Environmental Building Design (MSD-EBD)
University of Pennsylvania
Description
With the renewed urgency of environmental issues-from global climate change to resource shortages and "net-zero" design-architects are faced with demands for new kinds of services that require a new kind of professional. LEED accreditation is only a start, helping designers utilize existing technologies, but a wider range of skills is required to achieve real innovation and to meet the needs of clients in this rapidly changing field. New building design, renovation of existing buildings, and environmental analysis at many scales are critical aspects of comprehensive environmental design. The challenge to architects is to operate at scales greater and smaller than that of the building, requiring the understanding of the chemistry of materials as well as consideration of the impact of whole populations of buildings on their local, regional, and global ecosystems.
The MSD in Environmental Building Design is a specialized, post-professional degree developed to train architects in the new skills and knowledge required for environmental design and especially in the design techniques with which those skills must be integrated into the practice of architecture. The one-year course of study includes coursework on building performance simulation, integrated building design, building envelopes and systems, lighting, daylighting, and the theory and practice of environmental design. Coursework is complemented and extended by a Performance Design Workshop and then explored in depth in an intensive Environmental Design Studio in the early summer.