Strategic Development for the Introduction of a Holistic Sustainable Building Design Course in Construction Engineering Curricula

Training the future construction engineering workforce would benefit from an increased familiarity with sustainable building design. Given limits on total credits and accreditation requirements, engineering curricula often emphasize specialized content at the cost of essential context and connection between the range of systems and professional roles involved in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. Here, we explore how development of a building technology and design course addresses the unmet need. The subject class leverages the benefits of guiding students through an iterative design process to confront the challenges of, and synergies between, the multiple building systems present in contemporary buildings. Following a model closer to studio instruction, students address the totality of a project in the context of design where the outcome is not predetermined. Students are guided by the application of analytical software and quantified performance feedback on metrics such as daylighting, energy, and carbon which they integrate directly into their ongoing design process. The combination of these features in a single class facilitates the productive addition of critical content and experience into the existing degree program structure. In turn, this promotes trainees being better prepared to collaborate towards achieving sustainable development goals. This paper focuses on the developments and observations from delivering this course 5 times and provides a perspective on its contributions to a construction engineering degree.