Ecological Design in Architecture

The Department of Architecture provides a focused course of study in ecological and sustainable design. The American Institute of Architects, the national professional organization, has adopted the 2030 Challenge, which requires that all buildings built in the United States in the year 2030 and beyond be Carbon Neutral in regards to the atmosphere. This concentration will provide students with the tools to design buildings to be Carbon Neutral as well as resource-conserving and environmentally non-polluting. Students wishing to pursue this concentration must be enrolled in the MArch or MArch/MUP program and must complete a minimum of 21 credits from the following groups of courses.

Ecological Design Required Core Courses (12 credits):

ARCH 723       Fundamentals of Ecological Architecture – 3 cr
ARCH 794       Pre-Thesis or Master’s Project Seminar
                    (ecological design focus) – 3 cr
ARCH 890       Master’s Thesis or Master’s Project (ecological
or 891            design focus) – 6 cr
 
Ecological Design Elective Courses
(9 credits, at least 3 credits taken outside architecture):

Architecture Elective Courses:
ARCH 520       Environmental Systems: Illumination and Thermal
                    Comfort
ARCH 521       Environmental Systems: Resources-
                    Fluid Distribution Systems
ARCH 522       Environmental Systems: Lighting and
                    Acoustical Design
ARCH 584       Urban Landscape Architecture
ARCH 585       Research Methods in Architecture
ARCH 788       Green Building Seminar
 
Non-Architecture Elective Courses (minimum 3 credits):
ANTHRO 448     Cultural and Human Ecology
BIO SCI 458      Community Ecology
BIO SCI 505      Conservation Biology
CES 471           Principles of Natural Resources Management
CIVENG 490      Transportation Engineering
CIVENG 492      Environmental Impact Assessment
ELECENG 574    Intermediate Control Systems
GEOG 405         Cartography
GEOG 411         Physical Climatology
GEOG 455         Applied Climatology
GEOG 464         Environmental Problems
GEOG 475         Geography of Soils
GEOG 540         Globalization and the City
PHIL 324           Philosophy of Science
URBPLAN 780     Seminar in Environmental Planning Issues
URBPLAN 781     Environmental Law and Policy
URBPLAN 791     Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
URBPLAN 880     Challenges to Urban Sustainability

Or other elective courses approved by the student’s faculty advisor.
 
Faculty Advisors

Raymond Isaacs
Gregory Thomson
D. Michael Utzinger
James Wasley