The seminar aims to investigate some paradigms related to low energy and carbon built environment, as challenging and contemporary themes of environmental design and assessment; the goal is therefore to develop awareness of the most current theories, methods and operational tools, which can be adopted in subsequent teaching courses. Architectural Technology and Building Physics are academic disciplines aimed at defining and deepening the relationships between the built environment and environmental sustainability, also in the field of research. Linking the two disciplines through the themes of energy transition and low carbon architecture is therefore a choice that is consequential with the experience acquired over the years and aims to provide students with a vision of the most recent environmental addresses. The contribution whitin Architectural Technology intends to explore some themes that characterize the design and evaluation of micro-urban systems and the building system, paying particular attention to the relationships between morphological-settlement setting, languages of architecture, detailed design and material-constructive choices. The topics addressed in the initial part of the seminar are intended to develop a critical awareness in student’s perception, through the illustration of the cultural models of environmental design tools, referred in the evolution of the current debate in this regard. Some ways of managing environmental resources at urban and district scale will be illustrated, some active and passive technological systems for architecture will be analyzed - investigating the possibilities of integration into the architectural design - and methodologies and measuring tools energy and environmental sustainability will be introduced with reference to the different phases of the life cycle of buildings. In a complementary way, the contribution whitin Building Physics intends to deepen the tools and scientific bases for understanding the scenarios related to the energy transition processes at different scales, through the critical analysis of renewable and non-renewable energy sources, related technologies, and the evaluation of primary energy and polluting emissions through balance equations. The seminar will also explore, through expert presentations and the direct involvement of students, the issues of energy sustainability in the building process assessment and environmental labels protocols.

The seminar aims to transmit knowledge to students for: - understanding some of the contemporary technological challenges related to the energy transition and low carbon architecture; - analyzing and understanding current and future energy scenarios at different levels and in different contexts; - using and enhancing environmental methods and tools for architectural design; - verifying energy-environmental impacts according to international guidelines, regulations and technical standards; - developing energy balance equations at different levels to optimize the energy mix necessary to meet the requirements of energy efficiency, cost and polluting emissions of buildings and neighborhoods. Students will be able to develop the skills acquired through exercises and design activities, according to different areas of analysis and study, from urban to technological detail. The attention paid to the relationship between theory and practice will make it possible to enhance strategies, methodologies and tools in subsequent teaching experiences, especially in design courses.

Students should have good knowledge of the main topics covered in the exams of architectural technology and environment-related physical science envisaged in the 3-year Bachelor’s degree program in architecture (L-17). Therefore, the students should have acquired the ability to: - read and understand the technological characteristics related to the architectural project (needs-requirements-performance); - understand and communicate in the disciplinary language of architecture. - analyze and design the main architectural technical elements; - carry on the thermo-physical characterization of the main architectural technical elements; - analyze and design the built environment according to the basic principles of bioclimatic architecture; - use the representation and communication tools, including multimedia, to provide an in-depth description of problems that are complex or that require a multidisciplinary approach; - apply the basic knowledge of thermodynamics and thermophysics to buildings

