Dr Ahmed Ehab Abdelsalam

A central strand of my research investigates sustainable vertical urbanism, elevated public spaces and high-density development. I examine how these environments can deliver social value, environmental quality and meaningful public space. My work also addresses smart and resilient cities, child-friendly neighbourhoods, inclusive housing, placemaking, future mobility and digital construction. Across these areas, I consider how design can respond to complex urban challenges while remaining sensitive to diverse users, communities and contexts.

Immersive and computational methods are integral to my research. I use virtual reality, social VR, extended reality, digital twins, artificial intelligence, building information modelling, and physical and digital prototyping to support co-design, spatial evaluation, environmental analysis and evidence-based decision-making. These approaches enable communities, designers and stakeholders to experience, assess and contribute to proposed environments before implementation.

My research also encompasses dementia-friendly and age-inclusive design, disability inclusion, connected mobility, construction-site innovation and immersive education. It is interdisciplinary and practice-informed, combining design research, participatory engagement, spatial analysis and user evaluation. I collaborate with academic, public-sector, industry and community partners to develop knowledge, methods and applied tools that can inform architectural practice, urban policy and the delivery of healthier, more equitable and adaptable places.

Current research activity

• Developing immersive co-design and spatial-evaluation methods for dementia-friendly, age-inclusive and accessible housing, with a focus on dignity, wellbeing and ageing in place
• Advancing research on smart, resilient and child-friendly neighbourhoods, integrating inclusive urban design, public-space quality, sustainable mobility, environmental performance and community participation
• Investigating flexible and adaptable housing models that respond to changing household structures, demographic needs and patterns of living over time
• Developing research on sustainable vertical urbanism, elevated public spaces, rooftop landscapes, hybrid buildings and high-density mixed-use development, with particular attention to social, spatial and environmental performance
• Exploring how smart-city systems, connected mobility and digital infrastructure influence the design and experience of streets, neighbourhoods and public spaces
• Investigating virtual reality, digital twins and immersive interfaces for digital construction, including planning, coordination, safety, stakeholder communication, and the monitoring and control of physical spaces and building systems
• Examining the integration of artificial intelligence, BIM, environmental analysis and real-time visualisation within architectural and urban design processes
• Researching immersive technologies, social VR and gamification for participatory design, stakeholder engagement and architectural education
• Contributing to UNESCO-related work on the documentation, conservation and digital interpretation of heritage buildings in Basra

Recently completed research projects

• Immersive social VR emergency-task scenarios for connected vehicles in smart-city environments: contributed to a collaborative project with Lacuna Agency and the Department for Transport. The research used immersive social VR to investigate emergency-task scenarios, user interaction, coordination and decision-making within connected mobility systems and digitally enabled urban environments
• Loughborough University Virtual Campus and Accommodation Digital Twin: contributed to the development and evaluation of browser-based immersive environments that enabled prospective students and their families to explore university spaces and accommodation remotely
• Derby Urban Sustainable Transition (DUST): contributed to the development of a digital twin of Derby city centre within a wider co-creation project involving local communities, Derby City Council, transport agencies, the Canal & River Trust and other stakeholders. Through the City Lab, immersive visualisation and digital-twin methods supported collaborative exploration, stakeholder dialogue and evidence-based decision-making around sustainable urban regeneration, mobility and the future development of the city centre
• Immersive co-design of elevated public spaces: completed doctoral research investigating how interactive virtual reality can support spatial evaluation, public participation and resilient design in elevated urban environments in London
• AI-integrated VR for inclusive urban design: developed and published a methodological framework combining artificial intelligence, immersive environments and participatory design to support inclusive and evidence-based urban decision-making
• Gamified VR for teamwork in higher education: developed and evaluated an immersive learning experience designed to strengthen collaboration, communication and student engagement
• Holographic teaching in immersive education: contributed to research examining the opportunities and limitations of using lecturers as holograms within digitally mediated learning environments
• Immersive empathic modelling: contributed to research investigating how virtual reality can support empathy, perspective-taking and understanding of diverse user experiences in design and education

