AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the course is to provide the technical and methodological knowledge in sustainable design, focusing on living comfort and building performance..

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the necessary tools to approach architectural and urban design with a critical and performance-based mindset, enabling them to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the environmental impacts and benefits of design choices in relation to the specific characteristics of a site. Given that the majority of the European and global population resides in urban areas, the course focuses on the main ecological and environmental challenges affecting urban environments, along with strategies to enhance resilience and adaptation to climate change.

The main learning outcomes can be summarized as follows: 

• Critically analyse, elaborate and evaluate the relationships between architecture and environmental issues;

• Apply methodologies and tools to support design choices for climate change adaptation and mitigation;

• Quantitatively and qualitatively assess the environmental impacts and benefits of design choices.

TEACHING METHODS

The course includes the use of innovative teaching methodologies to achieve the intended learning outcomes. Most of the topics will be addressed and explored through in-class activities, such as debates, exercises, and the application of tools to a (simplified) design project. To do so, study materials for independent learning will be provided for most of the topics.

The use of these teaching methods aims to foster a critical view of the topics and the active involvement of students, while promoting the application of selected tools to a design project. Such activities are intended for students attending classes throughout the semester.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The main topics are: 

• sustainability in architecture and climate change;

• design strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation:

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA);

• environmentally oriented building certification programs;

• sustainable design guidelines.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Slides will be available on Aulaweb. A specific bibliography will also be provided for each topic.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam includes the evaluation of the students’ skills considering methodological, theoretical and practical knowledge of the topics of the course. For students attending classes, it is based on a discussion on the activities and exercises developed during the course. For the students not attending classes, the exam is oral, with questions related to the study at home material and the documents uploaded in Aulaweb. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students attending classes 

The activities implemented during classes (see Teaching method) will evaluate the ability of the students to critically elaborate and relate the different topics and issues. A simplified design exercise will allow verifying the abilities to apply the knowledge acquired and to quantitatively and qualitative evaluate the impact of design choices on the environment. 

Students not attending classes 

The oral exam will evaluate the ability of the students to critically elaborate and relate the topics. In addition, thorough specific examples and cases, the abilities to apply the knowledge acquired and to evaluate the impact of design choices on the environment will be verified. 

The evaluation takes into account also the quality of exposure and the correct use of specific terms.