Architecture and Environmental Design

Course summary

The global environmental and energy challenge facing current and future generations of architects and building professionals calls for a deeper understanding of the principles of environmental design, and their effective application into architectural practice worldwide. Over the last decades environmental design as a subject area has developed, responding to new research and experimentation, both in academia and in practice. However, buildings claiming to be environmentally conscious do not perform to the expected standards, still heavily contributing to global CO₂ emissions and often providing unsatisfactory comfort conditions to occupants. The same can be said for the existing built environment, which is largely outdated and underperforming, requiring urgent implementation of effective retrofit strategies to improve not only energy performance, but also comfort, health and wellbeing. This is due to a lack of comprehensive performance prediction and feedback protocols, which are still not common practice in architectural design.

Students on this course will take a fresh critical look at this subject. Here you'll gain the knowledge and tools to make informed design decisions based on post-occupancy feedback and performance analysis, towards a new paradigm of environmental architecture, which is environmentally and energy conscious, yet sensitive to the contextual and socio-cultural landscape we live in. You'll learn environmental design methods which relate to the various stages of architectural design for a healthier and less energy and carbon intensive built environment. You'll be able to evaluate existing buildings and design new ones following a combined bioclimatic and building occupant-focused approach. In the core design modules you'll follow an evidence-based design approach where the acquisition of specialised software and analytical tools will be directly applied to an evaluation or design project.

This interdisciplinary and international course will provide you with skills that can be applied to diverse building typologies and global climatic, environmental and contextual issues. On completion of this course, you'll have a thorough understanding of the principles and methodology of environmental design and will develop critical thinking skills to challenge established practices. You'll hold the knowledge and the practical tools to better understand existing buildings for retrofit and to design new ones – positively driving change in this field and moving towards a truly environmentally conscious architecture.

The course covers both the wider contextual and sustainable approach to environmental design, and the more technical aspects of environmentally and energy conscious building design and performance. As well as taught modules, you'll take design-based modules where you'll apply quantitative and qualitative analysis to the study of existing built environments and to new design projects. This includes methods for the quantification of aspects related to health and wellbeing such as the relationship between air quality and the built environment.

The Architecture and Environmental Design MSc benefits from having strong links with the Research Community for Sustainable Cities and Urban Environments. This vibrant research community focuses on the planning of cities towards a sustainable and low-energy future and the exploration of the environmental and social impact of concentrating people and economic activity in cities and urban areas.

Also, the course embeds the BREEAM Approved Graduate course, which provides facilitated access to a BREEAM AP qualification. In recent years the course has also developed a very successful collaborative thesis programme with industry, which has allowed our students to be mentored and partnered with some of the leading organisations in the sector of environmental design consultancy and sustainable architecture. As a higher education institution, we are members of the UK Green Building Council and a Learning Affiliate of the Energy Institute.

Top reasons to study with us

• Industry links – You’ll engage with industry experts and have the option to be mentored by an environmental consultancy or architectural practice during your thesis period
• Master the essential software – You’ll learn how to use modelling and simulation software like TAS, Envimet and Grasshopper plug-ins, for the performance prediction of outdoor and indoor environments and for energy and carbon calculations
• Engage with hands-on practical experiments and fieldwork – You’ll use specialist equipment and instrumentation for conducting on-site environmental monitoring and laboratory experiments

If your first language is not English you should have an IELTS 6.0 with 5.5 in one component.

This course will equip you with the skills that can be used both in architectural practice and environmental design consultancy. 

The research issues explored in your final thesis project could also lead to further research and an academic career through the path of a PhD degree in a number of related fields. 

So far graduates from this course have found employment in architectural practices where they lead sustainability groups, in consulting engineering companies where they cover the role of environmental consultants, or in academia where they have started PhDs in various UK universities or become research assistants in international research institutes.