About

Heriot-Watt University’s Centre of Excellence in Smart and Sustainable Construction (CES²C) was established in September 2019 to stimulate industry-led innovations, research driven solutions and government-academia-industry collaborations to address challenges and opportunities in the Built Environment sector. As a Centre, we partner with like-minded organisations and government entities to lead the transformation of the Built Environment and the development of next generation professionals for the benefit of the economy. By providing a creative environment for collaboration between multidisciplinary researchers, industry and government, CES²C offers a global hub for disruptive thinking and a model for solutions development and stakeholder engagement.

Our industry-led research and innovation activities focus on enabling solutions around three main themes:

Net Zero

Led by the NetZero 2050 carbon objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, CES²C will continue to collaborate with industry and government to help identify multidisciplinary  and multi-stakeholder pathways to Net Zero and carbon neutrality that are data driven and science based. We also seek to ensure that these changes can be delivered at scale, that they deliver economic transformation and that they are sustainable.

Digital Transformation

In an ever–evolving industry where digital twinning, BIM, visualisation, Machine Learning and automation in construction play a crucial part in ensuring success, CES²C is committed to supporting the Built Environment in working alongside industry, providing research which leads to enhanced productivity, cost savings and risk mitigation. Heriot-Watt University is also committed to drive digital transformation through our pioneering National Robotarium, the largest and most advanced applied research facility for robotics and AI in the UK.

Community Development

People are at the heart of everything we do and through events, networking, focus groups and bespoke workshops, CES²C continuously works towards providing specialist advice and support to ensure that safety, wellbeing, equality, diversity and inclusivity remain top of the Built Environment agenda.