Course syllabus
Course PM
ACE560 Integrated Sustainable Building Design, Architects
Study period 2, autumn 2026 | 15 credits
The course is offered by the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology. It is an advanced-level architectural design project within the master’s programme Architecture and Planning Beyond Sustainability (MPDSD). [chalmers.se]
Contact details
Teaching Team
John Helmfridsson (Examiner)
Lecturer of the Practice, Architectural Theory and Method
Email: helmfrij@chalmers.se
Carrie Bobo (Gibbs)
Lecturer of the Practice, Building Design
Email: carrie.bobo@chalmers.se
Alexander Hollberg
Associate Professor, Sustainable Built Environments
Email: alexander.hollberg@chalmers.se
Other workshop leaders and lecturers will join the course on an individual basis based on their contribution of expertise.
Course purpose
The course develops knowledge and practical skills in sustainable building design and the transformation of existing buildings.
Transformation is central to climate-responsive construction and may include adaptation, extension, partial demolition, material reuse and the introduction of new programmes and building systems. By utilizing our built resources its possible to dramatically reduce environmental impact of new construction while producing affordable housing.
The course supports speculative and innovative architectural ideas grounded in both careful investigation as well as playful workshops and testbeds. We will inform our designs in calculations and preliminary simulations of daylight, energy, indoor climate, environmental impact and life-cycle performance.
The purpose is to make the studio work as an explorative lab where ideas are shared, tested, played around and understood in the context of their multitude. Collaboration across groups and playful trials are welcomed, as they inform the class. This creates a wider and deeper understanding for the entire student group.
The project
The central project is the transformation of Brudbergsskolan, an unused school owned by the City of Gothenburg, into cohousing of swedish model. The proposal should provide permanent homes for people at different stages of life, combining private dwellings with meaningful shared spaces. A central ambition is to support long-term residence by enabling people to remain in their homes and communities as their circumstances and needs change with age.
The existing school is both a resource and a starting condition. Its spatial organisation, structure, materials, climate performance and cultural heritage values should inform the project. The cultural heritage inventory identifies the school as a well-preserved example of a late-1960s standard school derived from the BASK project. Important qualities include its low horizontal form, flat roofs, visible beams, projecting entrance elements and continuous window bands. Later additions are considered less sensitive and may offer different possibilities for intervention.
Transformation may include adaptation, extension, partial demolition, reuse and carefully considered new construction. Each intervention should emerge from an understanding of what already exists. Daylight, solar radiation, ventilation, thermal mass, insulation, energy use, indoor climate, material impact, accessibility and long-term adaptability should become part of the architecture rather than separate technical additions.
Student groups will make a transformation of the building into cohousing in sustainable ways, creating comfort with low environmental impact. A general plan will be designed, but focus will be on a smaller part that represents the renovation and transformation of the entire building, simplifying analysis, quantification and understanding.
Schedule
The detailed schedule, including lectures, workshops, supervision, roundtables, reviews and submission deadlines, is available through the Modules tab.
All dates and deadlines published in Canvas should be treated as part of the course schedule.
Time Edit is not always up to date as we are unable to make changes in this system. Instead Canvas is primary.
Course literature
Literature
Literature is provided through Canvas within the modules.
Course design
Integrated design teams
Architecture students work with building engineering students from the parallel course in integrated design teams. This collaboration reflects advanced professional practice, in which architectural, environmental and technical decisions are developed together.
The purpose is not simply to divide the project into architectural and engineering tasks. Students should actively collaborate learning about one another’s knowledge, methods and working processes, and relying on that knowledge to advance the project. Architectural and Engineering intentions should guide technical investigations, while calculations, simulations and engineering analysis should open possibilities for architectural development.
Students are expected to:
- explain disciplinary terminology, methods and assumptions to others in their team to allow for clear communication
- ask questions when methods or conclusions are unclear
- share incomplete work early enough for it to influence the project
- document assumptions and the evidence used to support decisions
- distribute work fairly without isolating knowledge within individual disciplines
- integrate technical findings into the spatial, material and architectural proposal
Learning through exploration
The course supports different approaches to the project. There is no single correct design response when an idea is pursued with curiosity, enthusiasm and care and is tested against relevant evidence.
The first five weeks of the course are thematic explorations of transformation. Each week is made as a separate miniproject where space for trials and playful testing are mixed with concept design. In this way, we create creative labs where student groups collaborate class-wide to understand implications of different design and concepts.
Mistakes, unresolved questions and changing assumptions are productive parts of the course. Students should make assumptions visible so they can be discussed, tested and revised. Work should therefore document not only final conclusions but also the process through which decisions were reached.
The second half of the course focus on integration of explored concepts into a general plan and detailed implementation. The course values proposals that take a clear position, explore their implications and develop through dialogue between design and analysis. Technical performance and architectural quality are understood as holistic rather than competing aims. Success depends on legitimate integration of passive strategies into cohesive architectural form.
Lectures
Lectures introduce concepts, precedents and methods related to the project. Lecturers include Chalmers personal as well as a variety of external experts.
Lectures provide a shared conceptual foundation. Students should apply the material directly to the project rather than treating it as separate theoretical content.
Exercises and workshops
Short exercises and workshops support the project.
Project work
The main learning activity is the transformation project for Brudbergsskolan.
