Required Course
Credits: 3-0-3 (3 semester hours)
Type of Course: Lecture
Instructors: Ruchi Choudhary
Prerequisites: ARCH 2211 or ARCH 4105
Course Overview
Our finite energy resources are being depleted at an increasing rate. Buildings in the United States currently consume over 40% of the total energy used each year, and cause serious environmental degradation, leading to ecological erosion and indoor air quality deterioration. In the face of these growing threats, students must become more adept in selecting those systems that work in harmony with nature, and minimize energy consumption.
Students in this course become familiar with those elements that contribute to the heating and cooling loads in the building, and are introduced to strategies for reducing the energy consumption. Integrated design topics will include solar geometry, shading and control, heating, cooling, ventilation, day lighting and acoustics. Design aspects involving energy efficiency, comfort, health and productivity are explored holistically.
Passive solar design strategies are investigated in combination with day lighting concepts with focus on architectural implications in the generation of sustainable qualities of the environment, the preservation and enhancement of our well being and the design of energy efficient buildings.
This course, organized in lecture, workshop, and computer lab format, runs parallel to the ongoing design studio. The studio project serves as the vehicle for design integration, and the application setting for the main class project.
Learning Objectives
- Learn about the site-specific implications of natural forces - sun, wind, and light - and the design strategies to advantageously incorporate them.
- Understand psychrometrics, human thermal comfort, and indoor air quality and become aware of ways that architects can affect and improve comfort and air quality.
- Learn to apply those principles governing building energy use and become aware of ways designers can significantly decrease building energy consumption.
- Comprehend solar geometry, shading calculations and solar control.
- Develop an understanding of holistic passive solar design and explore the integration of these solar features in design.
- Develop an understanding and appreciation of natural illumination concepts and the overwhelming impetus for their design integration.
- Become familiar with the physics of acoustics and the basic principles applicable to buildings.
Course Requirements
Students will be evaluated on the basis of homework, projects, exams, and involvement in class. There will be nine assignments, two projects, and two exams. Regular attendance is also a requirement, and more than three unexcused (without written consent) absences will result in loss of a letter grade.
Both the projects require meaningful integration with your design studio work, and will be primarily graded on that basis. Students will learn various analytic techniques in class and will be expected to use them creatively to inform or enhance the ideas guiding studio projects. Credit will also be given to creative and well presented work.
Exams are open books/open notes format. The first exam will cover material covered from week 1-7, and the second exam will cover week 8-14. The second exam is not cumulative. The grading distribution for the course is: (a) Homework – 20%, (b) Projects & Research Reports – 40%, (c) Exams – 40%.
The course material will consist of a required textbook, supplementary course-pack notes, and recommended supplementary reading.