Ecological and human wellbeing are an increasingly critical consideration in building design. Considerable strides have been made over the past few years largely as a result of the increasing use of building environmental assessment methods such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system. As the realities of resource depletion, global environmental degradation and climate change become more evident, we can anticipate a maturing and strengthening of the public’s concern and knowledge for effectively addressing these issues.
This will translate into an expectation for greater environmental responsibility and, as with other sectors, the building industry will be:
- increasingly scrutinized for its environmental and climate actions
- required to develop approaches and practices that address immediate and long-term ecological and human health concerns and adhere to the emerging principles and dictates of sustainability
Although there is sufficient evidence of the pressing need to address resource use and environmental impacts, an important requirement for building design teams is to:
- provide the necessary leadership to ensure that ecological and human health concerns are an integral part of building design
- have the commitment, knowledge and skills to design buildings with high environmental performance and contribute positively to human wellbeing
A central issue within this context is the integration of green performance requirements and technologies into buildings in an effective, economic and elegant manner. This represents the primary focus of this course.
The course will consist of weekly lectures and tours that provide the context of green building design and approaches to achieving higher performance, will endeavor to “ground” concepts and principles through case studies and observational analysis through on-site tours, and will span a lot of topics to provide an overview of current best practice supplemented with active in-class discussions.
Open to the following student groups: MArch AP, MArch 2nd and 3rd year, Dual Degree 2nd + year