Masters Degrees (Sustainable Design)

The session will provide a chance to meet the course leader and some current students who will share their projects and experiences. You will also take part in a design activity that will give you a real taste of what we do on the course in addressing social and sustainability challenges.

Choose Kingston's Sustainable Design MA

This course is aimed at designers, creative workers and other specialists who want to direct their practice towards progressive sustainability and social agendas. It focuses on the value of design as a vehicle for addressing social and ecological concerns in both developed and developing world settings. It will equip you with the knowledge, capabilities and confidence to challenge the status quo by applying design thinking to the generation of design-led interventions for a sustainable future.

Key features
-The overarching course philosophy, based on an emphasis on research, methodology and design thinking, allows individual and personal concerns to be explored through focused study in sustainable design.
-The course takes an inter-disciplinary approach to the study and practice of sustainable design, by recruiting students from all creative and design backgrounds and beyond.

What will you study?

The Sustainable Design MA is directed towards the goal of creating a more sustainable and equitable society. You will explore innovative and practical ways to help realise those visions, emphasising design, creativity, empathy, innovation and activism.

The course encourages critical thinking about the social and ecological agendas it addresses. The course is design-based, but not confined to design practice - it includes a significant amount of theoretical and contextual studies. It is possible to choose a dissertation option for the final major project.

You will be taught by leading academics and practitioners in sustainable design, social design, social innovation, participatory design, strategic design, service design, design-led innovation, and related topics. The course incorporates collaboration with partners such as Design Council, Futerra, Greengaged, Sorrell Foundation, ThinkPublic and Uscreates.

Assessment

Design project work, live projects, research project folders, 5,000-word critical essay, and a major design research project.

Course structure

The Sustainable Design MA course is part of the School of Design's postgraduate programme. The structure – shared with students from Communication Design MA, Product & Furniture Design MA, and Fashion MA – enables you to explore your individual specialist interests in sustainable design within an integrative learning environment that provides a comprehensive understanding of the value and role of interdisciplinary methods and ways of working. The influences and impact of thinking from other related design subjects on your own specialist study is an important aspect of the identity and the community of interdisciplinary practice at masters level in the School of Design.

This structure is designed to help progress and develop your independent learning, encouraging you to construct and explore projects concerned with areas of particular personal interests. The overarching course philosophy, based upon an emphasis on research, methodology and design thinking, allows individual and personal concerns to be explored through focused study in sustainable design.

The two shared modules of the School of Design's Postgraduate Framework both commence with a symposium, in which high-profile external speakers present their work and contribute to a debate on a topic of relevance to all courses in the Framework.

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With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Architectural Science courses can be taken as single or double streams. In the double stream program, the core units from the secondary degree are taken as the electives in the primary degree. The double stream program is completed as 96 credit points over two years, allowing you to draw expertise from an aligned Architectural Science stream and prepare to pursue or develop your career within a wide range of areas in the built environment.

PRIMARY STREAM

The High Performance Buildings program at the University of Sydney is unique in Australia. It offers the opportunity to pursue or develop an exciting career in the built environment field within a wide range of areas including building services, facilities management, architectural practice, business, sustainable design commercial development, property management and more. It is open to graduates from a range of disciplines including science, engineering, architecture, building and planning.

Created in close consultation with industry stakeholders, the program will train professionals who can collaborate with designers, construction teams and facilities managers to achieve sustainable outcomes that raise the bar for world's best practice. Studying with us, you will have access to world-class equipment and facilities, including the Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) laboratory for research into the interaction of temperature, humidity, air movement and quality, ventilation, daylight, artificial lighting, sound and acoustics. You will be equipped with the professional skills to ensure maximum operational efficiencies, optimal comfort and ideal health outcomes for occupants of corporate and residential environments.

