Building Pathology Conference 2026

The BP24 conference held at Oxford Brookes University in September 2024 re-established the theme of earlier Building Pathology conferences run by Hutton + Rostron in the 1980s and ‘90s which addressed subjects of interest or concern to academics and built environment practitioners. The key focus of these early conferences was to promote interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration.

BP24 retained this focus and set out to develop and promote Building Pathology as an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to understand building performance and inform the investigation of building failures. Such an approach has growing relevance in terms of managing risks associated with new construction, refurbishment of existing building and conservation of historic buildings, and for the wider consideration of the built environment.

The need to understand how buildings react to changing environmental conditions and meet the demands of contemporary society has become of growing importance as we seek to make better use of the nation’s existing building stock and design new buildings that offer improved durability and resilience. We cannot continue with existing ways of design and construction or place reliance on outdated myths or assumptions if positive change is to occur.

H+R is excited to announce the call for abstracts for BP26, following the same format as BP24, to be held again at Oxford Brookes University on 10 and 11 September 2026. Celebrating the partnership of academic research and professional consultancy, this event is open to all who feel they can contribute. Abstracts will be reviewed by a panel from OBU and SOCOTEC UK & Ireland, and we hope to be able to publish selected abstracts in two journals, International Journal of Building Pathology & Adaptation (TBC) and International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, subject to editorial selection.

The theme for BP26 remains the same as BP24 – Solving tomorrow’s problems today – with emphasis on building environment research, policy development, technical innovations or improved methodologies and issues that impact on the performance of buildings and wellbeing of their occupancies in an ever-challenging environment.

We invite submissions of original research papers, case studies, and technical
presentations addressing current and emerging issues in building pathology and
construction policy. We welcome contributions from academics, practitioners,
consultants, researchers, and postgraduate students.

Please use our brochure as a guide for submission.