Sustainability, Environmental Performance and Energy Efficiency in Higher Education: Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb

Abstract

Sustainability, environmental performance and energy efficiency have become main subjects not only for the profession of architecture, but for every profession, as well. Within the scope of this conference, and more specifically the overall energy performance of buildings, the section dealing with the higher technical education has special relevance. The need for incorporating sustainability and energy parameters in higher education has been recognised for some considerable time now. As academic staff members teaching in technical courses at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb, we are always under time pressure in keeping up with the newest performances in structure and technology facing the question: How to realise and improve the graduate framework and the learning and teaching plan of environmental issues in the courses that we teach? The paper examines available study programme ‘Architecture and Urban Studies’ within the master degree programme at the Department of Architectural Technology and Building Science. The new compulsory course Architecture and Technology 1 (AT1_2018/2019) addresses the topics of building energy consumption and emissions, rational use of energy, environmental impact, high performance efficiency and sustainable building. By comparing a selection of students’ works in different groups conducted experimentally for the first time, the paper will discuss the project approach, give a critical evaluation of the selected case studies and some lessons learned from attempts to incorporate environmental issues into the unit syllabus. Through this paper we attempt to share information and deepen the discussion within the academic community. Finally, as a contribution, it is expected to increase the ways by which parameters of energy and environmental sustainability can become an integral guiding principle in the design and delivery of all academic courses offered at the Faculty.

Investigating the Environmental and the Energy Saving Behavior among School Principals through Classification Algorithms

“…The content and the learning outcomes of taught courses should be driven to share information and deepen the discussion within the educational community. It is also anticipated that positive environmental sign energy issues can become an integral component of designing and delivering relevant courses (Muraj et al, 2020).…”

An environmental quality assessment of office buildings: The impact of glass façade on internal and external users

“…The flexibility is given to the teachers to choose the subjects of their expertise. [5] For the academic year 2021/2022 six general groups were set and it was left up to 139 students to choose a group and a mentor(s) depending on their skills and interests. Topics were ranging from 'Refurbishment, adaptation and upgrade' (4 mentors: 39 students), 'AF polygon -nZEB' (2 mentors: 12 students, 'Interaction' (2 mentors: 24 students), 'Prefabricated construction' (2 mentors: 23 students) to 'Systems and structures' (1 mentor: 18 students) and 'Glazed facades' (2 mentors: 24 students).…”

An Environmental Quality Assessment of Office Buildings: The Impact of a Glass Façade on Users in Different Climate Contexts in Croatia

“…This research is related to the graduate study of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb, within the course Architecture and Technology 1 [59]. In the group mentored by Iva Muraj and Stanka Ostojić in the academic year 2021/2022, the students discussed the impact of the building's envelope on its users.…”