SECONDARY STREAM

Sustainable design involves an approach to creating buildings that meets the world's need to reduce our impact on ecological systems. The built environment professions - including architects, engineers, urban designers and planners - are increasingly held responsible for the performance of their designs and projects, including accordance with promised environmental principles. Sustainable design skills are highly demanded by the construction and design industries, environmental consultancies, government agencies and in the day-to-day operation and management of commercial buildings. This program is tailored for design and related built-environment professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in sustainable design.

Our integrated approach to Sustainable Design provides you with the knowledge you need to address sustainability considerations without compromising building functionality or profitability. You will combine the aesthetic approaches to design with a thorough understanding of energy efficiency, analysis and performance metrics. You will be exposed to ratings systems, myriad testing methods and will come to understand energy and resource use from ecological, economic and governance perspectives, as well as the storage and release of energy and how to design for both performance and comfort.

To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

Read less

With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Architectural Science courses can be taken as single or double streams. In the double stream program, the core units from the secondary degree are taken as the electives in the primary degree. The double stream program is completed as 96 credit points over two years, allowing you to draw expertise from an aligned Architectural Science stream and prepare to pursue or develop your career within a wide range of areas in the built environment.

PRIMARY STREAM

Sustainable design involves an approach to creating buildings that meets the world’s need to reduce our impact on ecological systems. The built environment professions—including architects, engineers, urban designers and planners—are increasingly held responsible for the performance of their designs and projects, including accordance with promised environmental principles. Sustainable design skills are highly demanded by the construction and design industries, environmental consultancies, government agencies and in the day-to-day operation and management of commercial buildings. This program is tailored for design and related built-environment professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in sustainable design.

Our integrated approach to Sustainable Design provides you with the knowledge you need to address sustainability considerations without compromising building functionality or profitability. You will combine the aesthetic approaches to design with a thorough understanding of energy efficiency, analysis and performance metrics. You will be exposed to ratings systems, myriad testing methods and will come to understand energy and resource use from ecological, economic and governance perspectives, as well as the storage and release of energy and how to design for both performance and comfort.

SECONDARY STREAM

The High Performance Buildings program at the University of Sydney is unique in Australia. It offers the opportunity to pursue or develop an exciting career in the built environment field within a wide range of areas including building services, facilities management, architectural practice, business, sustainable design commercial development, property management and more. It is open to graduates from a range of disciplines including science, engineering, architecture, building and planning.

Created in close consultation with industry stakeholders, the program will train professionals who can collaborate with designers, construction teams and facilities managers to achieve sustainable outcomes that raise the bar for world’s best practice. Studying with us, you will have access to world-class equipment and facilities, including the Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) laboratory for research into the interaction of temperature, humidity, air movement and quality, ventilation, daylight, artificial lighting, sound and acoustics. You will be equipped with the professional skills to ensure maximum operational efficiencies, optimal comfort and ideal health outcomes for occupants of corporate and residential environments.

To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

Read less

With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Architectural Science courses can be taken as single or double streams. In the double stream program, the core units from the secondary degree are taken as the electives in the primary degree. The double stream program is completed as 96 credit points over two years, allowing you to draw expertise from an aligned Architectural Science stream and prepare to pursue or develop your career within a wide range of areas in the built environment.


PRIMARY STREAM

The Audio and Acoustics program is unique in Australia and one of only a few comparable programs in the world. The program offers a balance of studio-based production subjects and theoretical and investigative subjects in acoustics and technical audio. It will suit candidates with an academic and/or professional track record in audio and related areas who wish to extend the breadth and depth of their expertise - this includes audio engineers, architects, interior designers, sustainable designers and musicians.

The program is supported by two audio studios and one of Australia's best acoustics facilities. The Acoustics Research Laboratory houses an anechoic room and reverberant room, and contains extensive state-of-the-art equipment for measurement and analysis including the only indoor environmental quality laboratory in the southern hemisphere. The audio studios consist of a recording studio and a 5.1 channel production studio. You will also be exposed to world-class research activity and have the opportunity to do research projects on your own.


