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Sustainable Buildings

(Optional Course)

 CCC Lecturer: Mark Mckenna                                                                               back to MSc courses

Environmentally sustainable buildings can be defined as those that meet our current housing and buildings needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Buildings and the industries involved in their construction and maintenance are a major factor in the drive to managing our energy needs. As the effects of climate change are felt, the drive towards more energy efficient buildings is intensifying.

In the Sustainable Buildings course we will explore the meaning of sustainability in the construction sector, and examine how the way we design, build, modify, use, and decommission buildings in order to contribute to the extremely challenging reductions in carbon emissions that climate experts are urging.  During the course we will address issues such as sustainable planning and design, the interactions between people, the environment and buildings, eco-minimal living, supply chain management and the relationship between technology and sustainability.

 Aims

    1. To provide understanding of the regulatory drivers behind the building and construction sector
    2. To understand the implications of the current UK and Scottish commitments to low carbon housing to the construction sector
    3. Have an in-depth study of the modelling techniques that are used in the design of modern sustainable buildings
    4. Have an appreciation of the complexities behind balancing economically affordable housing, with architecturally attractive buildings, and improving environmental performance
    5. Develop an appreciation of the shifting attitudes in both the supply and demand markets regarding the balance between traditional building techniques, new low carbon technologies and the regulatory need for improved sustainability
    		  

     Intended Learning Outcomes

    On completion of the course, students will be able to:

    1. Appreciate the history of modern architecture from an environmental context
    2. Understand the regulatory drivers behind the building and construction sector and how these drivers are likely to shape the future of design for sustainable construction
    3. Understand the role of the planning system in delivering sustainable construction
    4. Understand energy usage in modern domestic buildings, and how building form and fabric effects energy performance
    5. Understand the new market opportunities for sustainable building technologies
    6. Undertake simulation and modeling tasks which are essential for credible building performance analysis for both modern and traditional buildings
    7. Undertake case studies of best practice in the UK and internationally and understand the complexities of monitoring performance over time
    8. Analyse the total energy use and total greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, including both the embodied energy/carbon of buildings (construction and refurbishment) and operational energy use/greenhouse gas emissions, using Life Cycle Assessment methodologies
    9. Understand current monitoring and performance standards, including BREEAM, Passivhaus, Energy Performance Certificates and SAP
    10. Understand how people and buildings interact, from a ergonomic design and sociological perspective
    		  

     Assessment

    Summative assessment: assessment contributing to a final grade for the course

    • Individual essay (30%)
  1. Individual presentation (10%)
  2. Sustainable Building Feasibility Assessment & Recommendations (30%)
  3. Examination (30%)
    		4.   

     Teaching Hours

    • Lectures: 20 hours (2 hours per week for 10 teaching weeks)
    • Seminars/Workshops: 30 hours (3 hours per week for 10 teaching weeks)

    Total: 50 hours (5 hours per week for 10 teaching weeks)

    Ten teaching weeks, each comprising of some two hours of lectures and up to three hours of seminar/workshop/field class

    		  

     Timetable: Semester I

    Thursday 10:00-12:00 (Lecture)

    Thursday 13:00-16:00 (Seminar/Workshop)

    		  

     Prescribed and recommended texts

    This is a fast developing field - please note updated texts are likely to come online prior to 2010/11. Based on current and expected press:

    • S. Roaf (2007).  Ecohouse 3. Elsevier. 3rd Edition. 470pp
    • S. Roaf (2004). Closing the Loop Benchmarks for Sustainable Buildings. RIBA Publishing. 532pp. ISBN: 9781859461181
    • S. Guy & G. Farmer (2010). Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: Theories, Discourses, Practices.  Routledge. 
    • M. G. Cook (2009). Energy Efficiency in Old Houses. Crowood Press. 
    • S. Hren & R. Hren (2008). Carbon-Free Home 36 Remodelling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit.  Chelsea Green.  
    • M. Fairs (2008). Green Design. Carlton Publishing.
    • M. Fuchs, T. Stark, M. Zeumer (2008). Energy Manual  Sustainable Architecture.  Birkhauser.  
    • S. Halliday (2008). Sustainable Construction. Butterworth-Heinemann. 
    		 
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