CIBSE appoints Dave Cooper as President with focus on resilience
UK – CIBSE has appointed Dave Cooper MBE as its President for 2026–2027, with his year in office focused on how buildings and building services systems can remain resilient, adaptable and safe as climate, operational and infrastructure pressures increase.
His presidential theme, “Future-proofing through resilience”, places long-term building performance, overheating, flooding, changing occupancy patterns and professional competence at the centre of his message to the building services sector.
For the heat pump, HVAC and climate control sectors, the theme reflects the growing challenge of balancing energy efficiency, decarbonisation, occupant wellbeing and future climate conditions when designing heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
Designing for future conditions
In his Presidential Address, Cooper urged building services engineers to look beyond immediate design requirements and consider how buildings will perform over decades.
The address highlighted rising temperatures, more extreme weather and growing pressure on public infrastructure, including the UK’s 40°C temperatures in 2022, increasing wildfire risk and the number of homes and infrastructure assets exposed to flooding.
Robust climate projections, including CIBSE weather data, were identified as central to understanding how temperatures and weather patterns are likely to change. For building services engineers, this supports the design of buildings where people can remain safe and comfortable as climate risks intensify.
Adaptation and emissions reduction
A key message from the address was that climate adaptation must sit alongside emissions reduction, rather than being treated as an alternative.
For the HVAC sector, this means building services strategies will need to support both lower-carbon operation and greater resilience. Heat pumps, heat recovery, ventilation, controls, cooling strategies and fabric performance all have a role to play as buildings are expected to operate under more demanding future conditions.
Engineering isn’t just about meeting today’s challenges; it’s about anticipating the needs of the future so future proofing isn’t optional but essential
Dave Cooper MBE, President of CIBSE
The long-term value of resilient design was also a central theme, with building owners and clients needing to understand why future-ready decisions should not be lost to a “race to the bottom”.
Competence and future skills
Competence and professionalism were presented as central to engineering practice, with technical skill, ethical conduct and the use of the best available knowledge described as essential to safe, sustainable and resilient buildings.
The address also called for greater focus on attracting, training and developing young engineers, rather than simply moving existing skills around the industry.
This reflects a wider direction of travel across building services, where system design, installation quality, maintenance, controls and compliance are under increasing scrutiny. For heat pump and climate control projects, competence will be critical to ensuring systems deliver their intended performance in real buildings.
Engineering background
Cooper succeeds Vince Arnold and brings more than 40 years’ experience in engineering. His specialist area is vertical transportation, and he has made a significant contribution to lift and escalator safety, standards, education and professional practice.
He has played a key role in the development of multiple editions of CIBSE Guide D: Transportation systems in buildings. His work has been recognised with a CIBSE Silver Medal and an MBE.
Alongside his presidency, Cooper continues to hold roles across industry, academia and charitable organisations, including Visiting Professor at the University of East London and chair of the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management Lift Panel for Authorising Engineers.
Presidential priorities
Commenting on his appointment, Cooper said: “It is a tremendous honour to serve as President of CIBSE for 2026-2027. Throughout my career I have been passionate about advancing engineering excellence, sharing knowledge and supporting the next generation of professionals.
“As our industry continues to evolve, we must ensure that the buildings and systems we design today remain resilient, adaptable and fit for the future. I look forward to working with CIBSE members across the world to help drive that ambition forward.”
CIBSE said Cooper’s presidency would build on the Institution’s role in advancing building engineering standards, knowledge and professional practice, while supporting the sector’s response to climate change, resilience and the performance of the built environment.
