Examination arrangement

Course content

This course is a prerequisite for and supports and underpins the design course AAR4546, but can also be taken as a stand-alone course. The course comprises of a series of specific theoretical lectures centered on life cycle thinking, with the related methods, (environmental) life cycle analysis (LCA), life cycle costing and social LCA. The course focuses on 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.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

• Know state of the art concepts and strategies for lowering environmental impact of material use in buildings
• Understand a building’s life cycle and the environmental challenges related to the different life cycle phases
• Understand the importance of various design choices and their impact on the embedded emissions of the design.

Skills:

• Calculate life cycle material emissions of 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.
• Professionally structure and write a research report on building LCA

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, exercises and presentations; discussions

Lectures, exercises and presentations; discussions; Calculating an LCA for a part of a building and writing of an LCA report according to ISO 14040.

Compulsory assignments

• Report

Further on evaluation

Integration of individual and group work in an LCA report.

Integration of numerical analyses of material emissions with a critical understanding of the case study architecture. The complexity of the analyses, scope, methodology used and relevance of the results for a critical analysis of the project. Communication and presentation.

Postponed examinations are usually scheduled for the next regular exam period.

Specific conditions

Required previous knowledge

To take this course, you must be enrolled in one of the following programs:

• Architecture (MAAR5)
• Architecture (MAAR2)
• Sustainable Architecture (MSSUSARC)

Exchange students have to fulfil the same requirements as for the enrollment in one of the study programs MAAR5, MAAR2, MSSUSARC.

Course materials

Case studies; research articles and other literature; lecture presentations