Course - Material Emissions as Design Drivers - Theory - AAR4817
Material Emissions as Design Drivers - Theory
Assessments and mandatory activities may be changed until September 20th.
About
About the course
Course content
This course is a prerequisite for and supports and underpins the design course AAR4546, and it supports the Circular Studio -Transformation and Experiment AAR4690. It can also be taken as a stand-alone course and as part of the of the minor in architecture.
The course comprises of a series of specific theoretical lectures and exercises centered on life cycle thinking, with the related methods, (environmental) life cycle analysis (LCA), life cycle costing (LCC) and social LCA, and the underlying concepts resource efficiency and circularity.
The course focuses on greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., environmental LCA) of building materials throughout their life cycle, providing methods and practical examples relevant to building design.
The lectures are complemented by a series of labs introducing tools to conduct LCA in a building design process to be applied in the design course AAR4546 and in Circular Studio AAR4690.
Learning outcome
Knowledge:
- Know state of the art concepts and strategies for lowering environmental impact of material use in buildings
- Know state of the art concepts of circularity in the built environment
- Understand a building’s life cycle and the environmental challenges related to the different life cycle phases, including building use, transformation and end of life
Skills:
- Calculate life cycle material emissions of building materials, components and buildings
- Use of advanced software for LCA with computer aided design
General competence:
- Analyse and communicate life cycle emissions of buildings in a clear and precise manner to the general public and the professional community.
- Structure and write a research report on building LCA
Learning methods and activities
Lectures, exercises, presentations and discussions.
The students will work on calculating an LCA for a part of a building and writing of an LCA report according to ISO 14040.
There will be a mandatory final presentation before the hand-in of the report.
This course is offered to international master's students. Language of instruction is English.
Compulsory assignments
- Oral presentation prior to submitting the thesis
Further on evaluation
The students hand in an individual written report.
Evaluation will be based on:
- Integration of numerical analyses of material emissions with a critical understanding of the material / building cases.
- The complexity of the analyses, scope, methodology used and relevance of the results as a basis for the project course.
Compulsory activity is an oral presentation that takes place before submitting a written report.
Postponed examinations are usually scheduled for the next regular exam period.
Specific conditions
Admission to a programme of study is required:
Architecture (MAAR)
Architecture (MAAR2)
Civil Engineering (MTBYGG)
Sustainable Architecture (MSSUSARC)
Recommended previous knowledge
It is desirable that students have taken Climate and Built Form Theory (AAR4832) and Project (AAR 4532) or have equivalent knowledge of climate adapted design strategies and operational energy analysis.
Required previous knowledge
Exchange students have to fulfil the same requirements as for the enrollment in one of the study programs MAAR, MAAR2, MSSUSARC.
Course materials
Case studies, environmental product declarations; research articles and other literature; lecture presentations;
Subject areas
- Architecture