November 3, 2016, 

In the latest faculty colloquium organized by the School of Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Fernando del Ama Gonzalo, chair of the Department of Architecture, delivered a talk on ‘Water Flow Glazing in Zero Energy Buildings’.

The lecture pointed that buildings are responsible for approximately half of the energy consumption of the planet, and therefore, it is necessary to begin designing buildings that are more environmentally friendly. Dr. Fernando used the term ‘regenerative buildings’ to describe a building that “is able to give back to nature the energy consumed during its construction process. To meet the parameters of a regenerative building, it is not only necessary to design with energy-efficient parameters and to choose suitable devices, but it also requires new materials and constructive solutions that make the building an energy producer, either for its own use, or to pump it in the existing city network.”

Dr. Fernando’s research ties in with the ‘Zero-Energy House’ project, or ‘Bayt Al Kamel’, which the School of Engineering is currently producing as part of its participation in Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018; a competition in which universities organize the construction of sustainable homes.

Dr. Fernando has seventeen years of teaching experience related to construction technology, building physics and energy management in buildings. He teaches courses in building construction and architectural design. He earned a master’s degree in renewable energies at San Pablo CEU University in Madrid. Prior to that, he acquired more than ten years of professional experience as an architectural bureau partner, and as a 3D graphic designer. He is also co-founder of IntelliGlass S.L., a technology-based company, and has managed public research projects granted by the Ministry of Science and Technological Innovation and Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism in Spain. As a result of these projects, he has published the patent document “Active Transparent or Translucent Enclosures with Energy Control Capacity” (PCT ES/2008/000071, USA 12/545510) as a co-inventor with other Spanish researchers.