A graduate seminar on ecological design theory. This course outline lays out a condensed introduction to significant strains of thought informing contemporary green design.
An 11-page Word doc meant to help a novice to intermediate user identify and describe every input field and option in the WUFI Passive energy modeling software.
This is meant as an item-by-item inventory of every input required in WUFI Passive. I've added notes to help a new user understand the information that WUFI Passive and PHIUS require. This is very much a beta-quality resource -- there are probably a few entries that could use further clarification, if not outright correction, so please let me know how to improve it.
The Sun Angle Calculator is a handy tool that provides a relatively simple method of determining solar geometry variables for architectural design, such as designing shading devices or locating the position of the sun relative to a particular latitude and time.
Pilkington Glass has kindly granted permission to SBSE to reproduce and distribute the Pilkington Sun Angle Calculator. This is a fantastic graphical design and analysis tool beloved by thousands of architects and engineers. Information on ordering copies of the Sun Angle Calculator and accessing the online manual "Designing with the Pilkington Sun Angle Calculator" will be found on the
A set of lecture slides to introduce roles and behavior styles to form more effective teams.
I've learned over the years that I get better results from teams, if they know more about team building. I thus spend some time at the beginning of this course when forming teams explaining about effective team building. I follow the concept by the Effectiveness Institute, but there are numerous other systems equally effective.
Link to a 6-minute video from "Autodesk Academy" about "Whole Systems Thinking" or "Whole Systems Design". They go through the example of trying to design a more sustainable clothes dryer and what a designer should consider.
Link to a 6-minute video from "Autodesk Academy" about "Whole Systems Thinking" or "Whole Systems Design". They go through the example of trying to design a more sustainable clothes dryer and what a designer should consider. Spoiler Alert: if you think about the whole system, you find it's more important to design a good spin cycle on the washing machine.
Frequently, we ask students to collaborate, but we do not give them the skills to do so. I use this Word document for student teams to develop good habits and patterns of collaborations such as: 1) scheduling, 2) how to communicate, 3) where to hold/work on files, 4) standard of work (how to handle work that isn't done as well as some members would like, 5) people skills, etc. etc. The students turn this document in and we look at this during grading period.
Outdoor lab exercise using a solar transit to discuss the apparent motion of the sun relative to a specific site. Introduces concepts of solar declination, magnetic declination, the equation of time, local sunrise and sunset, and generating an overshadowing mask/site horizon. Designed for a group, could be adapted to solo. Obviously requires the transits, see the transit resource for how to make them.
A lab activity connecting qualitative sensation of thermal comfort in indoor spaces with qualitative assessment using instruments (thermometer, globe thermometer, IR pyrometer.) Introduces concepts of radiation, MRT, emissivity, metabolic rate. Includes assignment sheet for students, notes for the instructor. Designed for a group, easy to change to individual.
Design exercise exploring the ability of daylight to create various effects. Students use and modify the same physical model as in the analytical exercise 7. Designed to work with teams and take about a week, but could be adapted to individuals, and/or expanded to a larger project.
This exercise is based on and adapted from the work of Professor Charles Benton, U.C. Berkeley School of Architecture.
This work, including all images, is used with permission under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license.
Workshop plus assignment asking student to connect their lived experience of a particular climate with the quantitative analysis of that climate. Uses TMY data, introduces various climate graphics, and discusses possible climate-responsive design strategies.
All content is ©2020 David Fannon, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License
Spreadsheet to calculate grades for environmental systems. Based on 12 labs, readiness assessments, final exam and participation. includes multiple curving methods and anonymized sample data.
Two versions of a lab using the campus to explore MEP systems. One approach involves campus facilities leading a behind the scenes tour of mechanical spaces, and students reporting back on the equipment and systems they observe. The other (if that is not possible) is a simple scavenger hunt in which students find traces of the MEP systems and performance in the spaces they can regularly occupy. Both are designed as individual (and pretty minimal) assignments but could expand and adapt.
Summative assessment for the Environmental Systems course, organized around students assessing and then redesigning a case study building. This example uses Phillip Johnson's glass house. I typically keep the questions the same but change buildings ever year. I post the attached study guide the first day of class to help students know what they will have to know. The goal of this exam is not declarative knowledge, it requires some degree of procedural knowledge, and especially contextual knowledge and judgement to apply and integrate what has been learned all semester (especially in labs). As in life, on this exam, there is no right answer, but there are wrong answers, and some answers are definitely better than others.
This exam and approach is based on one shared by Siobhan Rockcastle.
An in-class workshop using simple building simulation to test the effect of climate and basic properties (envelope, systems, orientation) on building performance. Uses a very simple building, designed to be completed by an individual during a single class period. Could be easily adapted to other software, or to focus on specific building science issues.
Brief design exercise in which students test and then edit a physical model of a window for both passive solar heating, and to control overheating. Students test using sun-peg chart/pocket heliodon (but could be done with a proper Helidon if available). Students construct an overshadowing mask with manual methods.
A short lab exercise designed for individual students to experience the qualitative and calculate some quantitative aspects of acoustic performance. Designed to be completed in a single lab period.
Lab exercise focused on envelope performance, specifically calculations of steady-state conduction, and simplified assessment of condensation risk (dew-point analysis). Lab includes a walking tour with IR camera to explore wall construction and performance, and students individually hypothesize and analyze those constructions, and compare to local energy code. Designed as an individual assignment.
A final design exercise focused on integration of prior experiences, and on the graphic communication of performance and design information. Designed for an individual student and around the production of a single integrated systems diagram for a pin-up review.
My version of the ever-popular balance point game in which students modify a simple physical model of a building (a glass cube) to affect the internal temperature. This version is compressed to run in a one-hour lab, but still allow competitive game play. Focuses on various forms of heat transfer and storage, and on system dynamics. Can be played with elementary through PhD students, depending on how you frame the conversation. Designed for groups, and obviously requires construction of the boxes!
Editable syllabus document and schedule spreadsheet, plus PDF example for a spring semester.
Unless otherwise noted, content is ©2020 David Fannon, and licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License.