• Burnett, G., Locke, V., Sung, K.J., Abdelsalam, A.E. (2026). You’re My Only Hope: An Exploration of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Lecturers as Holograms. In: Krüger, J.M., et al. Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN 2025. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 2598. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-98080-0_6
• Ehab, A., Burnett, G., Sung, K.J. (2026). Escaping the Maze: Enhancing Teamwork and Collaboration in Higher Education Through a Gamified Virtual Reality Experience. In: Krüger, J.M., et al.Immersive Learning Research Network. iLRN 2025. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 2598. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-98080-0_7
• Ehab, A., Aladawi, A., & Burnett, G. (2025). Exploring AI-Integrated VR Systems: A Methodological Approach to Inclusive Digital Urban Design. Urban Science, 9(6), 196. DOI: 10.3390/urbansci9060196
• Ehab, A., Burnett, G., & Heath, T. (2025). Elevating the public realm: A framework for designing resilient urban green spaces in hyperdense cities. Discovery Sustainability, 6(10). DOI: 10.1007/s43621-024-00755-9
• Ehab, A., Heath, T. (2024). Critical Factors Affecting the Design and Use of Elevated Urban Spaces: The Sky Garden, London. In: Pigliautile, I., Piselli, C., Karunathilake, H.P., Fabiani, C. (eds) Urban Resilience, Livability, and Climate Adaptation. HERL 2023. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-54911-3_5
• Ehab, A., Heath, T. (2024). Rethinking the Design of Vertical Green Spaces in the Post-pandemic Era: Visitor Behaviour and Real-Life Cognitive Experience at Crossrail Place, London. In: Cheshmehzangi, A., Sedrez, M., Zhao, H., Li, T., Heath, T., Dawodu, A. (eds) Resilience vs Pandemics. Urban Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-8672-9_2
• Cook, S., Burnett, G., Sung, K. J., & Abdelsalam, A. E. (2024). An Exploration of Immersive Virtual Reality as an Empathic Modelling tool. Immersive Learning Research-Academic, 143-152. DOI: 10.56198/U6C0WZVJX
• Ehab, A., Burnett, G., & Heath, T. (2023). Enhancing Public Engagement in Architectural Design: A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Virtual Reality Approaches in Building Information Modeling and Gamification Techniques. Buildings, 13(5), 1262. DOI: 10.3390/buildings13051262
• Ehab, A., & Heath, T. (2023). Exploring Immersive Co-Design: Comparing Human Interaction in Real and Virtual Elevated Urban Spaces in London. Sustainability, 15(12), 9184. DOI: 10.3390/su15129184
• Ehab, A., Heath, T., & Burnett, G. (2023). Virtual reality and the interactive design of elevated public spaces: Cognitive experience vs VR experience. In C. Stephanidis, M. Antona, S. Ntoa & G. Salvendy (Eds.), HCI International 2023 Posters. HCII 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science (Vol. 1836). Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-36004-6_24
• Bussell, C., Ehab, A., Hartle-Ryan, D., & Kapsalis, T. (2023). Generative AI for immersive experiences: Integrating text-to-image models in VR-mediated co-design workflows. In C. Stephanidis, M. Antona, S. Ntoa & G. Salvendy (Eds.), HCI International 2023 Posters. HCII 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science (Vol. 1836). Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-36004-6_52
• Abdelsalam, A. E. (2018). Sustainable Vertical Urbanism as a Design Approach to Change the Future of Hyper Density Cities. Journal of Advance Research in Mechanical & Civil Engineering, 5(7), 2208-379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53555/nnmce.v5i7.300

Undergraduate

• BArch Design Skills (CVA056) — Module Leader
• BEng/MEng Architectural Engineering Design Skills (CVA138) — Module Leader
• Dissertation project supervision

Postgraduate

• PhD co-supervision in neighbourhood-scale greenery, residents’ wellbeing and housing design
• PhD supervision on topics aligned with my research interests, including inclusive architectural and urban design, sustainable vertical urbanism, resilient neighbourhoods, housing and wellbeing, placemaking, future mobility, and participatory design supported by immersive and computational methods

I completed my PhD in Architectural Design at the University of Nottingham, where I investigated elevated public spaces in London and developed immersive virtual reality and co-design methods to examine participation, spatial experience and urban resilience. I also hold a Master of Architecture with Distinction from the University of Nottingham and a First-Class Honours degree in Architectural Engineering from Loughborough University.

Before taking up my current post, I held research and teaching roles at Loughborough University, Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Derby, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and the British University in Egypt. My research experience includes work on inclusive design, digital creativity, sustainable urban transition, immersive stakeholder engagement and digital twins. I contributed to the Derby Urban Sustainable Transition project, including the development of a digital twin of Derby city centre and co-creation activities with communities, public authorities and infrastructure stakeholders.

My teaching experience spans architectural design, urban design, design communication and digital technologies. At Loughborough, I lead design-skills modules across the architecture and architectural engineering programmes and contribute to dissertation and doctoral supervision.

Alongside my academic career, I have experience in architectural practice, consultancy and project development. As a co-founder of Nile Engineering Consultants in the United Arab Emirates, I have contributed to architectural design, project coordination and the application of digital methods in professional practice. This experience enables me to connect research and teaching with the practical, technical and commercial realities of the built-environment sector.

Professional affiliations

• Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA)
• Member of the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB)
• Member of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT (MBCS)
• Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (ACIAT)
• Affiliate Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Awards

• Learning and Teaching Excellence Award, Vice-Chancellor’s Awards, Loughborough University, 2025, awarded as part of the DigiLabs Team
• Teaching Best Practice Award, Loughborough University, 2024 and 2025, for innovation in using virtual reality to teach empathy
• Best Academic Short Paper, Immersive Learning Research Network Conference, 2025, for Escaping the Maze: Enhancing Teamwork and Collaboration in Higher Education through a Gamified Virtual Reality Experience
• Best Researcher Award in Environmental Science, 2025, recognising research in sustainable urban design, digital architecture and immersive technologies
• Royal Academy of Engineering endorsement for the UK Global Talent route under the Exceptional Promise category
• Faculty of Engineering Research Excellence PhD Scholarship, University of Nottingham, 2019
• Winner, Human Factors Research Group Showcase Poster Competition, University of Nottingham, 2021
• Best Teaching Assistant of the Year, British University in Egypt, 2018
• Third Place, Wilford Street Embankment Urban Design Competition, Nottingham

External activities

• Guest Co-Editor of the Sustainability Special Issue, Smart Technology Applications for Sustainable Urban Futures
• Peer reviewer for international journals including Sustainable Cities and Society, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening and Cogent Arts & Humanities
• Contributor to research and knowledge-exchange projects with government, local authorities, industry and community partners, including the Department for Transport, Lacuna Agency, Derby City Council and the Canal & River Trust
• Co-founder of Nile Engineering Consultants, contributing to architectural design, consultancy and project development
• Contributor to international conferences, workshops and public-engagement activities in architecture, urban design, immersive technologies and sustainable development
• Contributor to UNESCO-related work on the documentation and digital interpretation of heritage buildings in Basra

Key collaborators

My research and enterprise activities are conducted with a range of academic, civic, professional and industry partners, including:

• Loughborough University: Professor Gary Burnett on immersive technologies, human factors and connected mobility; Professor Eef Hogervorst on dementia-friendly environments and healthy ageing; Dr Sura Al-Maiyah on inclusive architecture, housing and heritage; and Dr Ali Saad on digital construction and immersive simulation
• University of Nottingham: Professor Tim Heath and Dr Mohataz Hossain, collaborating on sustainable architecture, vertical urbanism, environmental design, user comfort and resilient urban development
• University of Derby: Professor Chris Bussell and colleagues involved in the Derby Urban Sustainable Transition project, including the digital twin of Derby city centre, stakeholder co-creation and sustainable urban regeneration
• Sheffield Hallam University: Dr Karam Al-Obaidi and Andrew Wilson, collaborating across sustainable architecture, climate-resilient buildings, architectural education, professional practice and built-environment innovation
• Sheffield City Council: place-based collaboration relating to urban development, public engagement and the design of inclusive and sustainable environments
• The British University in Egypt: academic collaboration in architecture, urban design, digital technologies and UK–Egypt research development
• Council on Vertical Urbanism: engagement with Antony Wood and Professor Philip Oldfield in relation to responsible density, tall buildings and sustainable vertical urbanism
• Government, civic and industry partners: the Department for Transport, Lacuna Agency, Derby City Council, the Canal & River Trust, Trent Barton and Marketing Derby, supporting research on connected mobility, inclusive transport, waterways, city-centre regeneration and stakeholder co-creation
• Nile Engineering Consultants: professional collaboration in architectural design, consultancy, project development and digital practice