New ACUUS Fellow: Prof. Fang-Le Peng

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ACUUS is proud to announce that Prof. Fang-Le Peng has been named ACUUS Fellow at the General Assembly Meeting that was held in Belgrade in November, during the latest ACUUS Conference that was held there. The ACUUS Fellow distinction recognizes members whose long-standing dedication has significantly shaped the global dialogue on urban underground space.  This is an honor reserved for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement, visibility, and mission of our organization.

The ACUUS organisation congratulates Prof. Fang-Le Peng on this well-deserved recognition. His dedication, leadership, and lifelong commitment to advancing underground space research embody the true spirit of the ACUUS Fellow distinction.

About Dr. Fang-Le Peng

Dr. Fang-Le Peng is a Full Professor and Director at the Research Center for Underground Space at Tongji University, holding a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Tokyo, MSc and B. Eng degrees in Underground Architecture and Engineering from Tongji University. A distinguished academic and leader in underground space research, Dr. Peng has led a team that has published over 60 scientific papers on urban underground space use and planning. His group has provided crucial technical support for major urban planning initiatives across key cities in China, shaping best practices in UUS development.

A Legacy of Contributions to ACUUS

Dr. Peng’s involvement with ACUUS spans nearly four decades and reflects a deep-rooted commitment to the mission of the organization. His relationship with ACUUS began in 1988, when he participated in the successful organization of the 3rd ACUUS Conference at Tongji University as a young master’s student under Prof. Xue-Yuan Hou, Chairman of the event. This early experience laid the foundation for a lifelong journey of engagement and leadership within the ACUUS community.

From 2005 onward, as Director of the Research Center for Underground Space, he ensured that his institution remained consistently active in ACUUS conferences, contributing both scientific insight and organizational support. His leadership played a significant role in strengthening the visibility of ACUUS within the academic and professional underground space community in China. Later, upon assuming a formal leadership role within ACUUS in 2016, Dr. Peng became instrumental in expanding the organization’s reach throughout China. Through his strategic vision and persistent efforts, ACUUS experienced a highly successful membership campaign in the country, greatly enhancing its presence and influence across Asia. His sustained contributions reflect not only dedication but also a unique capacity to connect local expertise with the global ACUUS mission.

A Driving Force for Global Knowledge Exchange

Over the past two decades, Dr. Peng has consistently demonstrated a profound commitment to international collaboration and knowledge sharing—values at the core of ACUUS. He has actively promoted ACUUS and its activities across China, ensuring that the organization’s conferences, initiatives, and research outputs reach a broad audience of planners, engineers, academics, and decision-makers. His efforts have served as a bridge between Chinese practitioners and global experts, helping foster a continuous, mutually enriching exchange of ideas on the sustainable use of underground space.

Beyond organizational growth, Dr. Peng has played a key role in cultivating the next generation of underground space professionals. Through his educational initiatives, mentorship, and research guidance, he has supported young scholars in developing their expertise and engaging with the international UUS community. His vision emphasizes not only scientific progress but also the creation of a vibrant, globally connected network of specialists devoted to shaping the future of underground urban development.

 

ACUUS2025 Belgrade – Paper submission

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On behalf of the Organizing Committee of 19th World Conference of the Associated Research Centers for the Urban Underground Space – ACUUS 2025, we are pleased to invite you submit a paper for the upcoming ACUUS Conference, which will be held from November 4th to 7th, 2025, in Belgrade, Serbia. The deadline for submitting the abstract is February 1st, 2025. The first call of abstracts can be found HERE.

 

The Organizing Committee of the ACUUS 2025 BELGRADE Conference has successfully established a significant collaboration with the prestigious journal Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology (TUST) to publish a special issue dedicated to the conference topics under the title: “Underground Mobility and Elevated Thinking: New Opportunities and Challenges in the Use of Underground Urban Space”. More information about the Conditions are available HERE.

 

This year’s conference theme is “Underground Mobility and Elevated Thinking: New Opportunities and Challenges in the Use of Underground Urban Space” with a special focus on overcoming current obstacles to further the future development of underground spaces. The main conference topics:

  • Underground and climate change: Resilience, sustainability and urban transformation
  • Overcoming challenges in tunneling and underground design and construction
  • Advanced technologies and innovative solutions
  • Architecture and planning – underground
  • Safety, security and human factors
  • Legal, entrepreneurial, and real estate aspects of underground space
  • Digitalization and AI toward underground space solutions

 

For more information about the conference you can visit the official conference website https://acuus2025.com/

“Lessons Learned” Study of Worldwide Underground Facilities – Summary Report

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During the ACUUS 2023 conference the special session of “A Retrospective “Lessons Learned” Study of Worldwide Underground Facilities” has been taken place, where a number of issues that influence the decisions of developing underground spaces have been addressed.  Surbana Jurong Corporation funded the relevant study about the important lessons learned and along with Prof. R. Sterling that led that research have also issued a relevant book publication.

The idea that many cities and regions of the world are poised to greatly increase their use of underground space and that there are a variety of modern underground facilities around the world that now have several decades of operating experience led to a study conducted by the Surbana Jurong Group over an approximately 18-month period in 2019 and 2020. The study gathered information from 42 underground facilities from 15 different countries worldwide that had an average lifetime of service of approximately 37 years. The study has allowed the collection of the lessons learned and particular emphasis was placed in the study on whether the decision to build underground was still considered the right one, how the architectural design influenced the human acceptance of the underground spaces created and whether the technical aspects of the facility had performed as expected.

The PDF of the summary report (approximately 30 pages) for this project can be accessed for a free download: Lessons Learned Summary Report

The PDF of the full report (nearly 500 pages) can be requested at a cost of USD$168 by emailing to Richard Ting, Senior Principal Engineer, Surbana Jurong Consultants at richard.tingsc@surbanajurong.com.

 

ACUUS 2023 Conference – Singapore

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Please join us in the 18th Conference of the Associated Research Centers for the Urban Underground Space (ACUUS 2023) in Singapore which is also combining the 2nd International Conference on the Exploration and Utilisation of Underground Space (EUUS-2). The EUUS conference series is an ACUUS initiative with a focus on urban geology and underground resources.

The main theme for ACUUS 2023 Singapore is “Underground Space – the Next Frontier.” This theme was chosen to focus on the new opportunities and challenges in underground space use amid a re-focus on exploring and developing the underground space as a strategic resource and part of sustainable development. The new frontier presents unprecedented opportunities for simultaneously improving urban infrastructure, urban livability, and resilience. At the same time, special challenges exist in developing underground space – both from a human design perspective and in terms of complexity, 3D planning, system integration, technical, and life cycle costs. Equally important is the need to move from the creation of underground space as a haphazard, last resort solution to a well-planned, and integrated use of underground space that can serve the needs of society for future generations as well as our own.

ACUUS new website

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The new website of the ACUUS organisation has been launched. Find the latest updates of its focus areas its activities, its strategy and position papers. Also in the conference section you can find information and data related to the papers published there.
We would like to have your feedback and of course we would like you to become ACUUS members and help us promote the utilisation of the urban undergound space in exciting new uses and infrastructures.