UCL: Cooling Our Cities? Recent Developments in Urban Heat Mitigation Technologies

 

Speaker: Professor Mat Santamouris AM Professor Mat Santamouris AM is a Distinguished Professor of High Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney. He is a Member of the Order of Australia. He previously served as Professor at the University of Athens, Greece, and has held Visiting Professorships at ten leading institutions worldwide, including in the UK, Japan, Italy, Korea, Singapore, China, Cyprus, and Malaysia

His research focuses on the energy and environmental performance of the built environment, with particular emphasis on urban climate mitigation and adaptation technologies, passive and hybrid cooling of buildings, intelligent energy management, indoor environmental quality, and advanced building materials. He is the former President of the National Center for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Savings in Greece and Editor-in-Chief of Energy and Buildings. 

 Abstract: Overheating of the built environment is one of the most extensively documented manifestations of climate change, with profound impacts on human health, energy use, and environmental quality. Recent studies indicate that the average intensity of urban overheating in Asian and Australian cities is approximately 4.1 °C, while correspondingly higher values—close to 6°C— have been reported for 110 European cities. In extreme cases, urban temperature increases may reach up to 11°C, particularly during anticyclonic weather conditions. Urban form, land cover, and construction materials play a decisive role in determining the severity of these effects. This lecture presents the most recent advances in understanding the magnitude and characteristics of urban overheating, as well as its interaction with global climate change. 

Thursday 18 June 2026, 11.00-12.00, followed by lunch (registration from 10.30) Jevons Room, 1st floor, Central House, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN