School of Architecture, Design and Planning
REFERENCES: list of suggested readings
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability principles and practice. Routledge, 2014.
Hyde, Richard. Climate responsive design. Routledge, 2000.
Hyde, Richard. Bioclimatic housing: innovative designs for warm climates. Routledge, 2012.
Thomas, Randall, ed. Environmental design: an introduction for architects and engineers. Taylor & francis,
2006.
Feifer, Lone, Marco Imperadori, Graziano Salvalai, Arianna Brambilla, and Federica Brunone. "Active House:
Smart Nearly Zero Energy Buildings." POLIMI SPRINGERBRIEFS(2018).
Lawson, Bill, and David Rudder. Building materials energy and the environment: Towards ecologically
sustainable development. Royal Australian Institute of Architects, 1996.
Hebel, Dirk E., Marta H. Wisniewska, and Felix Heisel. Building from waste: recovered materials in architecture
and construction. Birkhäuser, 2014.
Corner, Donald B., Alison Kwok, and Jan C. Fillinger. Passive house details: solutions for high-performance
design. Routledge, 2017.
Kellert, Stephen R., Judith Heerwagen, and Martin Mador. Biophilic design: the theory, science and practice of
bringing buildings to life. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
Reinhart, Christoph Frank. Daylighting Handbook: Fundamentals, Designing with the Sun. Christoph Reinhart,
2014.
Jankovic, Ljubomir. Designing zero carbon buildings using dynamic simulation methods. Routledge, 2017.
Lechner, Norbert. Heating, cooling, lighting: Sustainable design methods for architects. John wiley & sons,
2014.
Givoni, Baruch. Passive low energy cooling of buildings. John Wiley & Sons, 1994.
Henning, Hans-Martin, ed. Solar-assisted air-conditioning in buildings: a handbook for planners. Springer Vienna
Architecture, 2004.
MacKay, David. Sustainable Energy-without the hot air. UIT Cambridge, 2008.
Vale, Brenda, Robert Vale, and Ron Doig. Green architecture: design for a sustainable future. London: Thames
and Hudson, 1991.
Kwok, Alison G., and Walter Grondzik. The green studio handbook: Environmental strategies for schematic
design. Routledge, 2018.
Calkins, Meg. The sustainable sites handbook: A complete guide to the principles, strategies, and best
practices for sustainable landscapes. Vol. 39. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Heinberg, Richard, and David Fridley. Our Renewable Future: Laying the Path for One Hundred PercClean
Energy. Island Press, 2016.
Randolph, John, and Gilbert M. Masters. Energy for sustainability: Technology, planning, policy. Island Press,
2008.
McLennan, Jason F. The philosophy of sustainable design: The future of architecture. Ecotone publishing,
2004.
Cornwell, David A., and Mackenzie L. Davis. Introduction to environmental engineering. Mcgraw-hill EducationEurope, 2012.
Szokolay, Steven Vajk. "Climatic data and its use in design." In Passive and Low Energy Alternatives I, pp. 1-8.
1982.
Vezzoli, Carlo, and Ezio Manzini. Design for environmental sustainability. London: Springer, 2008.
Kibert, Charles J. Sustainable construction: green building design and delivery. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Caradonna, Jeremy L. Sustainability: A history. Oxford University Press, 2014.
Nash, Roderick Frazier. The rights of nature: a history of environmental ethics. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1989.
MARC 4002: Sustainable design research studio
School of Architecture, Design and Planning
LECTURE MATERIALS, REFERENCES AND SUGGESTIONS
Here you can find the helpful materials to support your design. SPOLIER: there are a lot of useful links in here
During the semester we will discuss about sustainability in all its different perspectives: from bioclimatic strategies
to performance-based design. The unit of study is structured to give you an overview of the complexity that lies
behind sustainability and to show that there are different ways to achieve it.
The lectures introduce the different topic, but you are encouraged to conduct your own research to discover and
learn more about the topics that you find more interesting.
A good way to start this independent research is this READING LIST. You can navigate through the titles and
decide which ones could interest you more.
Week 1
The first week is all about the introduction to the unit of study and the explanation of the DESIGN BRIEF. The
issue of climate change is introduced and discussed in relation to what we can actively do, as designer, to
mitigate it.
You can find the SLIDEs here.
On internet there are a lot of references regarding this topic, I highly recommend you to browse a couple of them
and learn more about it.
The NASA has a great site with tons of info, don’t miss it!
It exits an international association, called the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) that
periodically explores the issue and releases reports on it. The National Geographic tries to summarize the last
one here.
The Environmental Department of the Australian Government speaks about climate change, while here you can
find the effects of climate change on Australia.
Week 2
Week 2 is all about passive design and bioclimatic strategies. You will learn the principles of solar design and
ventilation. Sustainable buildings are site specific!
You can find the SLIDEs here.
There is a great site that explains how to design a building able to adapt to climate change, have a look here!
Interested to know more about solar design? Dig deep, and deeper.
If here some tools helpful at the early design stage of design: the wind rose generator and climate consultant,
which allows to have a preliminary idea of the most suitable bioclimatic strategies for each location! Useful, don’t
you think?
Week 3
Week 3 is focused on principles of architectural science. There is some formulas and some hard science, but
don’t loose the enthusiasm, thermodynamics is not rocket science. Basic principles of thermodynamics are
necessary to understand energy efficiency and energy conservation.
You can find the SLIDEs here.
Thermal mass is something that interest you? Have a look here and here.
MARC 4002: Sustainable design research studio
School of Architecture, Design and Planning
If you need to have examples, here you can find a good resource for R-value. Still need more? Maybe these can
help you with practical tips on thermal and sound insulation.
Condensation risk is hard to manage, here you can find resources to help you design moisture free walls! If you
are nerd and you want to know the physics behind it, you can’t miss this link.
Week 4
From week 4 we start with building simulations. It might be boring at the beginning, but don’t give up, it will be
useful in your future career.
Here you can find the manual and some tutorials. Don’t forget to search on you-tube, you can be amazed by the
numbers of video on DesignBuilders!
Week 5
Week 5 introduces the principles of biophilic design. Biophilia is a concept used within the building industry to
increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and
space and place conditions. Used at both the building and city-scale, it is argued that this idea has health,
environmental, and economic benefits for building occupants and urban environments, with little drawbacks.
You can find the SLIDEs here.
One of the best reference for this topic, is the Living Building Challenge. Biophilia can’t be explained in a clearer
way!
Week 6
Week 5 introduces the principles of biophilic design. Biophilia is a concept used within the building industry to
increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and
space and place conditions. Used at both the building and city-scale, it is argued that this idea has health,
environmental, and economic benefits for building occupants and urban environments, with little drawbacks.
You can find the SLIDEs here.
One of the best reference for this topic, is the Living Building Challenge. Biophilia can’t be explained in a clearer
way!
MARC 4002: Sustainable design research studio