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 is composed of two modules:

• Module 1: Sustainable Building Assessment Theory and Industrial examples
  • Building Lifecycle & Sustainability
  • Lifecycle stages: design, manufacturing, construction, operation, end-of-life
  • Sustainable impact assessment at each stage to socio-technical transition
  • Directive, norms and EU taxonomy
  • Technological Impact on Sustainability
  • Sustainable materials and technologies
  • Sustainability Certification Systems (e.g. BREEAM, LEED, SRI, WELL, WiredScore)
    
  • Comparative analysis of certification systems
  • Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) Methodology, principles and applications in building assessment
  • Stakeholder Roles in Sustainability
  • Identifying key stakeholders in sustainable construction
    Stakeholder engagement strategies (theropy of

• Module 2: Sustainable Building Assessment Project

This module consists of a series of ex-tempore activities and class exercises, culminating in a final project:

• Ex-tempore 1: Building Use Case, State of Art Assessment, and Stakeholder Engagement
• Ex-tempore 2: Building Envelope Technologies
• Ex-tempore 3: Mechanical and Technical Systems
• Ex-tempore 4: Digital Systems (BMS, Digital Twin, IoT)
• Ex-tempore 5: Carbon Footprint Simulation

Each ex-tempore activity focuses on specific aspects of building assessment, encouraging hands-on investigation and practical analysis.

Readings/Bibliography

• BREEAM | Sustainable Building Certification, URL https://breeam.com/ (accessed 9.11.24).
• Building Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking | UN-Habitat, URL https://unhabitat.org/building-sustainability-assessment-and-benchmarking (accessed 9.11.24).
• Built Environment Decarbonisation, 2024, URL https://bed.ectp.org/ (accessed 9.11.24).
• EPD Library | EPD International, https://www.environdec.com/library (accessed 9.12.24).
• Díaz López, C., Carpio, M., Martín-Morales, M., Zamorano, M., 2019. A comparative analysis of sustainable building assessment methods. Sustainable Cities and Society 49, 101611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101611
• EU taxonomy for sustainable activities - European Commission. URL https://finance.ec.europa.eu/sustainable-finance/tools-and-standards/eu-taxonomy-sustainable-activities_en (accessed 9.11.24).
• Glossary of sustainability, https://sustainable.org.nz/learn/tools-resources/glossary-of-sustainability/ (accessed 9.11.24).
• Hollberg, A., Kiss, B., Röck, M., Soust-Verdaguer, B., Wiberg, A.H., Lasvaux, S., Galimshina, A., Habert, G., 2021. Review of visualising LCA results in the design process of buildings. Building and Environment 190, 107530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107530
• LETI, URL https://www.leti.uk (accessed 9.11.24).
• Rodrigues, L., Delgado, J.M.P.Q., Mendes, A., Lima, A.G.B., Guimarães, A.S., 2023. Sustainability Assessment of Buildings Indicators. Sustainability 15, 3403. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043403
• Smart readiness indicator - European Commission, URL https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/smart-readiness-indicator_en (accessed 9.11.24).
• WELL, n.d. WELL Standard, URL https://v2.wellcertified.com/en (accessed 9.11.24).
• WiredScore - Setting buildings up for success [WWW Document], n.d. . WiredScore. URL https://wiredscore.com/ (accessed 9.11.24).
• World Green Building Council [WWW Document], n.d. URL https://worldgbc.org/ (accessed 9.11.24).

Teaching methods

The course is organized with the following teaching methods:

• Module 1: Sustainable Building Assessment Theoretical Foundation
  • Lectures for key concepts and methodologies
  • Seminars with guest speakers from the construction value chain
    

• Module 2: Sustainable building assessment project

In the Sustainable Building Assessment course, ex-tempore activities and class exercises play a crucial role in helping students understand and apply building assessment principles. These activities are designed to guide students through various stages of the assessment process, encouraging hands-on investigation and practical analysis. Each ex-tempore focuses on specific aspects of building assessment, from initial research and stakeholder engagement to technology evaluation and carbon footprint analysis. These exercises culminate in a final exam where students present their comprehensive project and demonstrate their understanding of sustainable building practices.

• Ex-tempore Activities and Class Exercises

  • Ex-tempore 1: Building use case, State of Art assessment and Stakeholder Engagement
    Objective: Select and analyze a use case, gathering detailed information about the site, technologies, materials, consumtoions, norms, and stakeholder goals.
    

  • Ex-tempore 2: Building technology for sustainability: Building Envelope Technologies
    Objective: Analyze and evaluate technologies related to the building envelope (windows, facade and roof).

• Ex-tempore 3: Building technology for sustainability: Building Envelope Technologies mechanical and technical systems
  Objective: Evaluate technological systems such as heating/cooling systems, lighting systems, air systems, solar systems, etc.

• Ex-tempore 4: Building technology for sustainability: Digital Systems
  Objective: Examine digital systems including BMS, digital twin, and IoT.
  

• Ex-tempore 5: Carbon Footprint Simulation
  Objective: Simulate and analyze the carbon footprint trajectory of the building.
  

Assessment methods

The assessment for the Sustainable Building Assessment course comprises both practical and theoretical components, evaluated through individual project work and oral discussions.

Final Examination

Ammission at the exam will be for a partecipation of at least 80% for each module (module 1 and module 2)

The final examination involves the presentation of an individual project and assesses the results achieved across the different course modules (lessons, seminars exercitaion and ex-tempore). The project will consist in a building assessment project demonstrating the claerness of initial assessment and opportunities for upgrade with specific technologies, KPI impacts, and ecosystem identification. The final score, expressed out of thirty, will be based on the following criteria, with a maximum of 15 points awarded for each module with a minimum score requested for each module of 9/15. The examination is divided into two main parts:

• Oral Discussion (Module 1 evaluation)

Content: Students will discuss the contents and findings of their individual project, reflecting on the activities carried out during the course.
Evaluation: The discussion will focus on the student's ability to articulate key concepts, use appropriate terminology, and integrate course materials and bibliography into their analysis. Clarity of presentation and the ability to present sustanble builsing concepts will be crucial. Scoring Criteria: accurate use of terminology, mapping of the assessment process, understanding of actor roles in the building lifecycle, and bibliography know-how. Weight: 15 points.

• Evaluation of Project (Module 2)

Content: The building assessment project will be evaluated. The project (developed grdually also withclassroom exercitation and ex-tempore) focuses on specific aspects of building assessment, and students are expected to present their findings clearly and effectively in line with course actvities. Evaluation: The evaluation will consider the technological quality of proposed solutions and their alignment with theoretical concepts covered in the course. The presentation should also demonstrate a strong understanding of the roles of various actors in the building lifecycle and the application of relevant terminology. Scoring Criteria: technological quality of proposed solutions, coherence with theoretical aspects from course modules, and overall effectiveness of the ex-tempore presentations. Weight: 15 points, with the ex-tempore activities weighted at 40% of this module (maximum 6 points of the 15).
This comprehensive assessment approach ensures that students are evaluated on both their practical application of sustainable building principles and their theoretical understanding of the subject.

Teaching tools

The course foresees the presence of students in classroom for the undetranding of teh theroretiucal appratus thoudh fron lesson and seminars, as well as the gradual elaboration of the project during exercitation and ex-tempore with workshop actvity and peer instruction

 

The students are free to use manualy support as well as personal computers for the exercitaetion and ex-tempore. Some tools will be presented during the course, but the students are free to enrich theie project with specific actvities.

The references provided is mandatory, but it is kindly suggested to use the Department library for specific documentation, further investigation and integration.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Pracucci