Ecological and Sustainable Design
Ecological and Sustainable Design (ESD) focuses on the theory and practice of architectural and environmental design that makes maximum use of the same renewable energy flows and material cycling processes by which all other living systems on earth are sustained. It is an approach to design that is holistic in nature, encompassing a concern for ecological systems, building technological systems, and socio-cultural/existential systems. Ecological systems are studied not only as the context for architecture but also as models for design, providing the fundamental principles by which sustainable buildings are designed and operated. Energy and resource conserving building technologies as well as healthy and ecologically benign building materials are studied so that ecological design principles can be implemented in environmentally appropriate architecture. The emphasis also stresses the socio-economic, political, and cultural/existential context of design as a complexly structured framework within which questions of sustainability must be considered and building designs implemented. The ESD option necessarily involves the development of a broad understanding of architectural and environmental design that is as much philosophical as it is practical.
Required coursework
Non-Thesis Option
ARCH 716 Topics in Environmental Systems 3
ARCH 725 Research Methods/Architecture 3
ARCH 830 Advanced Architectural Studies (5-8)
Electives 16-19
TOTAL CREDITS 30
Or
Thesis Option
ARCH 716 Topics in Environmental Systems 3
ARCH 725 Research Methods/Architecture 3
ARCH 899 Thesis 8
Electives 16
TOTAL CREDITS 30
All MS Arch students will be required to take a class that provides them with the tools to facilitate in-depth academic research. This class, Research Methods in Architecture, also includes graduate students in Landscape Architecture and Regional and Community Planning. Other coursework will be determined by the selected area of emphasis and individual programs of study.
Recommended Elective Credits
In addition to completing the required courses, students are encouraged to select an area of focus. The Ecological and Sustainable Design emphasis recognizes the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the sustainable approach to design. As such, at least six elective credits should be taken outside the Department. Students consult with their faculty advisors to develop a program of study that meets their individual needs and interests.
AGEC 525 Natural Resource and Environmental Economics 3
ARCH 715 Topics in Architecture 3
ARCH 716 Topics/Environmental Systems 3
ARCH 740 Building-Related Health & Safety Health 3
ARE 740 Environmental Control Systems 3
BAE 761 Natural Treatment Systems 3
BIOL 529 Fundamentals of Ecology 3
CE 563 Environmental Engineering 3
ECON 527 Environmental Economics 3
GEOG 705 Remote Sensing/Environment 3
GEOG 760 Human Impact/Environment 3
IAPD 625 Lighting Design 2
IAPD 720 Advanced Seminar in Interior Arch variable
LAR 704 Environmental Landscape Planning and Design 3
LAR 720 Public Lands and Natural Resources Law 3
LAR 758 Land Resource Information 3
PHILO 595 Environmental Ethics 3
SOCIO 536 Environmental Sociology 3