SECONDARY STREAM

Sustainable design involves an approach to creating buildings that meets the world's need to reduce our impact on ecological systems. The built environment professions - including architects, engineers, urban designers and planners - are increasingly held responsible for the performance of their designs and projects, including accordance with promised environmental principles. Sustainable design skills are highly demanded by the construction and design industries, environmental consultancies, government agencies and in the day-to-day operation and management of commercial buildings. This program is tailored for design and related built-environment professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in sustainable design.

Our integrated approach to Sustainable Design provides you with the knowledge you need to address sustainability considerations without compromising building functionality or profitability. You will combine the aesthetic approaches to design with a thorough understanding of energy efficiency, analysis and performance metrics. You will be exposed to ratings systems, myriad testing methods and will come to understand energy and resource use from ecological, economic and governance perspectives, as well as the storage and release of energy and how to design for both performance and comfort.

To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

Read less

With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Architectural Science courses can be taken as single or double streams. In the double stream program, the core units from the secondary degree are taken as the electives in the primary degree. The double stream program is completed as 96 credit points over two years, allowing you to draw expertise from an aligned Architectural Science stream and prepare to pursue or develop your career within a wide range of areas in the built environment.

PRIMARY STREAM

The Illumination Design program offers strong technical education in human visual perception, methods for quantifying light, lighting techniques and issues of sustainability. The course is suited to program architects, interior designers, engineers, ergonomists and related professionals looking to expand and deepen their knowledge in this area.

This program is one of only a few in the world, with an emphasis on producing qualified lighting designers through focus on the multidisciplinary background of lighting knowledge. It will develop your understanding of the relationship between lighting and allied-build environment disciplines as well as the interaction of optics, psychology and physiology. You will be given the preparation you need to adapt to technological changes and lead future breakthroughs.

SECONDARY STREAM

Sustainable design involves an approach to creating buildings that meets the world’s need to reduce our impact on ecological systems. The built environment professions—including architects, engineers, urban designers and planners—are increasingly held responsible for the performance of their designs and projects, including accordance with promised environmental principles. Sustainable design skills are highly demanded by the construction and design industries, environmental consultancies, government agencies and in the day-to-day operation and management of commercial buildings. This program is tailored for design and related built-environment professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in sustainable design.

Our integrated approach to Sustainable Design provides you with the knowledge you need to address sustainability considerations without compromising building functionality or profitability. You will combine the aesthetic approaches to design with a thorough understanding of energy efficiency, analysis and performance metrics. You will be exposed to ratings systems, myriad testing methods and will come to understand energy and resource use from ecological, economic and governance perspectives, as well as the storage and release of energy and how to design for both performance and comfort.

To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

Read less

With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Architectural Science courses can be taken as single or double streams. In the double stream program, the core units from the secondary degree are taken as the electives in the primary degree. The double stream program is completed as 96 credit points over two years, allowing you to draw expertise from an aligned Architectural Science stream and prepare to pursue or develop your career within a wide range of areas in the built environment.

PRIMARY STREAM

Sustainable design involves an approach to creating buildings that meets the world’s need to reduce our impact on ecological systems. The built environment professions—including architects, engineers, urban designers and planners—are increasingly held responsible for the performance of their designs and projects, including accordance with promised environmental principles. Sustainable design skills are highly demanded by the construction and design industries, environmental consultancies, government agencies and in the day-to-day operation and management of commercial buildings. This program is tailored for design and related built-environment professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in sustainable design.

Our integrated approach to Sustainable Design provides you with the knowledge you need to address sustainability considerations without compromising building functionality or profitability. You will combine the aesthetic approaches to design with a thorough understanding of energy efficiency, analysis and performance metrics. You will be exposed to ratings systems, myriad testing methods and will come to understand energy and resource use from ecological, economic and governance perspectives, as well as the storage and release of energy and how to design for both performance and comfort.

