Academic Curriculum

STEP I : SENSITISATION

During the first two years, some courses are conceived to increase gradually the student awareness of sustainable design. The first course partially related to sustainable design is Construction : materials. It gives to the students a first presentation of bioclimatic architecture and its relatives concepts. This is the occasion to give a first definition of sustainable architecture.

Concerning the Design Studios, the particular design process approach at UCL considers the context as an important parameter. These considerations, shared by all the academic faculty members, are a first step to the introduction of climatic environment. Moreover, the adequacy to the program allows the introduction of the notion of comfort for the occupants very early in the curriculum. However, the concepts of bioclimatic architecture and sustainable architecture are really studied in depth during the second year in the Design Studio 2 : History and habitat. In this studio, students have to integrate in their design process the stakes of sustainability at a specific scale: the house(s).

STEP II : VALIDATION

During the third year, the course Comfort and building physics (thermal principles, acoustics and lighting) presents the physical basic concepts which allow the control of the environment and the comfort (thermal, acoustic, air quality, etc.). It concretizes the already present reasoning of the previous design studios. The teachers, members of the research team Architecture et climat, are experts in these domains.

During the fourth year, the theoretical course Building physics : HVAC and lighting focuses on equipment connected to energy demands (heating / ventilation / electricity, etc.). The course gives the students the necessary knowledge and tools to conceive and calculate the technical installations in adequacy with the building and its functions. These systems are scientifically described and studied (thermodynamics).

The optional course Building physics : complements concerns special questions about sustainable design. It invites a more detailed understanding of the physical concepts on the basis of advanced systems, and offers a critical analysis of architecture within the framework of sustainable development through study of published papers and analysis of built structures.

The third year studio, Studio 5 : Structures, Technology and Sustainable development, strengthens the questioning concerning the integration in the environment (orientation/winds : bioclimatics) and is particularly attached to the study of natural light. It takes place on the basis of a program and a simplified site, which allows studying more in depth the design of natural lighting. The students are able to validate their approach by direct field measurements at the Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI) under an artificial sun and artificial sky. This gives the opportunity to the students to lead a real research on the relation between the conception of the design and natural lighting.

The design studio of the fourth year, Comprehensive Design project and methodological seminary, concerns a subject directly connected to sustainable and environmental design. This project, on a larger scale, leads to the conception of a sustainable district. It comes along with a theoretical seminary (e.g., study of 12 sustainable districts in Europe). Through this project of synthesis, the students have to prove their knowledge and their experience concerning sustainable and environmental design. At this step, theory and research are connected to each other. The research part is thus amplified.

STEP III : THINKING

During the last year of the curriculum, the students are invited to follow the Initiation seminary to research. A part of this seminar - given by the research team Architecture et climat - presents the current stakes in the research concerning sustainable design in architecture.

At this last step, students have to realize a Thesis. According to the subject chosen by the student, the thesis can be supervised by members of the research either in design studio or in a theoretical subject. In this case, students have access to the necessary tools provided by the research team (e.g., computer simulation programs, databases, publications, results of research, etc.).

MASTER OF ADVANCED STUDIES

The research unit Architecture et climat participates actively in the postgraduate European Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture and Sustainable Development (MAS-ASD) developed in partnership with the School of Architecture of Toulouse (France) and the EPFL Polytechnic of Lausanne (Switzerland) (http://www-madd.arch.ucl.ac.be) This advanced programme allows the deep investigation of theories and practices in architecture, climate, energy, environment and economy with respect to sustainable development. It brings the necessary knowledge and tools for the conception of buildings by taking into account these imperatives. The cycle is addressed first and foremost to the professional architects, (architects of the state, regional and local authorities or private) as well as the teachers in architecture.

PhD

The research unit Architecture et climat has already produced 17 doctorates since its creation and 8 doctoral thesis are currently in preparation. The PhD program consists of two compulsory elements : a 60-credit doctoral training course and the research work for the PhD thesis (120 credits). Architecture et climat participates in the thematic doctoral school (Sustainability in architecture and town planning group).

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