Duration
15h Th, 30h Pr, 2d FW, 40h Proj.
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course on environmental design of buildings and neighbourhoods includes a theoretical part and a practical part related to a project.
This course adresses the principles of sustainable development, applied to architectural and urban design and namely includes:
- the analysis of some existing methods to assess the sustainability of buildings (HQE, BREEAM, etc.) and neighbourhoods (Walloon sustainable neighborhood handbook),
- environmental assessment through life-cycle analysis of buildings and neighbourhoods,
- environmental water management,
- criteria for selecting environmental construction materials (reuse / recycling, etc.),
- waste management,
- quality of the indoor environment (comfort, health).
This course aims at providing the students with the necessary skills to understand the main elements impacting the environmental quality and the sustainability of buildings and neighbourhoods (from the design phase), to develop a critical approach of the existing methods and tools and to be able to combine architectural and environmental quality in a concrete projet.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The objectives of the theoretical part are:
- To understand the issues and principles of sustainable development applied to architecture and urban design,
- To understand some principles and techniques that improve the environmental quality of buildings and neighbourhoods,
- To know the advantages and limitations of some existing methods and tools (expecially HQE) and to be able to use these methods with a critical view,
- to understand the importance of the context (urban site, program, etc.) in which the project is developed,
- To be able to choose the environmental technologies adapted to each project and to be able to develop the necessary additional resources for each specific project.
The objectives of the practical part are :
- To be able to integrate theoretical skills into a concrete project,
- To be able to develop a project that combines architectural quality and environemental quality,
- To be able to develop a critical view of the project and its environmental quality,
- To be able to taken into account the constaints and strenghts of the context in which the project is developed to choose and justify technical and architectural options,
- To be able to understand the necessary trade-offs and to justify the choices,
- To be able to verify the feasibility and the relevance of architectural and environmental choices,
- To develop communication and argumentation skills.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
None.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course combines theoretical teaching and a project, which consists in developing an architectural project, that combines architectural quality and environmental quality, through the developement and the justification of several environmental critera in the design of the project.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Blended learning
Additional information:
Course : first semester, on Monday from 14 pm to 18pm.
The theoretical courses are given using the flipped classroom method, which alternates face-to-face courses on one hand and podcasts combined with a list of questions on the other hand. The parts seen on podcasts and the answers to the questions asked about them are discussed interactively during the face-to-face courses.
Project reviews are organized weekly. The integration of multi-criteria issues into the architectural design process is facilitated through the use of a pre-structured portfolio, based on sheets corresponding to the various environmental criteria to be studied, accompanied by a progressive planning of the stages of development of the project to be achieved.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
The slides accompanying the oral presentation are available in pdf format and sent to the students by email. The podcasts produced for the course are sent to students via MyULiège.
Recommended reading: the Guide for Sustainable Neighborhoods of the Walloon Region.
This book provides a concrete summary of the main challenges of sustainable urban design. It is accessible free of charge at the following address (in french):
http://lampspw.wallonie.be/dgo4/tinymvc/myfiles/views/documents/publications/collections/SPW_Ref_Quartiers_Durables.pdf
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( open-ended questions )
- Remote
oral exam
Additional information:
The assessment focuses on:
1/ Written examination on the course (50%).
The written exam (January session) is designed to assess the students' ability to (1) understand the key issues and principles of SD applied to architecture and urbanism, (2) know environmental methods and techniques for the design and evaluation of buildings and neighborhoods; and (3) develop a critical reflection on the environmental quality / sustainability of buildings and neighbourhoods, based on the theoretical bases discussed in the course.
If a remote assessment is required by the health situation, the written examination will be replaced by an oral examination.
2/ Report on the environmental aspects of the architectural project (50%).
After the practical work and the final presentation of the project, each group of students presents a report in which they present how the environmental criteria were taken into account in their project.
It is not a question of strictly applying a specific method but to show students' capacity to develop a project that combines architectural quality and environmental quality and justify their choices in relation to a context, a program and technical requirements.
The report will focus on graphic communication as soon as possible. Where this is relevant, pre-sizing verifications will aim to support the feasibility and appropriateness of the proposed choices.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
This course is not available for Erasmus students.
Any questions or requests for additional information is welcome.
Students wishing to meet me can get an appointment by sending an e-mail.
Contacts
Main teacher: Prof. Sigrid Reiter
sigrid.reiter@uliege.be
Second teacher (only for the theoretical teaching of the Sustainable Neighborhoods Guide):
Dr. Anne-Françoise Marique
afmarique@uliege.be
Project assistant: Iris Reuter
Ireuter@uliege.be