SECONDARY STREAM

The Audio and Acoustics program is unique in Australia and one of only a few comparable programs in the world. The program offers a balance of studio-based production subjects and theoretical and investigative subjects in acoustics and technical audio. It will suit candidates with an academic and/or professional track record in audio and related areas who wish to extend the breadth and depth of their expertise—this includes audio engineers, architects, interior designers, sustainable designers and musicians.

The program is supported by two audio studios and one of Australia's best acoustics facilities. The Acoustics Research Laboratory houses an anechoic room and reverberant room, and contains extensive state-of-the-art equipment for measurement and analysis including the only indoor environmental quality laboratory in the southern hemisphere. The audio studios consist of a recording studio and a 5.1 channel production studio. You will also be exposed to world-class research activity and have the opportunity to do research projects on your own.

To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

Read less

With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Architectural Science courses can be taken as single or double streams. In the double stream program, the core units from the secondary degree are taken as the electives in the primary degree. The double stream program is completed as 96 credit points over two years, allowing you to draw expertise from an aligned Architectural Science stream and prepare to pursue or develop your career within a wide range of areas in the built environment.

PRIMARY STREAM

Sustainable design involves an approach to creating buildings that meets the world's need to reduce our impact on ecological systems. The built environment professions - including architects, engineers, urban designers and planners - are increasingly held responsible for the performance of their designs and projects, including accordance with promised environmental principles. Sustainable design skills are highly demanded by the construction and design industries, environmental consultancies, government agencies and in the day-to-day operation and management of commercial buildings. This program is tailored for design and related built-environment professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in sustainable design.

Our integrated approach to Sustainable Design provides you with the knowledge you need to address sustainability considerations without compromising building functionality or profitability. You will combine the aesthetic approaches to design with a thorough understanding of energy efficiency, analysis and performance metrics. You will be exposed to ratings systems, myriad testing methods and will come to understand energy and resource use from ecological, economic and governance perspectives, as well as the storage and release of energy and how to design for both performance and comfort.

SECONDARY STREAM

The Illumination Design program offers strong technical education in human visual perception, methods for quantifying light, lighting techniques and issues of sustainability. The course is suited to program architects, interior designers, engineers, ergonomists and related professionals looking to expand and deepen their knowledge in this area.

This program is one of only a few in the world, with an emphasis on producing qualified lighting designers through focus on the multidisciplinary background of lighting knowledge. It will develop your understanding of the relationship between lighting and allied-build environment disciplines as well as the interaction of optics, psychology and physiology. You will be given the preparation you need to adapt to technological changes and lead future breakthroughs.

To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

Read less

OVERVIEW

Do you want to transform products and systems to achieve greater sustainability? Sustainable Design is a two-year master’s programme (120 ECTS credits) which focuses particularly on design and development of sustainable solutions.
The challenge of sustainable design is to develop products and networks, which can transform systems of consumption and production to be more sustainable.

The master’s programme in Sustainable Design combines sustainable product design with tools from innovation theory, practice theory and user-oriented design. Visualisation and experimentation are important strategies to develop new innovative solutions, which can overcome system dependencies and achieve sustainable system transformation in various societal sectors.

You engage in challenging design-oriented problem solving in collaboration with NGO´s, companies, public institutions and professional groups. Perhaps you design and develop future relief tents, robot vacuum cleaners or bike airbags. You can also work with rehabilitation of older, energy-efficient mobility or waste systems in cities.

OFFICIAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Applicants applying for master's programmes at Aalborg University must submit results of an IELTS, TOEFL or Cambridge test with the below mentioned minimum scores:

Danish B level in English compares to:

IELTS (academic test). Minimum score: 6.5
TOEFL (paper-based): Minimum score: 560
TOEFL (internet-based): Minimum score: 88
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency (CPE)
Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)
Cambridge First Certificate with the grade B

Danish A level in English compares to:

IELTS (academic test): Minimum score: 7.0
TOEFL (paper-based): Minimum score: 600
TOEFL (internet-based): Minimum score: 100
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency (CPE)
Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) with the grade B

All international students applying to Aalborg University must document English language qualifications comparable to an 'English B level' in the Danish upper secondary school (minimum average grade 02).

