From July 18 to 27, 2022, the virtual summer workshop jointly organized by the FACTE of BJUT and the School of Architecture of the University of Sheffield was successfully held as scheduled. Twenty-three Civil Engineering students from FACTE's 2020 Mao Yisheng class participated in and successfully completed the program.

A group photo of the participants of the 2022 Summer Workshop on Low-carbon and Green Architectural Engineering

The virtual summer workshop on Low-carbon and Green Architectural Engineering had two modules: theoretical knowledge and practical application. In the theoretical knowledge module, professors from the University of Sheffield tailored the course for the students based on civil engineering knowledge and international communication skills, and closely integrated the lectures with the development of the UK's green building, new materials, and low-carbon materials technologies. In the practical application session, the students were required to complete the wood architecture design, a challenging task with a tight deadline.

At the opening ceremony, Prof. Zhang Jianwei, Deputy Dean of the FACTE addressed the online camp on behalf of Faculty. He encouraged the students to study hard and make the most of this workshop by actively engaging with the University of Sheffield faculty, and to contribute to China's low-carbon and green engineering projects. Professor Wen-Shao Chang from the School of Architecture of the University of Sheffield taught the first class and assigned the design projects for practical application.

During the following nine days, a team of teachers led by Professor Wen-Shao Chang from the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield gave lectures of theoretical knowledge on topics such as design and applications of modern wood structures, renewable building materials, problems and solutions in wood structural engineering, and architecture design software. In the practical applications session, five groups of students teamed up to explore how to use various types of engineered wood to design aesthetically pleasing, design-compliant bridge structures through extensive research and group discussions. Each group also took full advantage of the tutorial session to present their designs and ask questions.

In the graduation ceremony, the students presented their design projects, and the judges rated the winning team based on the rationality of their structural designs. In addition, outstanding students of the workshop were selected considering their overall performance. Finally, Prof. Wen-Shao Chang expressed his hope for more interactions and cooperation with BJUT and invited the students to visit the University of Sheffield in the future.

Presentation of the students' design projects

The winning team of the design assignment