Natasha Balwit-Cheung from Cohort 4 recently attended the Sustainable Built Environments conference at ETH-Zurich. It convened a huge and lively range of researchers studying all aspects of the built environment. A standout moment was reconnecting with former research collaborators attending the conference, especially an inspiring encounter with an alumna of the same programme, Rebecca Hartwell. Rebecca was part of the inaugural FIBE CDT launched in 2014. During the programme, she undertook a secondment at TU Delft, where she explored material efficiency in architectural glass and façade design, an experience that deepened her expertise and broadened the impact of her research. She is now Post-doctoral researcher in the Structural Design & Mechanics group at TU Delft.
Highlights of the conference included an underground tour of the ground source heat pump-driven heating and cooling network at ETH Hönggerberg campus. The Anergy Grid is a cutting-edge energy system that harnesses low-temperature thermal energy to provide sustainable heating and cooling across urban districts. By circulating water through underground pipes and geothermal probes, the grid stores excess heat in summer and retrieves it in winter, dramatically reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Pioneered in Zurich, the Anergy Grid exemplifies how smart infrastructure can transform cities into climate-resilient, energy-efficient ecosystems. Other extracurricular adventures included an evening dip in the Limmat River which flows through Zurich and a visit to the ZAZ Bellerive Center for Architecture.
"I was inspired from the first day by Daniel Barber's keynote, 'How Buildings Dream: Comfort, Conditioning, and the Future of Architecture.' The history and theory he presented made a strong case for transformation in the way we think and seek to provide comfort in buildings. The sessions that followed enriched my understanding of my own work on ground source energy systems and thermoactive geostructures as one strategy among the many necessary and promising strategies for shaping flows of heat and cold across the built environment." - Natasha Balwit-Cheung
Natasha's submission to the conference, "Life Cycle Assessment of Ground Source Energy Systems and Thermoactive Geostructures," was co-authored by Dr. Sripriya Rengaraju and Prof. Abir Al-Tabbaa and completed as part of Project SaFEGround. Natasha not only gained valuable technical insights from the Sustainable Built Environments conference, but the opportunity to meet an alumna of the same programme made the experience especially meaningful. Natasha and Rebecca met for the first time and the meeting sparked a lively exchange of shared memories and a renewed sense of connection, celebrating the lasting impact of the FIBE Group programmes on its student community.