Course syllabus

Jump to today

Course-PM

ACE285 ACE285 Integrated sustainable building design, civil engineers lp2 HT26 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Architecture And Civil Engineering

Contact details

Examiner

Lecturers/Supervisors

  • Mats Persson, PhD student, Division of Building Services Engineering, matsp@chalmers.se 
  • Joel André Slunitschek, PhD student, Division of Building Services Engineering, joelandr@chalmers.se 
  • Despoina Teli, Associate Professor, Division of Building Services Engineering, ACE, teli@chalmers.se 
  • Max Tillberg, Chief Executive Officer at EQUA Solutions AB

Course purpose

The aim of the course is to equip students with the necessary skills and abilities for the design of sustainable buildings by integrating environmental, functional, technical, and aesthetic qualities in a design concept. Furthermore, students shall be able to cooperate across professional boundaries in the design process. They are also expected to be able to formulate and communicate their main ideas and goals orally and in written form.

 

Schedule

TimeEdit

 

Course literature

Literature will be distributed in class, if needed.

 

Course design

The course consists of two main components.

1) Integrated design collaboration

ACE285 students work with architecture students from ACE560 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, learn about one another’s knowledge, methods and working processes, and rely 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 preliminary 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

The first five weeks of the course are thematic explorations. Each week is a separate mini-project where space for trials and playful testing is mixed with concept design. In this way, we create creative labs where student groups collaborate class-wide to understand the implications of different designs 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 conclusions but also the process through which decisions were reached. 

Students are expected to manage the workload in the group themselves. Any group problems should be reported as early as possible to the examiner.

 

2) Individual project

Each ACE285 student works on an individual project that is individually graded. This project runs in parallel with the thematic mini-projects during the first 5 weeks. After that, the individual project is the only focus.

To support the project work, lectures and workshops are given on relevant topics and tools (thermal comfort, energy, climatic design, HVAC). Furthermore, tutorials on the software IDA ICE will be provided. In addition, students are expected to explore the software themselves and support each other.

The individual project component consists of four phases:

1 Define the task and optimisation strategy (2 weeks)

Students are expected to independently identify a design challenge they want to solve and develop the strategy to solve it using simulation and optimisation. The teachers will support the students in supervision meetings, but the students need to drive the projects themselves. There is no pre-described problem-solving strategy, which reflects the real-world situation. It is one of the learning outcomes for the students to develop and implement the strategy themselves. This phase is completed by milestone presentation 1.

2 Implement strategy and generate simulation results (3 weeks)

In the second phase, students are expected to implement the optimisation strategy, generate and reflect on the results generated using simulation tools. This phase is completed by milestone presentation 2.

3 Refining and communication (2 weeks)

In the third phase, students are expected to deepen the analysis, refine the simulations, test additional scenarios and develop a clear communication of the results. The results should be understandable for a general audience, including the architecture students. The knowledge gained from the simulations and the optimisation strategy and the implications for the design project should be highlighted. This phase is completed by the final presentation.

4 Documentation and finalisation

The optimisation strategy and the results should be refined based on the feedback from the final presentation, documented and summarised. This phase is completed by the final report.

The project

The central project is the transformation of Brudbergsskolan, an unused school owned by the City of Gothenburg, into cohousing of the 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 the focus will be on a smaller part that represents the renovation and transformation of the entire building, simplifying analysis, quantification and understanding. 

 

Important and mandatory dates

November 13th: Milestone presentation 1

December 4th: Milestone presentation 2

December 18th: Final presentation

January 15th: Submission of final report

If these cannot be attended, the students are expected to inform the examiner beforehand to find a solution together.

 

Changes made since the last occasion

The modular structure for the first weeks has been added and the midterm presentation has been replaced by two milestone presentations. 

 

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

  • contribute to the iterative and multidisciplinary process of a building design project with focus on sustainability
  • combine passive and active building design strategies
  • apply appropriate engineering tools, models, and methods for evaluating indoor environmental quality (thermal comfort, indoor air quality, daylight), energy efficiency and environmental impact (energy use, Life Cycle Assessment) of design alternatives
  • work methodically to optimising the design proposal considering multiple performance criteria
  • communicate the optimisation strategy and visualize the results in a clear way to a range of stakeholders, e.g. clients, general public, architects, etc.
  • collaborate across disciplinary boundaries in design processes

 

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

https://www.chalmers.se/en/education/your-studies/find-course-and-programme-syllabi/course-syllabus/ACE285/?acYear=2026/2027

If the course is a joint course (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet) you should link to both syllabus (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet).

Examination form

The examination is based on two parts:

1) Presentations (5 credits):
a. Milestone presentations (25% of the 5 credits)
b. Your individual final presentation focusing on the design and the optimisation process (75% of the 5 credits)


2) Final report (2.5 credits):
An individual final report presenting the results in detail and reflection on the multidisciplinary approach.

Course summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due