Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
B.Arch Curriculum · Semester 2 · 25ART203

Environmental Studies in Architecture

The living systems a building sits inside, and the duty that places on a designer. From ecosystems and energy flow, through India's natural resources and its astonishing biodiversity, to pollution, the environmental laws — and finally the architect's own subject: sustainability, climate, the urban heat island and energy efficiency.

5Units
6Outcomes
2Credits
FreeForever
Start with Unit I All student courses
Unit V · The architect's subject

Architecture & the Built Environment

Where this course becomes the architect's daily work: the three pillars of sustainability, how climate shapes the built environment, the urban heat island that cities create, and the energy a building consumes — with a live calculator for a building's annual energy and carbon.

3 pillarsClimate & formUrban heat islandEnergy calculatorECBCQuiz
Open the lesson

The syllabus

Five units, from the ecosystem to the energy bill.

Transcribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. All 5 units are live as full interactive lessons — with original diagrams, a live calculator and a self-assessment quiz.

1

Unit 1 — Environmental Studies & Ecosystems

Live

Definition, scope and importance; ecosystem structure and functions; energy flow, food chains and food webs, ecological succession; ecosystem types — forest, grassland, desert and aquatic.

CO1CO6
2

Unit 2 — Natural Resources

Live

Renewable and non-renewable resources; land resources, degradation, soil erosion and desertification; forests and deforestation; water resources and over-exploitation; alternate energy sources.

CO2CO6
3

Unit 3 — Biodiversity & Its Conservation

Live

Levels of biodiversity — genetic, species, ecosystem; biodiversity services; India's bio-geographic wealth, hotspots and mega-diversity; threats; in-situ and ex-situ conservation.

CO3CO6
4

Unit 4 — Environmental Pollution & Acts

Live

Air, water, soil and noise pollution — causes, effects and control; nuclear hazards; solid waste management; the role of the individual; India's environmental laws and case studies.

CO4CO6
5

Unit 5 — Architecture & the Built Environment

Live

Sustainability — social, economic, environmental; climatic influences; climate and the urban built environment; the urban heat island; energy consumption and energy efficiency.

CO5CO6

Course outcomes

What you should be able to do after completing all five units (CO1–CO6, from the syllabus).

1
Understand

Understand the structure and functions of ecosystems — energy flow, food chains and ecological succession.

2
Analyse

Analyse the types of natural resources, their use, and the impacts of land and water issues.

3
Analyse

Evaluate biodiversity levels and conservation methods, with a focus on India's biodiversity and its threats.

4
Understand

Understand the causes and control of pollution, and be familiar with the environmental laws.

5
Create

Assess the impact of architectural practice on sustainability and energy efficiency in the built environment.

6
Understand

Apply environmental understanding through site study and research on a real ecosystem or building.

Topics and outcomes follow the published B.Arch syllabus (25ART203; L2 · T0 · S0; 100 marks). Every diagram is original Studio Matrx work; the facts are cross-checked against the cited texts and Indian sources, and the photographs are verified Creative-Commons / Public-Domain works, credited below.

Image credits

Every photograph is a verified Creative-Commons or Public-Domain work from Wikimedia Commons, used with attribution. The diagrams and the calculator are original Studio Matrx work.

Design with the living world in mind.

Ecosystems, resources, biodiversity, pollution and the law — and then the architect's own duty of sustainability. Read the five units, try the energy calculator, and test yourself.

Open Unit I Back to Students

Studio Matrx is a tribute to Amogh N P. The curriculum is free, forever.