Please note that the master's programme Language and International Studies, English at Aalborg University requires that you have a command of the English language equivalent to level A (Danish level) in English. Level A (Danish level) in regards to languages is considered equivalent to level C1 referring to Common European framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

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The Sustainable Design MA is a solution-focused course, for a post-awareness-raising era of change, redirection and activism through design. It engenders within students a confidence, aptitude and dynamism with which to situate their practice at the very forefront of the sustainable design debate. Students come from a broad range of creative contexts, including product design, furniture and lighting, interior and architectural practice, fashion and textiles, media and journalism, conservation and planning, for example. The Sustainable Design MA embraces current practices, whilst stepping forward to pioneer new and provocative means through which sustainability may be more fully achieved.

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With extensive experience analysing and controlling the physical phenomena affecting buildings, practitioners of Architectural Science have a profound impact on the function, aesthetics and efficiency of architectural spaces.

Sustainable Design professionals are responsible for developing efficient and environmentally responsive buildings, and retrofitting existing buildings to meet today’s environmental demands. Sustainable designers are critical to ensuring that the plans on paper become a reality during and after construction.

Your skills in sustainable design are enhanced through the Faculty’s expertise in the built environment. Our ‘first principles’ approach enables you not just to perform energy analyses and building assessments, but also to critique and develop further the tools and approaches required for sustainable building.

Your research-leading lecturers take you on site visits and expose you to a range of international collaborators. We leverage our extensive links with industry to bring you internship opportunities with leading businesses and consultancies. And you can use a wide range of electives to pursue your interests in the application of sustainable design theories and methods in architecture, planning, urban design, building services and facilities management.

The field of Architectural Science is enjoying rapid and exciting technological innovations. Through interdisciplinary access to our leading Academic researchers and laboratories, our program emphasises the knowledge and critical thinking skills that will enable students to adapt to—and lead—future changes in our built environment.


To ask a question about this course, visit http://sydney.edu.au/internationaloffice/

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Programme description

This programme gives you skills in creating sustainable strategies through design. The programme is delivered in a series of studio design projects supplemented with workshops and seminars on aspects of sustainable design. There is an opportunity to study environmental simulation techniques and discover how these can influence wider issues in the built environment.

We address the relationship of design in the built environment to contemporary sustainable agendas and engage in cultural and professional debates that increasingly influence the production of architecture.

This programme is affiliated with the University’s Global Environment & Society Academy:

Global Environment & Society Academy

Programme structure

You complete your studies in one year.

The first semester is a combination of seminars and workshops on the theoretical underpinnings of sustainable design. Alongside this are a series of design projects at the scales of both settlement and building systems.

The second semester offers an immersive design project that allows you to form your own building programmes and test them in real contexts. You conclude your studies with a comprehensive dissertation research project based around your own interests.

Learning outcomes

Graduates of this programme will have:

-knowledge of the social, economic and legislative forces that are driving contemporary, sustainable agendas, and understanding of such agendas in relation to architectural cultures
-an ability to critically assess sustainability as a cultural, economic and environmental phenomenon
-the ability to interrogate site, programme and context in relation to the production of sustainable construction, engineering and architectural strategies
-the acquisition of trans-disciplinary skills in articulation of sustainable strategies in related industry sectors

As the call for a more sustainable built environment increases, architects, designers, engineers and planners who can produce solutions are in demand. With this qualification you’ll be best placed to embrace these opportunities and advance your career.

Even if you follow an unrelated path, the experience and skill development in communication, team work and project management that you’ll gain from the programme will be a valuable addition to your resume.

Our graduates work in specialist sustainable design consultancies, and design practice. Many of our students choose to continue their academic development through PhD study.

Fees and costs

Additional programme costs (APCs) are used by programmes in Edinburgh College of Art to cover associated costs such as: basic consumables; equipment purchase, hire and maintenance; computing hardware and software; field trip and excursion expenses; and programme specific events. More detail will be available in programme handbooks.

