Course syllabus

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Course-PM

ACE350 Building climatology lp3 VT25 (5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Contact details

  • examiner: Krystyna Pietrzyk
  • teachers: Krystyna Pietrzyk, John Helmfridsson, Walter Unterrainer

Course purpose

Climate change demands actions both to mitigate changes and adapt building stock to them. We promote climate-responsive design to address them. It is based on the integration of building form, structure, and material with the local environment. It assumes the utilization of natural resources to provide healthy and comfortable living conditions and reduce energy consumption.

The theory of building climatology supports architects to use passive design strategies for heating, cooling, and ventilation, treating the local climate as a resource. It is an interdisciplinary approach involving knowledge from the fields of climatology, building physics, physiology/psychology, and architecture. The course concentrates on understanding the fundamentals of building physics, emphasizing the significance of the local climate and various forms of comfort.

The theory and methods of building climatology support the consideration of climate-responsive design for low-energy, comfortable buildings. Bioclimatic design is discussed in reference to building/environment system and exemplified using the cases of vernacular and modern architecture from different climatic zones. The analysis of risks and opportunities guides a critical review of passive and hybrid strategies for creating thermal comfort under various climatic conditions. We discuss the sustainability aspects of design solutions.

The course trains the student’s ability to use source texts as a basis for formulating a research question, an individual position on the matter, and a line of argument. It also trains the student in analyzing arguments laid out in other texts and appropriately using citations, references, and bibliography according to APA style https://apastyle.apa.org/ .

Schedule

TimeEdit

Course literature

  • Manzano - Agugliaro F., Montoya F.G. Sabio Ortega A., García-Cruz A. (2015). Review of bioclimatic architecture strategies for
    achieving thermal comfort. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Vol. 49, pp 736-755, Elsevier. (the obligatory one, find pdf on "Literature")
  • Szokolay S. (2004). Introduction to architectural science – the basis of sustainable design. Architectural press. Elsevier. (find pdf of intro pages on Canvas "Literature")
  • Liedl, P., Hausladen, G., & Saldanha, M. (2012). Building to Suit the Climate: A Handbook. Walter de Gruyter GmbH eBook (Chalmers Library)
  • Mitja Košir (2019). Climate Adaptability of Buildings. Bioclimatic Design in the Light of Climate Change. Springer – eBook (Chalmers Library)
  • Rahm P. (2004). Immediate Architecture. Rendell J., Hill J., Fraser M., Dorrian M. (eds). Critical Architecture. by Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. (find pdf on Canvas "Literature")

 

Course design

The course consists of lectures, workshops, and seminars. The course culminates with the presentations and reports of the primary assignment. Working on the assignment is a driving force for learning the phenomena presented and discussed in the lectures.

Learning outcomes are planned to be achieved through:

  • reading the academic texts concerning bioclimatic architecture
  • listening to the lectures and discussing the academic texts—seminars
  • discussing/interpreting bioclimatic analysis (psychrometric chart, wind conditions, comfort zones, passive strategies) - workshops
  • discussing the cases of building designs with focus on form, structure, material, living habits, responsive to specified climatic conditions – through workshops and feedback sessions
  • writing and presenting a report explaining the examples of climate-responsive traditional and modern architecture in relation to the general principles of building climatology and sustainable design.

Communication between teachers and students takes place mostly through Canvas. The actual schedule of lectures, seminars, and workshops is available there. One module describes the subject discussed in the classroom at the specific time. Lectures and materials for workshops will be uploaded to modules by the presentation day no later. We created two assignment folders: one for drafts and another for the final delivery.

During the grading process, the examiner will consider the assignment, additional responsibilities and tasks, class participation, and a responsible attitude toward attending lectures, workshops, seminars, and meeting deadlines. A minimum of 80% attendance is required. We handle missed deadlines and revisions individually.

