99642 - Sustainable Building Assessment

Learning outcomes

After providing students with an overview of the objectives, principles and basic tools for assessing the sustainability levels of a building, the course will illustrate the characteristics of both the Green Building Rating Systems (GBRS) schemes and the LCA approach. A guided application of both methods to a simple case study will allow the student to understand the latitude of the notion of building sustainability and the different means to measure it.

Course contents

The course will illustrate the concepts and criteria for the sustainable design of interventions on the built environment, both at building and urban scales. The central focus of the course will be a thorough analysis of the most recognized international rating systems for assessing the environmental sustainability and climate resilience of "sustainable buildings" (parameters and levels).

The course will be structured in two Modules.

- Module 1 encompasses three thematic blocks consisting of lectures and interactive moments, which will explore the following topics:

Thematic block 1: Sustainable buildings and design strategies. From practice to legislation

• Introduction to the concepts of environmental sustainability and sustainable design;
• Insight into concepts at the building scale (main technical and technological solutions);
• Analysis of indoor environmental quality: measured parameters and EU legislation;
• Study of concepts at the urban scale with a focus on how urban greening can influence buildings' sustainability and performances;

Thematic block 2: International assessment tools and methods

• Overview of international environmental sustainability assessment systems;
• Insight into the most widely used systems (LEED, BREEAM, CASBEE, DGNB, etc.) at both building and district scales;

Thematic block 3: LCA. Theory and practice

• How to perform a Life Cycle Assessment analysis. Description of the theoretical framework and methods.
• LCA in practice: examples from existing buildings and applications.

- Module 2 consists in practical exercises connected to the three thematic blocks.

Exercises will be conducted in group and will consist on:

1. Analysis of an existing building and its design concept followed by the development of sustainable strategies to improve the buildings' performances. The main output for students will be to recognize strenghts and limitations of sustainable buildings and to come up with their own strategies based on what has been described in Thematic block 1.

2. Use of the main tools (LEED, BREEAM, CASBEE...) to assess the level of sustianability of a given building.

3. Perform an LCA of the same building chosen for exercise 2.

Readings/Bibliography

David Bergman, “Sustainable Design. A critical guide”, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2012.

Sebastian El khouli, Viola John, Martin Zeumer, “Sustainable Construction Techniques”, Detail Green Book, Insitut fur Internationale, 2015.

Elena Bernardi, Salvatore Carlucci, Cristina Cornaro and Rolf André Bohne, “An Analysis of the Most Adopted Rating Systems for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Buildings”, Sustainability, MDPI, 2017, 9, 1226

Antonio Sánchez Cordero, Sergio Gómez Melgar and José Manuel Andújar Márquez, “Green Building Rating Systems and the New Framework Level(s): A Critical Review of Sustainability Certification within Europe”, Energies, MDPI, 2020, 13, 66.

Cavan, G. and Kingston, R, "Development of a climate change risk and vulnerability assessment tool for urban areas", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 2012, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 253-269.

Robert Crawford, “Life Cycle Assessment in the Built Environment”, Routledge, London, 2011.

Roberto Di Giulio, “Manuale di manutenzione edilizia. Valutazione del degrado e programmazione della manutenzione”, Maggioli editore, Santarcangelo di Romagna, 2011.

Supplementary materials (booklets) provided by the teacher in the Virtual platform.

Teaching methods

Teaching activities include classroom lectures and thematic meetings with external experts.

Assessment methods

The learning assessment will be carried out through the final exam, which will consist of an individual written test (multiple-choice questions + 1 open question) aimed at ascertaining knowledge and understanding of the booklets and presentations lectured.

Multiple-choice questions:

- 0.5 incorrect answer

1.0 correct answer

0.0 blank

Open questions:

0.0 wrong or no answer
1.0 incomplete/insufficient
1.5 sufficient
2.0 good
2.5 very good

Teaching tools

Lectures with use of multimedia tools, supplementing individual communications with additional specific documentation (booklets) and bibliographical references. Slides used to support the main lectures will be made available on the Virtual Teaching Platform two days prior the lecture.

Office hours

See the website of Michele D'Ostuni