Humankind is in the middle of a planetary crisis, characterized by climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution of air, earth and water. The architect must re-elaborate the design process as a potential answer to the crisis, and as a way to improve and to ecologically requalify the city. The seminar transversally and comprehensively covers the design and evaluation criteria that facilitate the energy transition through a low carbon architecture, considering a wide range of focuses, from urban to building scale. Four focuses will be introduced by a research question, which will be investigated by the teachers together with the students and also with the support of invited experts. At the end of each focus, students will be asked to provide a tentative answer. Both lectures and workshops are pre-planned, with the intent of involving a pro-active student participation. Unit 1: CHALLENGES AND GOALS (0,5 CFU) (Q1) What are the goals and the programs driving the design and building of the architecture of the future? This first focus is on the definition of the goals and politics in the field of energy transition and low carbon design, at a European and global level. The unit will cover technical insights and standards, describing recent programs and strategical trends (like Green deal, Reinventing Cities, Renovation Wave for Europe, …), as well as the cultural debate originating in the ‘70s, presenting and discussing exemplar pieces of architecture, and examining their qualities from the point of view of environmental sustainability. Unit 2: CITIES (2 CFU) (Q2) What is the role of the city in the process of energy transition and climate neutrality? The global urbanization trend is a major battlefield for the energy transition. As needs for increasing cooling in new and existing urban areas are exacerbated by the global warming, the output of the increased emissions on the climate change will amplify the same needs, leading us to a crunch. In this unit, students will learn fundamentals of energy balance of a city, from generation to final uses, and backward, and how to critically evaluate the effects of strategies and technologies for the urban environment. Lectures will introduce the concepts of Urban Metabolism, Urban Habitat (IAAC Barcellona) and the interconnection between different scales (local/regional/global) of energy generation and final uses with CO2 emissions. Unit 3: BUILDINGS (2 CFU) (Q3) How to integrate the environmental and energy related requirements in architecture and how to evaluate their effects? The 3rd unit will present and discuss the technological and design solutions capable of minimizing fossil fuel consumption and the associated emissions, originating from the demand of indoor environmental climate control. Students will be stimulated to observe the many factors influencing a successful diffusion of potentially climate-friendly technologies, including marketing, behavioral and social aspects. The concepts of life cycle design and design for disassembly are introduced, including recent developments in the fields of design digitalization, construction, monitoring and end of life of building. Moreover, the life cycle design approach will be discussed considering some references related to strategical and technical standards. In this unit, a parametrical analysis of building energy performance is introduced to effectively evaluate and compare technologies. Unit 4: PRODUCTS (1,5 CFU) (Q4) How can be a life cycle assessment approach be used to make low-carbon decisions in project design and materials? The 4th unit is devoted to the definition of metrics for energy and environmental evaluation, introducing some additional indexes that are complementary to the in-use performance ones, namely the Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon indexes. A special focus of this unit is on the production and supply chains, products and building components life cycles, and their effects on the global eco-system. Specific solutions for building design will be described, able to reduce emissions, considering the followings: selections and definition of materials (secondary, recycled, renewable, local, ….), layers of building elements (design for simple mounting and dismounting, design for recycling, …).

The seminar is organized in lectures (30 hours) and workshops (30 hours). External experts can be invited for special topics. The two disciplines will work in strict coordination and several times the two professors can be present at the same time in class. The materials used for the lectures will be made available on the portal. For each unit, workshops are proposed that will foresee team activities and roleplay. Depending on the total number of those enrolled, these teams can be composed of 3 to 6 students. The workshops outcomes should be collected in a report that must be uploaded on the portal for evaluation.

El Khouli S., John V., Zeumer M., Sustainable Construction Techniques, Edition Detail, Munich 2015; IEA (2018), “The Future of Cooling Opportunities for energy efficient air conditioning” IEA (2020), “The World Energy Outlook (WEO)” IRENA, IEA and REN21 (2018), ‘Renewable Energy Policies in a Time of Transition’. IRENA, OECD/IEA and REN21. Steel J., Ecological Architecture. A critical history, Thames & Hudson, London 2005. Thiebat F., Life Cycle Design. An experimental tool for Designers, Springer, 2019; Further literature references, publications and software tools will be provided during the lectures.

Slides;

Modalità di esame: Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Exam: Group project;

... Active presence in class during lectures, workshops and seminars is a fundamental condition for a successful outcome. Students will be asked to participate with critical thinking and ingenuity. Final exam consists in an oral discussion about all the topics covered in the seminar. The exam will be jointly evaluated by the two disciplines. Final mark is individually assigned, given in x/30 and derived by a credit-based weighted average between the two disciplines evaluations. The maximum mark of 30/30 cum laude will be unanimously attributed

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.