Changes made since the last occasion

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Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

Knowledge and understanding

  1. demonstrate knowledge of the principles of building climatology with a focus on local climates, passive strategies, and their possible role in creating interior climates.
  2. demonstrate understanding about what we can learn about climate-responsive design from the analysis of the cases of vernacular architecture (environmental/climatic context, form, structure, material, and living style) and how that knowledge is applied in modern architecture.

Competence and skills

  1. use methods and tools of bioclimatic design for the promotion of passive strategies for ventilation, heating, and cooling.
  2. communicate analyses in the proper format of a written report and a short ppt. presentation and appropriately use citations, references, and a bibliography.

Judgment and approach

  1. generalize the findings from the analysis of vernacular architecture in terms of "sustainable building design" in a contemporary context.
  2. critically approach the design solutions of climate-responsive architecture and give qualified feedback to the reports of other students.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/find-course-and-programme-syllabi/course-syllabus/ACE350/?acYear=2025/2026

Examination form

Writing, presenting and reviewing a report that explains examples of climate-responsive traditional and modern architecture in relation to the general principles of building climatology, with a focus on building physics and local climate, is mandatory.

The development of traditional buildings involves adapting to the local climate and site, aiming to create a comfortable environment for human life and an interior climate using passive strategies and local materials. The traditional buildings found around the world provide a deeper understanding of why we in Sweden have adopted passive house standard technology, even though it may not be desirable in hot, humid climates.

You should further problematize your work by selecting an issue or question to be discussed through a comparison of the analyzed cases.

The final report should be an academic text (min. 2000 words per person) with references, diagrams, and illustrations/photos, according to APA style: https://apastyle.apa.org/. It, for example, means that all figures should be numbered and referred to in the text. Feel free to choose how you communicate the results of the analysis. You can structure and illustrate the content freely.

General steps to work with the assignment:

Step 1: Prepare for individual work in the collaborative environment of a group of, typically, three students. Each of the students from the group is responsible for the selection and analysis of one case of climate-responsive traditional architecture and contributes to the analysis of the modern case chosen by the group. We expect the cases to represent different climatic zones. Planning also involves formulating the objectives or questions for discussion based on the analyzed cases.

Step 2: Locate and describe a traditional building that fits the selected climatic zone. Describe climate with the meteorological data (wind, temperature, humidity). Use a psychrometric chart. You will get help in the visualization of the climatic data and the psychrometric chart using “Climate consultant.” https Links to an external site.://www.sbse.org/resources/ Links to an external site.climate-consultant Links to an external site. ;  Dr Andrew Marsh http://andrewmarsh.com/software/psychro-chart-web/  Links to an external site. ;   Grasshopper or other tools

Step 3: What do these buildings do for the comfort of their inhabitants? Make use of the bioclimatic chart (psychrometric chart with superimposed comfort zone) to describe the relation between climate and comfort zone. Based on the collected material, speculate which passive strategies for heating, cooling, or ventilation are in use. Reflect on the mechanisms of those strategies. Make a distinction between "night and day" and "summer and winter". You can get help in the visualization and analysis of bioclimatic charts using programs listed in Step 2.

Step 4: Elaborate on the relationship between place, technology, and the way of living in the chosen building.

Step 5: Find and describe in collaboration with your colleague(s) a modern, spectacular, climate-responsive building and reflect on the mechanisms of the passive/hybrid strategies that were used. Relate to the relevant strategies shown on the bioclimatic chart.

Step 6: Prepare a draft report and a short digital presentation (ppt). OBS! Upload the draft of the report in the Canvas folder no later than March 3 at 12.00. State clearly the names of the authors that have contributed to the study. Read the report(s) of the student(s) chosen by the examiner.

Step 7: Present the report and get feedback. Give feedback to the students chosen by the examiner. Listen to all presentations.

Step 8: Use the feedback you got from others to update the draft report and upload the final version of your report on Canvas no later than March 23. 

 

Course summary:

Date Details Due