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The Specializing Master Sustainable Design for Complexity is a First and Second-level Politecnico di Milano Specializing Master, born as an evolution of the five editions of the Specializing Master Sustainable Environments and Architecture to give designers, architects, and engineers bespoke, specialized training for ecologically and bioclimatically compatible projects in the built environment, integrating energy planning into new and existing architectural spaces.

Operating Context

Issues of complexity, nomadism, environmental and energy resources, the crisis for cities, and the gradual acceptance of ecological compatibility principles have brought the following needs to the fore:
a design and knowledge approach inspired by sustainable development;
innovation in the principles for settling and building cities and surrounding areas;
tight synergy with the potential technological innovation;
new skills on the part of designers in social, ecological, and energy fields;
finding new ways to design the land, its towns, and a sustainable built environment.
Relation to Job Market

Training is designed to build professionals and researchers:
who can interpret and manage the complexity of new land, town, and architecture scenarios;
who own the knowledge to use renewable energy resources and advanced technology properly;
who are optimally equipped to enhance the enormous potential of new nomadism.

Main Content

This Specializing Master seeks to build opportunities to acquire and experience the following features:
interpretative evaluation of the ways of interethnic living;
innovative approaches to understanding local context and transforming the natural and built environments;
knowledge of advanced technology and the use of alternative energy sources;
integrated design of photovoltaic and thermal solar technology;
integrated design of phytopurification, botanical land use and agronomy;
integrated design of re-naturalized rivers and farmland;
Innovation in the conceptions/concept of the structures.

Starting date: October 2016.

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The first month will be dedicated to introduce the students to the skills of the job, including 3d modeling, digital fabrication, Arduino technology, and principles of environmental strategies. From the second month, and through the next 11 months, the students will work on a challenging thesis project that will be presented to a public audience at the end of the Master. During this phase, a series of activities (theoretical lectures, seminars, design workshops, conferences, construction workshops) will disseminate knowledge and stimulate the students on the topics of Green Energies Design Strategies, Smart Technologies for the Built Environment, Design rating systems and certifications, Big Data, Urban Sharing. All the input coming from these activities will be embedded in the students design work to develop a compelling thesis project.

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Human activities, not the least manifested in the built environment, are responsible for a large amount of the stress our societies put on the environment and there is a global challenge in meeting the need for sustainability while adapting to a local reality and situation. This programme focuses on methods and design approaches for understanding and analysing different local contexts in order to propose adequate solutions in designing for a sustainable future.

Programme description

Sustainable development is a political vision that entails huge challenges for social and technical innovation all over the world. It has consequences for all professions, not least for urban planning, architectural design and the full complexity of societal development can be addressed and managed through design for sustainable development.
This programme provides you with the skills and methods valid where design approaches are required. As a student, you are trained to find solutions that support sustainable development in a large variety of contexts and in dynamic situations. The perspective is holistic and systemic, comprising system levels and scales from urban structures, buildings and technical support systems to detailed construction elements. The programme is based on studios where real life situations and problems faced by society are handled in close contact with local stakeholders and actors.

The overall point of departure is the everyday life of people and the support of dignified lives and livelihoods in rapidly changing and sometimes extreme environments, through the development and implementation of aesthetic, affordable, socially and culturally appropriate, energy and material efficient, healthy and user friendly design solutions.

The programme offers a selection of courses and design studios from which the students can build upon in order to shape an individual profile during two years. Potential profiles are:

Sustainable building with a focus on building scale, building systems and sustainable solutions
Sustainable Urban planning & Design with a focus on urban (or regional) scale, planning processes, development and design of the built environment
Sustainable Conservation and Transformation with a focus on building or urban scale, relation to redevelopment within the existing built environment
Design for Sustainable Development in Local Contexts Internationally on multiple scales and with a socio-technical approach.

