| CODE | EVD5208 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Building Fabric and Retrofitting | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Environmental Design | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit, through the lecturing component, exposes the students to the essential concepts of refurbishment for re-use of existing (possibly historic) buildings, with minimal interventions, focused mainly on improving its energy efficiency, using new materials (where permissible) that have minimal environmental (& aesthetic) impact , yet without compromising thermal comfort. Through practical fieldwork and the presentation of case studies, students learn about the different parameters that influence an energy-sensitive refurbishment for both (relatively) new and existing buildings (historic), balancing thermal comfort with energy efficiency. Study-unit Aims The aims of this study-unit are to expose students to the identification and differentiation of: - critical key passive design principles that can influence a building's refurbishment and how through retrofitting one can still achieve energy efficiency, balanced with indoor comfort within buildings; - different options of retrofitting to roofs, walls and floors, without compromising structural and aesthetic aspects; - LCA (life-cycle analysis) of building materials and the associated energy saving potential when retrofitting a building, typically its fabric. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify acceptable levels of 'comfort trade-off' of energy efficiency versus comfort for given established indoor environments, for a given use of a space (also considering its historic context, when applicable); - Given the knowledge of heat transfer through voluminous spaces and the building fabric, students will be able to quantify the amount of energy lost/gained throughout a proposed design scheme; - Given an awareness of the embodied energy of materials, students realise the potential of what a careful choice of materials can make in the energy-conscious refurbishment of a building. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the key features in the building envelope that control the indoor microclimate as well as around a cluster of buildings. - Explore the possible use of 'green materials' to achieve the most sustainable design scheme for a new building of a given category (residential/commercial/industrial). - Upon completion of this study-unit, students will be expected to produce an in-depth study of design schemes, coming up with a selection of solutions to the design problem, now being completely versatile with specific software tools and media, demonstrating competency in their design proposals through quantifiable measures. - On completion of this study-unit, given one or a number of case studies, the students will be able to make their own judgement to assess the energy efficiency of an existing building, typically launched as a refurbishment project, also proposing means of improvement to its energy consumption trends. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Main Text/s: - Edholm, O.G., Man, Hot and Cold (1978). - Fanger, P.O., Thermal Comfort & Engineering (1984). - Koeningsburger et al, Manual of Tropical Housing (1981). - Environmental Design of Buildings - An introduction for Architects & Engineers - Randall Thomas Supplementary Readings: - Hyde Richard - Climate Responsive Design. - Langston, Ding - Sustainable Practices in the Built Environment. - Hawkes, D., The Environmental tradition: studies in the architecture of environment, (1996). - Samuels, R. and Prasad, D. K., Global Warming and the Built Environment, (1994). - Baker, N. and Steemers, K., Energy and Environment in Architecture, (2000). - Roaf, S., Hancock, M., (eds.) Energy efficient building: a design guide, (1992). - Yannas, S. Solar Energy and Housing Design, 2 vols.(1994). - Givoni, B. Man, Climate and Architecture, (1976, 1985, 1992). - Olgyay, V. Design with Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism, (1992). |
||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Fieldwork, Lectures and Tutorials | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Vincent M. Buhagiar |
||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||