Students will:
- investigate the existing building, site and surrounding context;
- interpret its spatial, structural, technical and cultural heritage conditions;
- develop a programme for collective and permanent housing;
- examine how residents can remain in their homes as they age;
- establish architectural and environmental intentions;
- test these intentions through drawings, models, calculations and simulations;
- compare alternative approaches;
- integrate architectural and engineering work into one proposal; and
- communicate the project through drawings, diagrams, details, a design booklet or posters, and a technical report.
The final result should be an architectural project that integrates climate responsive design elements with a coherent programme for the whole building. It should demonstrate how architectural quality, collective living, climate responsiveness, cultural heritage, technical performance and responsible resource use can support one another.
Supervision
Supervision takes place within the studio and happens both according to scheduled times and as drop in.
Roundtables and feedback
The course focuses on class-wide collaboration to reach learning goals. Weekly roundtables are used to compare approaches, discuss evidence, and reflect on working methods. Groups should present both their current conclusions and the process used to reach them. The group analysis, rather than the efficiency or perfection of the design, should be presented.
Feedback will be provided through:
- supervision
- roundtable discussions
- peer discussion
- written or oral comments on submissions
- final review
After the roundtables and presentations of integration, groups are expected to refine their designs and reflect upon them. Students document feedback and decide how it should influence the next stage of the project. Not all feedback must be followed, but significant decisions should be explained.
Reviews and seminars
The course includes a mid-term review and a final review. Additional seminars may be organised around technical, architectural or interdisciplinary questions.
The mid-term review is intended to clarify the project’s programme, architectural direction and principal technical strategies. Based on this review, the examiner will specify the detailed content of the final posters and report in writing on Canvas.
The final review evaluates the coherence of the overall project, the relationship between architectural and technical decisions, and the team’s ability to communicate its work professionally.
Digital tools and communication
Canvas
Canvas is the primary course platform and will be used for:
- course information and announcements
- task descriptions
- literature and reference material
- schedule updates
- submission instructions
- group submissions
- individual reflections
- feedback
- assessment information
Students should check Canvas regularly and before each scheduled course activity.
TimeEdit
TimeEdit is generally not used.
Email should be used for individual matters that should not be addressed through Canvas.
General questions relevant to the whole course should be asked through the shared course communication channel via the Discussions Tab so that all students have access to the answer. This can be done anonymously if desired.
Studios
The studio space is critical to success in this course it allows for the collaboration that defines architectural practice.
Deadlines, absence and revisions
All deadlines in the course calendar for workshops, submissions, the mid-term review and the final review are mandatory. Active participation in shared activities, lectures, seminars, workshops, supervision and reviews is required.
If a student cannot attend a compulsory activity or meet a deadline, the student should contact the examiner and relevant teacher as soon as possible. The examiner will determine whether a complementary assignment or revised submission is required.
Late or incomplete work may require revision before it can be assessed as meeting the learning outcomes. Revision requirements, format and deadlines will be communicated by the examiner through Canvas.
The examiner may assess an individual student differently when special reasons exist, including a formal decision concerning targeted educational support.
Changes made since the last course occasion
The following changes have been introduced for autumn 2026:
- The project is based on the transformation of Brudbergsskolan into collective, permanent housing.
- Greater emphasis is placed on housing that supports continued residence as people age.
- Weekly tasks connect insulation, thermal mass, solar radiation, daylight, overheating and ventilation directly to the transformation project.
- Roundtable discussions foreground assumptions, decision-making processes and interdisciplinary learning.
- The examiner changed from Walter Unterrainer to John Helmfridsson on 22 April 2026.
Learning objectives and syllabus
After completing the course, the student should be able to:
Knowledge and understanding
- describe and analyse the basic features of sustainable building, particularly sustainable building transformation;
- describe and analyse the potential and challenges of sustainable building.
Competence and skills
- design sustainable architecture;
- visualise the performance of a building in relation to energy, environmental impact and indoor climate;
- develop new programmes for an existing building;
- design systems for good indoor climate and energy efficiency;
- prepare and deliver a professional presentation.
Judgement and approach
- collaborate across disciplinary boundaries in design processes.
View the official ACE560 course syllabus for 2026/2027
Examination form
The course is examined through the development, submission and presentation of an integrated architectural transformation project.
Assessment includes:
- active participation in lectures, workshops, seminars, roundtables, supervision and reviews;
- completion of scheduled exercises and workshops;
- participation in interdisciplinary group work;
- mid-term submission;
- final architectural presentation;
- final reflections;
- submission of all required course work through Canvas.
These components assess the student’s ability to develop sustainable architecture, evaluate building performance, establish a new programme, integrate indoor-climate and energy strategies, communicate professionally and collaborate across disciplines.
Final submission
For the first five weeks, a small submission per group will be made every friday.
The final submission of the course will be confirmed by the students and instructors in the course and consists of:
- a coherent programme for the whole building;
- an architectural project that is a cohesive integrated whole;
- relevant plans and sections;
- general drawings at 1:200 for the proposed transformed building;
- detailed drawings at 1:50 for the proposed specific part;
- explanatory diagrams;
- selected detailed sections and key construction details at 1:20 or 1:10
The final material will be submitted through Canvas and presented and discussed at the final review.
Assessment
The course uses the grading scale:
- 5: Pass with distinction
- 4: Pass with credit
- 3: Pass
- U: Fail [chalmers.se]
The project is assessed continuously during the design process and through the final submission and review.
Course summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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