A smart building is the integration of building systems, technology and energy systems. Such systems may include building automation, life safety, telecommunication, user functions, materials selection for new construction and retrofitting. Smart buildings have positive impacts on both environment and energy, in particular if an ICT-controlled exchange between building energy systems and district grid is implemented.
ICT knowledge enables a better use of resources in buildings hence allowing for a better connection between locally generated renewable energy and the electricity grid helping cities to reduce their carbon emissions.
The course aims at providing an advanced understanding of topics with regards to ICT and smart building design as well as to enable students to acquire a specialised knowledge of selected aspects related to the integration between ICT systems and advanced building technologies. Furthermore, the course aims at allowing students in being able to understand and work with architectural and technological aspects connected to the building design.

Students will gain skills and acquire knowledge concerning the relationship between ICT systems and:
-main aspects connected to the principal building technological elements for further system integration;
- main principles related to smart building and smart cities design;
- resource saving measures to be used in technical building systems (heating, ventilation, cooling, lighting);
- indoor climate control including natural ventilation;
- methods, tools and procedures for assessing environmental building performance.

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Lectures and exercises regard the following topics:

1) Smart Building and Smart Cities concepts
2) Climate-responsive building envelop
3) Sustainable technical building systems (heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting)
4) ICT environmentally sound control and management of technical building systems
5) Assessment of sustainability in building design

The application of knowledge acquired by students from the course’s lectures on the above mentioned topics will be carried out through both brief specific exercises and within the interdisciplinary project on a smart building design. From a methodological point-of-view, a two-faceted approach will be followed: on one hand, models and technological solutions to be applied to a building with the aim of reducing its environmental impacts will be presented, so that students can understand the working principles of the various technical building systems and design them accordingly. On the other hand, the existing (and future evolution) ICT systems needed to manage, coordinate, interact, program and integrate such building functionalities, will be discussed.

Within the interdisciplinary project, students will develop a practical design exercise, by developing and simulating computational models of the control of technical building systems described in the course as well as applying prototype ICT solutions for implementing new and "smart" functions.

Due to the innovative contents of this course no reference publications are given.
Materials and documentation, such as slides, tables, graphs, software, printed handouts related to both lectures and exercises will be supplied during the course together with scientific papers.

Learning target achievements will be reached via lectures, seminars and learning exercises through both individual activity and team work on building design case studies.
Deliveries are consistent to scheduled activities and final exam dates.

The final exam with relevant scoring will include:
- a test to assess theoretical knowledge acquired during the course (weight: 40% of the final score; duration: 1 h) – consultation of supporting tools and material is not allowed;
- an evaluation by the teachers of the final results of the exercises carried out during the course and presented in a book one week before the final exam (weight: 40%);
- a slide presentation of the results of the exercises carried out during the course and discussion about them to check student’s comprehension of the learning process (weight: 20%; duration: 20 minutes per student team).