The aim of the Environmental Control course is to help students develop an understanding of the whole environment into which their buildings are being placed as well as the comfort needs of the people who will be using them. They are then given tools to design buildings that work positively with their environments to achieve required levels of comfort. They leam how the plan, section and envelope effect a building's interaction with the environment.
Second year looks specifically at how such ideas relate to housing.
Their knowledge about basic issues is developed, and they are introduced to residential site analysis. Computer modelling of climate analysis and energy efficiency are being introduced. Environmental Studies - Environmental Control Study Area Architecture 1 Deals with the selection of materials for simple buildings, and an understanding of how such materials behave from an environmental viewpoint. Simple environmental design and energy efficient design techniques are included. Architecture 2 Covers residential and small public buildings including concepts of environmental appraisal of residential sites, physiological and psychological comfort requirements, thermal and acoustic performance.