultural and climatic background on thermal perception

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Ranald Lawrence


Sean Durney

PhD Title: The carbon impact of the Liverpool cultural sector

Supervisors: Stephen Finnegan & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Mengfan Jin

PhD Title: Large-scale rapid energy modelling of buildings in Jiangsu Province

Supervisors: Daveed Chow, Marco Cimillo & Hyung-Chul Chung


Tom Johnson

PhD Title: Developing the world’s first zero carbon safari park

Supervisors: Steve Finnegan & Daveed Chow


Lewis Jones

PhD Title: Recycled Ceramics: Innovations in the Production of Sustainable Architectural Surfaces

Supervisors: Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez & Esther Garcia-Tunon Blanca


Alexandros Kallegias

PhD Title: Digital simulation to enhance early stage low carbon design

Supervisors: Steve Finnegan & Richard Koeck


Ebaa Khan

PhD Title: Adopting Passivhaus principles to develop net zero carbon housing in a                                        hot dry climate: a case study in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Mainur Kurmanbekova

PhD Title: Indoor air quality and thermal comfort of residents in Kazakhstan’s social housing sector

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Jiangtao Du


Chenran Li

PhD Title: The adaptation of the Sheffield Care Environment Assessment Matrix (S-SCEAM) in Chinese older people's residential facilities

Supervisors: Jiangtao Du & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Hongrui Li

PhD Title: An investigation into effects of perceived outdoor environmental qualities on psychological restoration among Chinese University

Supervisors: Jiangtao Du & David Chow


Xicheng Li

PhD Title: Urban planning and environmental management in Melbourne and Cape Town

Supervisors: Ranald Lawrence & Juliana Kei


Chenfei Liu

PhD Title: Hybrid residential buildings with passive strategies and renewable energies for rural areas in Hunan, China

Supervisors: Steve Sharples & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Yashika Narula

PhD Title: The impact of the performance gap on the creation of Net Zero Carbon (NZC) homes in the UK.

Supervisors: Stephen Finnegan & Haniyeh Mohammadpourkarbasi


Deyan Quan

PhD title: A Parametric Form Language for Fibre Reinforced Concrete Prefabricated Façade Elements Using 3D Printed Form-work

Supervisors: Davide Lombardi, Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez, Christianne Herr


Lina Sharqa

PhD title: Performance-oriented façade system

Supervisors: Marco Cimillo & Asterios Agkathidis


Lyndon Ship

PhD Title: Assessing the impact of night overheating in homes

Supervisors: Spyridon Stravoravdis & Steve Sharples


Tsun Shun So

PhD Title: A comparison of psychological restoration, physical activity and public satisfaction between ground-level green spaces and green roofs: a study in Hong Kong

Supervisors: Jiangtao Du & Steve Sharples


Juan Rivera Soriano

PhD title: The sustainable modernity: organic Modernism on the 20th Century and today

Supervisors: Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez & Barnabas Calder


Khawlah Tarim

PhD Title: Defining a sustainable biophilic design framework in a hot and dry climate (desert environment)

Supervisors: Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez & Jiangtao Du


Bekir Tekin

PhD Title: Assessment of Biophilic Design Patterns Based On Post-Occupancy Evaluations

Supervisors: Rosa Urbano Gutiérrez & Rhiannon Corcoran


Mohammed Tosun

PhD Title: Data-driven design of hospitality venues

Supervisors: Asterios Agkathidis & Nick Webb


Yuyang Wang

PhD Title: Parametrizing Beijing Shiheyuan

Supervisors: Andrew Crompton & Asterios Agkathidis


Jianyang Zhao

PhD title: Reinventing the Dougong Joint by incorporating robotic tools

Supervisors: Asterios Agkathidis, Davide Lombardi & Hanmei Chen


Xi Zhang

PhD Title: Perceived environmental qualities and occupants’ wellbeing at workspaces in China: survey and experiment

Supervisors: Jiangtao Du & David Chow


Wei Zhao

PhD Title: Adaptive thermal comfort of rural low-income residents in China and its potential in building energy conservation

Supervisors: Daveed Chow & Steve Sharples