Welcome to Sustainable Architecture

Description: Buildings account for approximately 40 % of the global energy use. On top of that their urban organization highly influences the amount of fuel used for transportation. The buildings presently constructed will have to function in a carbon dioxide-neutral future. Buildings also accounts for vast amounts of material resource and production of waste.

Sustainable architecture requires inter-disciplinary collaboration at every stage in the building process as opposed to the current methodology applied by the majority of the building industry. Sustainable building principles and approaches should aim to bring down the use of fossil fuels and reduce the emission of carbon dioxides, and should aim to relate to and benefit from sun and wind, climate and topography. Thus, sustainable architecture has a lot to do with building physics. These can be measured and calculated, and the technical aspects of sustainable architecture are therefore easy to acknowledge though hard to handle.

Sustainable development also has to do with creating good life conditions for human beings. This aspect is harder to define but is a crucial part of sustainable settlement. Sustainable architecture is about designing new urban buildings where ideals of respect for nature, moderation and reflection have to go hand in hand with human urge for material comfort, desire, experience, wellbeing and richness of life. The duality calls for an answer: The days of uncritical material expansion and abundance may be over but we still urge for a good and rich life: How is this expressed in place, space, materials, architecture? The course focuses on: Integrated design processes that can unite technical, functional and aesthetic concerns through design and construction, and aims to present a diversity of research and architectural positions in the field of sustainable architecture. The PhD student is required to write a 3 to 5-page (max. 2400 characters with spaces per page) essay with references to the course presentations and literature in order to obtain the full 5 ECTS.

Organizer: Associate Professor Michael Lauring, email: mlau@create.aau.dk 

Lecturers: Associate professor Michael Lauring, AD:MT, Associate Professor Camilla Brunsgaard, AD:MT, Assistant Professor Lars Brorson Fich, AD:MT, Assistant Professor Isak Worre Foged and Professor emeritus Mary-Ann Knudstrup, AD:MT

ECTS: 3 (+2 with essay)

Time: 13. - 15. November 2017

Place: Rendsburggade 14, Aalborg University

Zip code: 9000

City: Aalborg

Number of seats: 15

Deadline: 1. October 2017

Important information concerning PhD courses We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 5,000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately three months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.