Module overview
Sustainable development is a major international challenge and relates to historical, environmental and economic changes. This module focuses on the relationships between settlements, resources, climate and energy through history. It introduces students to the basics of human evolution, from the pre-industrial world to today’s high fossil fuel society. Building on this knowledge, students will develop ideas and concepts towards sustainable lifestyles and resource and energy efficiency.
Only students enrolled on programme codes 3081MSc Energy and Sustainability, Pathway 3086 Energy Resources and Climate Change and 3081 MSc Energy and Sustainability, Pathway 3087
Energy Environment and Buildings will be permitted to register on this module.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Group work. [G4]
- Plan and organise both time and resources. [EL10M, G1..G4]
- Exercise independent judgement. [EA6M, D11M, EL9M]
- Oral presentation. [G1]
- Graphical presentation of a design concept/approach. [G1]
- Research and independent study. [G1, G2]
- Problem analysis and problem solving. [G1]
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Desk based research using various forms of media spanning the fields of architecture, engineering, history and social sciences. [EA7M, G1]
- The importance of learning from vernacular structures as well as the climatic and environmental conditions for developing modern design solutions which consume minimal resources. [SM7M, SM9M, EA6M, EA7M]
- The relationship of climate, environment, technology, society and its manifestation in buildings and settlement structures Intellectual skills. [SM7M, SM9M, EL9M, P12M]
- Current climate change science predictions and the potential impacts of climate change on buildings, settlements, energy demand and supply systems. [SM7M, P9m]
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Conduct a thorough literature research of a given research topic. [G1, G2]
- Analyse and critically assess the climatic, environmental, technical and societal conditions that have led to specific building designs and settlement forms. [SM9M, D10M, EL9M]
- Defend a chosen engineering solution in terms of its relationship with the climate and environment. [SM7M, SM9M, EA6M, EA7M, D9M, D10M, D11M, EL9M, EL10M, EL11M, P12M, P10m]
- Critically review climate change science predictions. [SM7M]
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Demonstrate the ability to present and defend individual research. [SM7M, SM9M, EA6M, EA7M, D9M, D10M, D11M, EL9M, EL10M, EL11M, P12M, P10m]
- Write a well-structured, clear and concise research report. [G1..G4]
- Develop and present a poster design to convey a design/engineering concept/approach. [G1, G4]
Syllabus
This module links the development of society to the surrounding climatic conditions and investigates its use of energy to achieve comfortable living and working conditions in its buildings and settlements. It will comprise the following:
1. An introduction to the Earth’s climate system and climatic zones as basis for human activity and settlements.
2. The development of society in relation to the local climatic and topographic conditions, resources availability (food, building material, energy), technical skills and the societal framework.
3. The conditions for development, evolution and collapse of civilisations.
4. The development and organisation of human settlements addressing aspects of location, society, advantages to individuals, form, function, design and organisation principles.
5. An assessment of population development and its implications on settlements, buildings and resource consumption with particular focus on energy consumption.
6. Discussion of how energy systems contribute to the shaping of society and the conditions that resulted in the agricultural and industrial revolution.
7. An introduction to climate science looking at historical and recent observations, climate modelling and climate change predictions.
8. The assessment of global and regional climate change implications and associated mitigation / adaptation strategies.
9. The concepts of sustainability, ecological and carbon foot printing.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
The module consists of lectures and tutorial sessions related to the assignments detailed below.
Lectures will concentrate on the themes given above with the expectation that the students conduct further private study. A selected field trip will complement the lecture content. This is usually to the Weald and Downland open air museum near Chichester.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 3 |
| Wider reading or practice | 20 |
| External visits | 5 |
| Completion of assessment task | 90 |
| Lecture | 32 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
IPCC (2007). Climate Change 2007: Contributions of Working Groups I, 2 and 3 to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.. Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press..
Roaf, S. Crichton, D. & Nicol, F., 2005. Adapting Buildings and Cities for Climate Change - A 21st century survival guide.Oxford: Architectural Press - An Imprint of Elsevier..
Pelsmakers S (2012). The Environmental Design Pocketbook. RIBA.
Heywood H., (2012). 101 Rules of Thumb for Low Energy Architecture. RIBA.
Santamouris, M. (2000). Energy and Climate in the Urban Built Environment.. London: James & James.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Group report | 40% |
| Individual report | 20% |
| Individual report | 20% |
| Group presentation | 20% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Individual report | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal