In this online course, we will explore innovative techniques of environmental building design with an emphasis on the fundamental concepts of climatology and building science with which they are developed.
Program
Required Foundational Course in the Executive Program in Design for Sustainability (XDS) or as Stand-Alone Course.
Cost
$699
Duration
6 weeks
Effort
6-10 hours per week to complete all aspects of the course.
CEUs
AIA 6 LU|HSW
Location & Delivery
Online and Asynchronous (Recorded videos with weekly live interaction)
Who should attend?
This course is ideal for architects, interior designers, engineers and other built environment professionals who want to understand the concepts and techniques that underlie advanced level sustainable design.
Level of Instruction
This is a non-credit course for working professionals taught at the graduate level.
Software
This course is designed to support any built environment professional regardless of software training. Microsoft Excel and free available apps including Climate Consultant, WUFI and more.
Course Schedule and Learning Objectives
Week 1
Bioclimatic Innovation // Manitoba Hydro
Understand and apply the principles of human thermal comfort.
Understand and apply the principles of bioclimatic design.
Week 2
Enclosures
Understand the evolution of building enclosures and their role in the thermal behavior of different building types.
Analyze and interpret the insulating properties of materials in building construction assemblies.
Analyze and interpret the elements of building heat loss.
Week 3
Selective Enclosures
Understand and the power of glazing to selectively filter environmental resources.
Understand and analyze the different properties of glass.
Understand the interaction of heat loss and solar gain through glazing on interior temperatures.
Week 4
Thermal Mass & Timing
Understand the ability of different materials to absorb heat and analyze their role in the dynamic regulation of interior temperatures.
Learn to calculate the thermal time constant of a building and its effect on comfort and energy consumption.
Week 5
Climate Responsive Budlings
Understand and analyze the powerful effect of ventilation and shading on interior temperatures. Explore and interpret the effect of different control settings on building temperatures.
Analyze and interpret the combined effect of lossiness, glazing, thermal mass, ventilation, and shading in four different climates.
Week 6
Environmental Resources
Understand the thermal potential of different environmental resources—sun, rain, wind—and of different environmental reservoirs-- air, sky, moisture, and ground temperatures.
Analyze the solar resources available on a site.
Design a responsive, bioclimatic window-wall elements.
Full Course Description
Fundamentals of Bioclimatic Design enhances and extends the traditional practices of bioclimatic architectural design, which rely on the “passive” properties of the building envelope to modulate the local climate. By adapting “smart” technologies such as fans, heat pumps, and responsive controllers, buildings can leverage more environmental resources to make buildings comfortable, healthy, and energy-efficient. It combines principles of biology, climatology, and building science to create a symbiotic relationship between the building, its systems, and its surroundings. Innovative bioclimatic design empowers architects to develop new forms of building that improve habitability.