Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
B.Arch Curriculum · Semester 7 · Elective

Sustainable & Resilient Building Design

Buildings consume a huge share of the world's energy, materials and water and emit a huge share of its carbon — so to design them well is now to design them sustainably and resiliently. This elective runs from the why to the how to the proof. It begins with the ethics and concepts of sustainability — carrying capacity, the ecological footprint, the climate crisis. It moves to designing for a changing, more hostile climate, and to the passive strategies that make a building comfortable with little energy. It reaches the goal of the net-zero energy building, which makes as much energy as it uses. And it ends with building-performance simulation — the software that lets you test all of this before a single brick is laid.

5Units
6Outcomes
3Credits
FreeForever
Start with Unit I All student courses
Unit IV · The goal of the whole course

Net Zero Energy Buildings

A NET-ZERO ENERGY building makes (from renewables) as much energy over a year as it consumes — its net energy bill from the grid is zero. It is the destination of everything in this course: first slash the demand with passive design and efficiency, then meet what remains with on-site renewables, mostly rooftop solar. This unit covers the definitions and the classification system (net-zero site, source, cost, emissions), the systems and technologies that make it possible, the net-zero ratings emerging in India, and case studies. Use the net-zero balance explorer to see when a building reaches zero.

NZEB definitionsReduce then supplyEUINet-zero in IndiaBalance explorer
Open the unit

The syllabus

Five units, from the ethics of sustainability to the simulation that proves it.

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

1

Unit 1 — Introduction to Sustainability

Live

Sustainable principles and practices; carrying capacity; the concepts, ethics and visions of sustainable development; ecosystems, food chains and natural cycles; the ecological footprint; climate change, world population, GDP and carbon emissions; the steps organisations are taking; and the importance of water, energy, materials and community in sustainable architecture.

CO1CO3CO5
2

Unit 2 — Climate Change & the Built Environment

Live

The status, challenges and opportunities of climate change; outdoor thermal comfort; climate-resilient and low-carbon development strategies; climate and weather data; thermal comfort and adaptation in the built environment; the impact of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on human health; ventilation and its relationship to indoor air quality (IAQ); and low-environmental-impact building materials.

CO1CO3
3

Unit 3 — Passive Design Strategies

Live

The concept of passive buildings; thermal-comfort requirements; site and microclimate; orientation and solar geometry; passive solar design; thermal mass; passive heating and cooling strategies; window placement; daylighting and shading devices; and case studies of buildings designed with passive techniques. (The physics is in the Climatology course.)

CO2CO4
4

Unit 4 — Net Zero Energy Buildings

Live

Net-zero energy buildings — definitions, concepts and the classification system; net-zero energy systems, technologies and applications; net-zero ratings in India; and case studies of buildings that make as much energy as they use.

CO2CO4CO5
5

Unit 5 — Building Performance Simulation

Live

An introduction to building-performance analysis (BPA); the impact of envelope design on performance; the methodology for BPA simulation; and the simulation software used in practice — Design Builder, Comfen, Revit 2022 Energy Optimisation and Autodesk Insight 360.

CO4CO6

Course outcomes

What you should be able to do after the elective (CO1–CO6, from the syllabus).

1
Understand

Understand climate change and the need for sustainable buildings.

2
Understand

Understand energy-based concepts and resource optimisation.

3
Understand

Understand the environmental impacts of today and follow the sustainable approach.

4
Apply

Gain the ability to design energy-efficient buildings.

5
Understand

Understand green concepts and apply them across sustainable architecture.

6
Understand

Understand building simulation for energy analysis and design solutions.

Every diagram is original Studio Matrx work. The physics of climate and the passive calculators live in the Climatology course; the green-rating systems (GRIHA, IGBC) in Progressive Architecture; and the energy codes (ECBC, Eco-Niwas Samhita) in Building Codes. This elective leans into resilience, net-zero and simulation.

Build within the planet's means.

Sustainability and resilience, passive design, net-zero energy and the simulation that proves it. Work the five units, study the diagrams, then test yourself.

Open Unit I Back to Students

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