Biography

Dr Sergio Altomonte is Professor of Architectural Physics (Professeur en Physique appliquée au domaine de l'Architecture) at the Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering, Urbanism (LOCI), Université catholique de Louvain (Belgique), where he develops his research activities within the group Architecture et Climat. He has been a fully-registered Architect since 1999. He fluently speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish.

Dr Altomonte obtained his BArch/MArch in Architecture in 1998 (1st class honours degree cum laude; Laurea in Architettura, corr. to ARB/RIBA Part 2) at the University of Rome La Sapienza. In 2001, he was awarded his Master in Architecture and Sustainable Development (MAS) by the EPFL (Polytechnic of Lausanne, Switzerland), with a final dissertation (in French) on "Innovating Materials and Sustainable Architecture". In 2004, he was awarded his PhD in Environmental Design and Engineering at the University of Rome La Sapienza with a thesis on advanced facade glazing materials, titled: "The building envelope as a dynamic interface". Extended excerpts from the thesis were published in Italy as a comprehensive single-authored technical book in 2005.

Between 2004 and 2007, Dr Altomonte divided his life and academic activity between Italy and Australia. In Italy (each year from January to June), he worked as Director of his design firm "Altomonte Associati" and lectured (part-time) at the University of Rome La Sapienza and at the University of Camerino. In Australia (each year from July to December), he was a full-time Assistant Professor at Deakin University (Victoria), taking part at the research activities held in the context of the MABEL (Mobile Architecture and Built Environment) Laboratory. In 2005/06, Dr Altomonte participated at the CH2 Study and Outreach Program, a research project funded by the City Council of Melbourne to investigate the design and sustainable systems adopted in the CH2 building, the first six-Green Star rated sustainable building in Australia.

After his appointment at the University of Nottingham (UK) in 2007 as a full-time Assistant Professor, and his promotion to Associate Professor in 2010, Dr Altomonte served from 2010 to 2013 as the Course Director of the MArch in Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 2) programme, playing a key role in its accreditation and validation by the relevant professional bodies in UK (ARB and RIBA). From 2013 to 2015, Dr Altomonte held the role of Director of Studies, with responsibilities in coordinating the Department's teaching and learning activities, including curriculum development, internationalization (e.g., the programmes offered by the Department at UNNC-The University of Nottingham Ningbo China campus), research-informed teaching and liaison with accrediting bodies. Until September 2017, Dr Altomonte has been co-director of the Environment, People and Design (ePad) research group, and a member of the University Quality and Standard Committee. In the context of his academic leadership responsibilities, between 2009 and 2012 Dr Altomonte has been the Principal Investigator and Coordinator of the project EDUCATE (Environmental Design in University Curricula and Architectural Training in Europe), funded by the European Commission under the "Intelligent Energy Europe" Programme. With a duration of 36 months and a budget of 1,65 M€, the Action contributed to deconstruct the pedagogical barriers to the effective integration of sustainable design in higher education and the practice of architecture and proposed the harmonization of academic curricula and registration criteria across Europe.

In 2012/13 and in summer 2016, Dr Altomonte spent periods of sabbatical research leave at the University of California Berkeley (US), investigating the relationship between occupant satisfaction in commercial office buildings and green rating certification systems (LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). In 2013/15, Dr Altomonte was awarded a Visiting Professorship position by the Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen (Denmark), with support from the Villum Foundation (Velux Group).

Dr Altomonte is author of over 70 research publications, including one single-authored book, essays/chapters in books, edited research publications and several refereed papers in peer-reviewed international journals and proceedings of conferences. In 2002, he was awarded the PLEA AWARD for his Poster Paper Switchable Façade Technology in Environmental Design, and in 2004 he received in Brisbane (Australia) the ies: the Lighting Society Award. Since July 2010, Dr Altomonte is an Associate member of PLEA (Passive Low Energy Architecture), an international organisation engaged in a worldwide discourse on sustainable architecture and urban design. In 2014, Dr Altomonte was granted the title of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and, since 2007, he has been a member of the CIBSE Society of Light and Lighting (MSLL).