Environmental Design Studio in Shanghai

The College of Environmental Design (CED) at UC Berkeley in partnership with Tongji University presents The Energy Toolbox, an intensive two-week summer course that investigates new design approaches to sustainable buildings in urban environments. Energy-efficient and sustainable buildings, including LEED-Platinum, Low-Carbon and Zero-Energy certifications, are increasingly important for future architects, however the tools to achieve this high performance are typically in the hands of mechanical engineers. This program introduces specific software, analytical tools and design exercises that empower the designer to shape a high-performance building during the design process. The analytical and simulation software packages that will be introduced in The Energy Toolbox are publicly available and include Climate Consultant, Comfen, DIVA, THERM, EQUEST, PVWatts and other packages.

The program explores issues of climate response, daylighting, façade design, glazing performance, building energy use, and photovoltaic sizing and orientation. Climate response and occupant comfort in the urban environment, site shading, and solar access for energy generation at an urban scale will also be discussed. The program will focus on a separate topic each day. Sessions include (1) a lecture on fundamental aspects, design examples and approaches; (2) software installation and use; (3) "field" exercises to observe the phenomena under discussion; (4) a design exercise that allows students to deploy the software in a design mode; and (5) review and discussion of the day’s design and analytical work. The program will also address the issue of design integration between thermal, lighting and shading strategies.

The Energy Toolbox is open to students or practitioners with a background in architecture and/or urban design. Students enrolled in the program are responsible for acquiring their visa prior to program start.

Students who fulfill the program requirements will receive a certificate of completion. All course work is conducted in English. Classes are held at the Sino-Finnish Centre at No. 100 Zhangwu Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200092, and will meet from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday–Saturday.

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