Improving learning about sustainable design in architectural education : the NZEB's Project a case study

Abstract

The Special report on strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its 5th Assessment Report (AR5) urges us to address pressing issues related to global warming and climate change. In the construction sector of the EU, action has already begun to help Minimise Carbon Emissions and reverse their current negative impact on the environment. These initiatives have so far been based on introducing the mandatory construction of “nearly Net-Zero Energy Buildings” (NZEBs) from 2018 onwards, in compliance with an EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (2010/31/EU). This legislation applies to the building sector and covers the design and future construction of all new public and privately owned buildings. The NZEB project not only constitutes a technical challenge but also a challenge for the design process. It must be addressed by the introduction of new, specialised programmes at Schools of Architecture. This document describes how this pedagogical content has been introduced into the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) MSc in “Architecture & Sustainability: Design Tools & Environmental Control Techniques” (1). As an example of the results obtained, we present a project for a Multi-Storey Hotel in Guangzhou, China. This was developed by a team of students from the MSc course and presented as their final project.