Dr Julio Bros-Williamson

Chancellor's Fellow in Net Zero Buildings

Research Institute: 

  • Infrastructure and Environment

Research Theme: 

  • Institute for Infrastructure and Environment Themes
  • Environmental Engineering

Biography: 

Dr Julio Bros-Williamson is a Chancellor's Fellow in Net-Zero Buildings at the School of Engineering (SoE), Institute of Infrastructure and Environment (IIE). He belongs to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Discipline, joining the school in September 2021 contributing to research, consultancy and teaching. His post is co-funded by the universities Estates department and SoE, contributing to the research and knowledge transfer of net-zero performance through building performance, in-situ envelope testing, retrofit of existing buildings and development of Living Labs and Digital Twins of specific university buildings.

Julio graduated with a PhD from Edinburgh Napier University in 2019 with a thesis that examined the impact of climate change and longitudinal envelope performance dilapidation on dwellings in Scotland. He is an architect, with 15 years of industry experience, who graduated from the School of Architecture at the Marista University in Mexico City. He holds an MSc in Energy Efficient Building (distinction) from Oxford Brookes University and obtained his professional certification in 2003 as a Chartered Architect (Mexico) accredited by the Secretaria de Educacion Publica, allowing him to become a member of the Mexican College of Architects. In 2010 he took up the role as a Director and contributing member of the Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA) as well as becoming its Treasurer from 2015 to 2018.

Julio is passionate about the low carbon performance of new and existing buildings, as wells as the building envelope performance and post occupancy evaluation of building users. He has experience in the implementation, optimisation and use indoor air quality sensors, in-situ building performance tools as well as digital skills using point cloud scanners (FARO) to capture interior and exterior space into a .gbxml digital format transferrable to BIM. Julio is a trained and certified Commercial Operations Pilot (drones) after undertaking a competency assessment programme. He has extensive skills in the use of dynamic thermal modelling to deliver simulations of building designs.

Academic Qualifications: 

  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Edinburgh Napier University, Climate change and building performance
  • Master of Science (MSc), Oxford Brookes University, Energy Efficient Building
  • Bachelor Honours Degree, BArch (Hons), Architecture, Universidad Marista (CUM DES), Mexico City, Mexico.

Professional Qualifications and Memberships: 

Membership of Professional Body

  • Royal Institute of Architects Scotland (RIAS),  Affiliate membership
  • Member of the Mexican College of Architects (State of Quintana Roo, Mexico)
  • Chartered Architect status (Mexico) certified by the Secretaria de Educacion Publica (Spanish)

Current roles:

Previous roles:

  • Postgraduate examining board member, Edinburgh Napier University
  • Co-founder - Retrofit Scotland (http://www.retrofitscotland.org/)
  • Steering Group member - International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) - Scotland Chapter
  • Member - Scotland's 2020 Climate Group [Built Environment]
  • Director & Treasurer - Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA)

Relevant training:

  • Certified European Passive House Designer (CEPH), Passivhaus Institut, Darmstadt & University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.      
  • Certificate of Practical Flight Assessment (Drone Pilot), Theoretical & Practical Knowledge / General Airmanship OFQUAL Certificate
  • BREEAM Commercial assessor course, Building Research Establishment, Watford, UK.

Teaching: 

Current roles:

  • Semester 2: CIVE10031, BEng Civil Engineering Design Project 4

Previous experience:

  • Undergraduate & Postgraduate lecturer (module leader) in Architectural Technology & Building Performance, Edinburgh Napier University
  • Programme Leader of MSc Architectural Technology & Building Performance, Edinburgh Napier University
  • Tutor Technology & Environment 2, Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), University of Edinburgh
  • Undergraduate & Postgraduate lecturer in Interior Architecture, Edinburgh Napier University

Research Interests: 

  • Net-Zero carbon emission building performance
  • Indoor air quality requirements in buildings
  • Post Occupancy Evaluation
  • Envelope building performance
  • Dynamic thermal modelling
  • Retrofit methods for existing buildings
  • Built environment resilience to climate change
  • Timber technology
  • Sensors, actuators and BMS
  • Living Labs & Digital Twins

Specialities: 

  • Building performance
  • Sustainable building design
  • Indoor air quality
  • Sustainable standards
  • Energy Efficiency in buildings