Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Academic Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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AE 4121 - Environmental Science in Building Construction

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits
Course Description
This course introduces concepts of environmental science and principles of sustainability, in the context of the built environment. Major environmental drivers of the sustainable construction movement including climate change, ozone depletion, biodiversity losses, and others are presented. Societal and political factors influencing adoption of sustainable practices are discussed. The significance of various green building rating systems such as LEED, Green Globes, and Envision is introduced. Techniques for improving the sustainability of the built environment, including energy and water conservation, appropriate site selection, appropriate materials use, and construction management techniques to minimize environmental impacts are presented. Basic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) techniques and software tools are introduced. (prereq: AE 1231 , CH 200 , junior standing)
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • Demonstrate the ability to design a building system, component, or process to meet realistic constraints imposed by economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, and sustainability factors.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how sustainability issues and environmentally responsible design decisions intersect with an engineers’ professional and ethical responsibilities
  • Articulate how sustainable design principles and practices contribute to his/her attainment of the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context

Prerequisites by Topic
  • None

Course Topics
  • Drivers for sustainability 
  • Green building assessment and sustainability rating systems
  • Green building design process
  • Economic analysis of green buildings 
  • Sustainable sites 
  • Energy and atmosphere 
  • Water quality and quantity parameters 
  • Materials and Life Cycle Assessment
  • Indoor environmental quality 
  • Construction operations and building commissioning 

Coordinator
Willie Gonwa



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