Towards Solar Decathlon

The Teaching Unit "Architecture and sustainability: Performance studies" is open to master and PhD students interested in deepening their knowledge in sustainable architecture. This course focuses on a detailed design and analysis exercise of the climate-responsiveness and energy-efficiency of a building’s envelope.

This exercise aims at integrating several environmental criteria together with performance objectives into the design process of a building’s façade. It resorts to several assessment methods, of which the students will have to master the principles and use, with a particular emphasis on a range of simulation tools of variable complexity. The objectives of the course include the use of dynamic simulation tools
, the calculation of environmental impacts and the integration of evaluation results into an integrated design process.

For this edition, the topic is more specifically inspired by the dynamics of the Solar Decathlon competition. Students will be asked to explore different ways of modeling and assessing performances in order to design a bioclimatic façade for a future housing unit. Emphasis will notably be placed on architectural issues, construction details, energy efficiency (in particular through passive systems) and reduction of environmental impacts (LCA).