Building Technology Studio aims for learning technologies for sustainable architecture. 

It contains contributions of teaching of “Building Design Architecture”-  by Prof.  Claudio Zappone (4cfu),“Building components and systems design”- by Prof. Fabio Elsa (4cfu) and “Culture of technology design”- Prof.  Matteo Clementi (4cfu).

In compliance with the objectives set by the joint program of the Laboratory of Architecture Construction 1, students will develop, the project of the construction of a new residential self sufficient building with compact dimensions.

The project aims to reactivate sites been abandoned or partially abandoned, allowing the possibility to accommodate housing activity in a given period of time. The theme of self-sufficiency and the finite duration of the building aims to encourage the student to have full control of the time variable in the project, both from the point of view of its functioning in the different periods of the year and with regard to environmental and economic costs for the entire life cycle of the products used. The activity will be developed in to encourage students to tackle the technological problems organically within the planning process that involves the choices made on different levels: distribution/functional, compositional and language, contextualization, sustainability, regulatory, materials and construction technologies. The aim is to return the complexity of the project in a small building, that can be handled on the time available.

The project will be developed in all its phases, from the reading and interpretation of the context until the detailed design phase of some representative portions of the building attempting to pass step by step design and methodological criteria and evaluating choices.

The project will be developed individually, in pairs or in groups of three students. The work will be developed for the most part at home and in the classroom during the days of individual or collective revision planned in the calendar.

The evaluation criteria of the project will consider the design choices made with the tools provided during the course, the ability to monitor all phases of the project and to coordinate technology choices with the performance requirements (energy/environmental aspect and architectural language).

The progress of the work will be assisted and supported by teachers through periodical revisions.

The knowledge involved in the project will be transmitted in a sequence of lessons and relative instant exercises that will take a day and that will be carried out in the classroom.

The topics of the lessons will be the following:

-       Ergonomic design for residential spaces

-       Reading and interpretation of climate data – with use of tools

-       Sun paths – with use of software

-       Design of sun shadings – with use of tools

-       Transmittance of the building envelope for opaque and transparent elements – with use of software

-       Energy balance of a building – with use of software

-       Embodied energy calculation in a building envelope – with use of tools

-       Structural dimensioning of basic elements of a building: column, beam – with use of tools

-       Design and dimensioning of a solar system – with use of software

-       Design and dimensioning of a photovoltaic system – with use of software

Lessons consequent instant exercises must be made from time to time as specified by the individual teacher. In any case, the exercise must be completed during school hours and on the same day must be delivered to the teacher. No deliveries will be accepted beyond the time limit established.

During the course will be organized a visit on a building site related to the theme of the project where are used technologies with natural materials. 

RULES OF EXAMINATION AND FINAL EVALUATION

Attendance is mandatory and ABSENCESLIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF 30% will be accepted.

The conduct of instant exercises is required and a maximum lack of a single exercise will be allowed.

Evaluation is individual and will take into account both the extempore exercises and the design activity to the extent of 50%. When all the exercises had been carried out, it will be possible to exclude from the average rating, the one with the lowest score.

The  object’s laboratory is the realization of a project, therefore the main part of the valuation, which is agreed within the teacher group, is based on the final product discussed with the student during the exam. This assessment consider the design choices made ​​with the tools provided during the course, the ability to monitor all phases of the project and to coordinate technology choices with the performance requirements, environmental and architectural language. The final grade will be taked in account the scores obtained in the intermediate tests (that are compulsory) described in the programme. During the course  are required deliveries corresponding to intermediate stages of project development.  Deliveries are a component of the final evaluation. The examination includes a discussion of an argoument taked by the text in bibliography.The assessment is always individual and can be differentiated between students belonging to the same working group, depending  on the knowledge demonstrated by the individual.