The Chalmers School of Architecture fosters a humanistic view of architecture and emphasises an explorative orientation and research by design approach in order to unfold the professional profile, skill and scope of the design professions. The ambition is to promote convincing joint future visions for the development of the built environment.

We also emphasis the integration of research in education, the respect for existing built structures as cultural, social and economic resources and interdisciplinary co-operation.

Educational methods

The pedagogical approach is to support you in developing your design skills through a series of design studios, dealing with complex design tasks in very different situations and contexts e.g., neighbourhoods and municipalities in Sweden, informal settlements in developing countries, and technical and social challenges of sustainable building and transformation.

This approach challenges and develops your ability to analyse and situate local situations in relation to broader contexts. Such design studios contain experience-based learning, fieldwork, tailored lectures, literature studies, seminars, workshops and exhibitions. A common thread through the studios is the use of a systems approach to design although both problems and potential solutions will vary significantly.

Research facilities

Studio spaces - all students have personal desks and storage areas in studio spaces with 24/7 access. Studio spaces are equipped with workstations, printers and large scale plotters, as well as Wi-Fi.
Architecture Library - has an extensive collection of printed volumes, journals and magazines within the fields of architecture and urban design.
CAD-lab - houses workstations with software for CAD-drawing, 3D-modelling, desktop publishing, video editing, and GIS.
A-Workshop - is a fully equipped architecture workshop with wood, plastics and metal working equipment. It also contains a number of computer controlled (CNC) machines for model building and rapid prototyping, including: Laser cutter, 3D-printers (2), CNC Mill and CNC Foam cutter.
Robot Lab - is a research facility that investigates robotic technology in architectural design. Equipment includes three robotic arms.
Centre for Healthcare Architecture - conducts research and graduate studies and encourage education and training within the field of physical environments for care.
Centre for Housing - is a national platform for transfer of knowledge, debate, development and research in the field of residential housing.
Mistra Urban Futures - is a centre for sustainable urban development with the ambition to become a world leader in the field in the near future.
The Spatial Morphology Group - is engaged in urban research within the fields of urban morphology, space syntax and design theory.

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About the course

Develop a portfolio of advanced skills and knowledge across several architectural disciplines, with a focus on sustainable architectural design. The interdisciplinary MSc in Sustainable Architecture Studies programme provides research-led learning and teaching. It will inspire and enable you to pursue innovative research and design strategies for the built environment.

Advance your career

Our graduates are architects, project managers, urban designers and client advisers.

Employers include the Olympic Park Legacy Company, Hawkins Brown, Renzo Piano Building Workshop and URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design) Ltd. With a post-qualification degree, you could move on to a senior position or further academic research and teaching.

Learn from experts

You’ll be joining one of the largest and most diverse groups of full-time architecture academics in the country. Our staff come from the arts, physical and social sciences, and engineering. This connects our research to other disciplines and stimulates debate about the future of architecture.

Our international research projects shape policy and address public and professional needs. We integrate those projects with our teaching on courses that will develop your core skills. You’ll be encouraged to provide social and environmental solutions to the challenges of our time.

The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) ranks us fourth in the UK.

Explore your ideas

You’ll have access to a lot of specialist facilities. Our media unit has a range of audio-visual and environmental equipment including artificial sky for daylight simulation, a thermal imaging camera and a mixed reality imaging suite. We have our own photography studio, reprographics unit and 3D printers. There are design studios, research rooms and computer labs.

Our teaching is more than lectures and seminars. Our student-led design projects help you learn by doing. Working with real clients on real projects, you’ll discover the benefits of socially engaged design and collaborative working. The outcomes make
a difference to communities.

Core modules

Building Environmental Simulation and Analysis; Renewable Energy; Sustainable Design Project 1; Sustainable Design Project 2; Principles of Building Physics for Sustainable Design; Sustainable Design Thesis Project.

Examples of optional modules

You can choose to specialise in low impact materials or in advanced computing.

Teaching and assessment

Your work in the design studio is supported through lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical computer work. Assessment is by course-based assignments, examinations and a dissertation.

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