RMB 3.2 – Environment Design 2

Recommended Prerequisites

N/A

Teaching Methods

Weeks 1-3 (contemporary and in articulation with RMB 10.1 Design 2A)
Group field work on the study case:
1. Working with archive documents to know the construction system;
2. Surveying the study case – comfort conditions, architectural detail dimensions and construction pathologies.
2. Hypothetical reconstitution of key construction details.
Week 4
Study visit to a “best practice” case guided by the author of the Reuse project.
Weeks 5-7 (in articulation with RMB 10.2 Design 2B)
Practical exercise on the Design Studio study case:
1. Incorporation in the architectural design of current standards in terms of change in user demands and technical
regulations: energy production and buildings energy performance.
2. Application of models and performance testing skills acquired in RMB 3.1 to different solutions for the decisionmaking
process in the project.

Learning Outcomes

ABILITY TO CREATE ARCHITECTURAL REUSE DESIGNS THAT SATISFY AESTHETIC AND TECHNICAL
REQUIREMENTS
Develop a conceptual and critical approach to architectural design that integrates and satisfies the aesthetic
aspects of a building and the technical requirements of its construction and the needs of the user.
UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN, CONSTRUCTIONAL AND ENGINEERING PROBLEMS
ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING DESIGN
The investigation, critical appraisal and selection of alternative structural, constructional and material systems
relevant to architectural design
Strategies for building construction, and ability to integrate knowledge of structural principles and construction
techniques
The physical properties and characteristics of building materials, components and systems, and the environmental
impact of specification choices
ADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE OF PHYSICAL PROBLEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES AND THE FUNCTION OF BUILDINGS
SO AS TO PROVIDE THEM WITH CONDITIONS OF COMFORT AND ADEQUATE TO CLIMA

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Work method: recommended parameters in the historic study, architectural survey, construction survey and
diagnosis report.
2. Conservation, Restoration and Reconstruction of modernist construction elements and systems: preventing
future deterioration through correction of weaknesses and pathologies in exposed concrete, wood, steel and
waterproofing elements.
3. Rehabilitation of non-listed modernist buildings: optimising the environmental performance while maintaining
interior-exterior transparencies; introducing state of the art ventilation, energy co-generation and new fire escape
routes while preserving features that convey its historical, cultural and architectural values.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Active participation in the field work and practical exercise. Mid term and final Presentation with colloquium.: 100.0%

Bibliography

Thomas, Randal, “Environmental Design: An Introduction for Architects and Engineers”, E & F Spon, London, 1996
European Union, “A green Vitruvius - principles and practice of sustainable architectural design”, AAVV
Olgyay, Victor, “Design with Climate - Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism”, Princeton University
Press, Princeton, 1963