Syllabus - Spring 2019

Instructor

Benoit Cushman-Roisin
134 Cummings
Telephone: 1-603-646-3248
Email: Benoit.Cushman.Roisin@dartmouth.edu

Teaching Assistants

Sarah Atac, Kelsey Catano, Eleanor Dowd, Emily Grubb, Storm Mata, Sebastian Strong

Review Board

Prof. Benoit Cushman-Roisin, Stuart White (Architect), Ella Ryan (Thayer School Design Fellow), David Brooks (Director of Planning and Zoning for the City of Lebanon, project sponsor), and Timothy J. McNamara (Lebanon NH Assistant Mayor, member of the Economic Vitality Exchange Committee in Lebanon)

Course Description

An interdisciplinary introduction to the principles of design for sustainability, with emphasis on the built environment. Through lectures, readings, discussions, and a major design project, students will learn to design buildings and other infrastructure with low to no impact on the environment. Emphasis is on creative thinking, strategies for managing the complexity of the product life-cycle of the infrastructure, and the thorough integration of human and economic aspects in the design. Homework and project activities provide practice in relevant engineering analyses.

Prerequisites: ENGS 21 (Introduction to Engineering), and ENGS 22 (Systems) or SART 65 (Architecture)
Distributive designation: TAS (Technology and Applied Science)

Textbook (highly recommended)

Heating, Cooling, Lighting - Sustainable Design Methods for Architects
by Norbert Lechner, Wiley, 4^th edition, 2015, 702 pages, hardbound ($180 or less).

Other Resources (among countless others)

The Philosophy of Sustainable Design
by Jason F. McLennan, Ecotone Publishing Co., 2004.

Green Building Fundamentals
by Mike Montoya, Pearson, 2^nd edition, 2010.

Sustainable Construction - Green Building Design and Delivery
by Charles J. Kibert, John Wiley & Sons, 2^nd edition, 2008.

Sustainable Construction and Design
by Regina Leffers, Prentice Hall, 2009.

The Passive Solar House: Using Solar Design to Heat and Cool Your Home
by James Kachadorian, Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 1997.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to

Gain, by means of a project, first-hand experience in combining engineering systems, environmental considerations, and personal behavior;
Find inspiration from nature while engaging in sustainable design;
Understand the complexities of the design of sustainable buildings;
Perform an energy-load analysis of a building;
Select materials to decrease environmental impacts at the local level;
Know ways to decrease water consumption inside buildings;
Become aware of the ways occupants interact with technology in the building
Integrate technological components into larger systems.

Course Format

Lectures by instructor and occasionally guest lecturers
(at 10A: Tuesday and Thursday 10:10 to 12:00)
Graded problem sets (every other week)
Graded critical readings (every other week, alternating with problem sets)
Field trips (during lecture times, mandatory but not graded)
Liberal use of X-hours (for lectures displaced by field trips)
(Wednesday 3:30 to 4:20)
Term-long team project (with mid-term and end-of-term presentations)

Grading

10% Case study
20% Problem sets
20% Reading quizzes
50% Term project (20% at mid-term and 30% at end of term)

Academic Honor Principle

As always, students are expected to observe all aspects of the Academic Honor Principle. In this course, collaboration among students is allowed for problem sets and reading quizzes although students have to turn in their individual answers. For the project, collaboration is essential within team members and allowed across teams.

Dartmouth College policy requires that any apparent violation of the Academic Honor Principle be reported to the Committee on Standards. The professor does not have another choice, regardless of how he/she may feel.

Note on use of personal electronics in class

Use of laptop computers, cell phones and other personal electronics is forbidden during class. The only granted exception is to students with documented writing disabilities who need a computer for note taking.

Note to students with disabilities

Students with any type of disability are encouraged to contact the instructor to discuss their needs and what accommodations are necessary. Such contact should be made at the beginning of the term or, in the case of a new condition, as soon as it occurs.

Note on respect of religious holidays

Students who have a religious observance that conflicts with participation in the course and who wish to take part in this religious observance should meet with the instructor before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.