Sandy Halliday

MPhil MCIBSE CEng FWES HonFRIAS HonFRIBA, Principal, Gaia Group, Scotland 

Sandy Halliday is a chartered engineer and highly respected author and communicator with extensive experience of inter-disciplinary working. She has worked as a researcher in the built environment and as a sustainability adviser to private, public and third sector organisations since 1986. She established Gaia Research, (now Gaia Group) in 1995 to develop sustainable solutions for the built environment.  The practice portfolio at any one time embraces research, evaluation, dissemination, training and capacity building. 

Sandy’s ability to bridge gaps between sustainable architecture and engineering is recognised by Honorary Fellowships of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA, 2020), the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS, 2018) and Fellowship of the Women’s Engineering Society. In 2018 she was voted one of the Top 50 women engineers working in sustainability in the UK by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES). 

Her research portfolio embraces the circular economy, building physics, energy systems, lighting & daylighting, solar air conditioning, innovative ventilation systems, low allergy housing, building cost, indoor air quality for people with dementia, low impact materials, animal architecture, school design, urban ecology, building performance evaluation and the history of sustainable development ideas. She conceived and authored the RIAS Environmental Statement and the world-first RIAS Accreditation Scheme in Sustainable Design. Her experience in practice requires her to be at the forefront of understanding of contemporary issues and informs her writing and teaching.  Publications

Much of Sandy’s work involves providing real time advice at all stages from setting policy guidelines to brief development, specification, tendering, management and handover to post-occupancy evaluation. She has documented this in process guidance including The Environmental Code of Practice for Buildings and their Service (1994), The Green Guide to the Architect’s Job Book (2000, 2007) and the Sustainability Guide to the RIBA Plan of Work (2016). She has assisted numerous clients to procure affordable, healthy, resource efficient, new and regenerated buildings to enrich tenant and visitor experience, support communities and enhance biodiversity. 

As Professor of Engineering Design for Sustainable Development at The University of Strathclyde she developed a twelve part programme for students and professionals. This became the highly acclaimed international monograph Sustainable Construction, 2nd Edition with 120 best practice case studies covering policy, cost, measurement, environmental design, materials, lighting, energy, construction process & urban design. She teaches an undergraduate course in Sustainable Construction at the University of Strathclyde. Sandy’s Blog contains updates on recent activities.