The government has appointed a university professor and civil and construction engineer as its new chief construction and scientific adviser.
Sergio Cavalaro, professor of infrastructure systems at Loughborough University’s School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, will be in post on a full-time basis for three years.
He takes over from Thouria Istephan, a former partner at Foster + Partners, who has held the position on a 12-month interim basis at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) since September last year.
Cavalaro’s experience since moving to the UK from Spain in 2017 includes research on offsite construction methods and the government’s evaluations of buildings containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
In his LinkedIn profile, he says he has “expertise spanning the entire built asset lifecycle, from design and construction through to maintenance, renewal, and end-of-life management”.
The chief construction and scientific adviser position was one of the main recommendations from the final report on the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in 2017.
The appointment follows the introduction of the Building Safety Levy, a tax on new eligible residential developments over 10 units, last week (1 October).
Role to advise on safety, quality and resilience
The government said the role “will provide independent construction, engineering and scientific advice on the safety, quality and resilience of buildings, as well as on productivity across the built environment sector”.
Of his new appointment, Cavalaro said: “I am delighted to join MHCLG as chief construction and scientific adviser. I am committed to working with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and across the wider sector to improve the safety, quality, resilience and productivity of the built environment.”
Minister for building safety, fire and resilience, Baroness Blake, said: “Sergio will play a vital role in shaping our reforms to ensure safety, robust regulation and high standards are at the core of the built environment sector.”
