Sustainable building construction techniques: elements

Duration

16h Th, 36h Pr

Number of credits

Lecturer

Shady Attia

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course offers an in-depth study of sustainable building techniques, with a focus on their fundamental principles. It addresses both the material aspects of construction and the overall construction approach, while introducing basic concepts related to various materials and their implementation.

From the start of the course, two general questions serve as a guiding thread, which the course answers directly or indirectly throughout the semester: (1) Should low-tech or high-tech architecture be favored? (2) How can construction respond to climate change? Learning is structured around five fundamental principles of sustainable construction, used as a reading framework throughout the semester: resisting structural loads (structure); preventing water ingress (water tightness); retaining heat (thermal insulation); avoiding warm-air leakage and water-vapor migration (airtightness); and accounting for the environmental impact of materials. These principles are studied and applied through three fundamental construction details that recur throughout the course: the wall base, the typical wall section and window, and the wall head/parapet. A construction site visit is organized during the semester, allowing students to observe on-site the practical application of the principles and details covered in class.


The course is structured into three parts - Design and Materials, Construction Timeline, and Construction Details - organized in a logical sequence that facilitates mutual understanding of the covered concepts and enables mastery of their interdependencies.

• Design, sustainable construction, and life cycle analysis of buildings;
  
  
• Construction elements;
  
  
• Principles of sustainable construction techniques.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of this course, the student should be able to:

• Observe and represent a construction system;
  
  
• Understand load-bearing and envelope systems and processes;
  
  
• Know the main construction materials and their implementation techniques;
  
  
• Read and interpret technical drawings;
  
  
• Apply and propose architectural solutions based on different construction systems.
  
  

• Inventory: identify and understand common construction systems;
  
  
• Compare: recognize and differentiate technical solutions;
  
  
• Name: identify and name the different parts of a built assembly;
  
  
• Proportion: materialize and organize the various components of a building;
  
  
• Design: compose and communicate constructive solutions;
  
  
• Create and design a building at an appropriate construction scale (modules, proportions, dimensions, thicknesses);
  
  
• Work independently, learning to consult and use technical resources found through personal initiative.
  
  
• Critically and transparently use generative AI tools for the design and communication of construction details.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

• The course is delivered exclusively in person, from September to December.
• Activities: theoretical lectures, practical work, and one construction site visit.
• Students must register for the course and attend all sessions.
• Practical work incorporates supervised use of generative AI (image generation), in line with the ULiège Charter on the use of generative AI, to develop critical and transparent use of these tools (details provided in the TP4 assignment).

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Further information:

The course is delivered exclusively in person, from September to December.

Activities: theoretical lectures, practical work, and one construction site visit.

Practical work incorporates supervised use of generative AI (image generation), in line with the ULiège Charter on the use of generative AI, to develop critical and transparent use of these tools (details provided in the TP4 assignment).

Students must register for the course and attend all sessions.

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Other site(s) used for course materials
- G-Drive (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G6CpOE-zZpmVyF6Sdd2cgCS11lhVWExC?usp=drive_li)


Further information:

The slides accompanying the oral presentations are available in PDF format.

Coursebook: S. Attia, Techniques de Construction Durable des Bâtiments I -Elements, Book distributed by the Central des Cours CDC, including all the theories and exercises of the course.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions )

Continuous assessment


Further information:

A written exam is organized for the theoretical part and accounts for 40% of the final grade.
The evaluation of the practical work represents the remaining 60% of the overall grade.

Students who have not completed all mandatory activities may not be admitted to the exam (if one is organized). The absence of required elements makes it impossible to assign a numerical grade; in such cases, a grade of "A" (absence) will be recorded, unless a specific justification is provided, reviewed fairly by the instructor, and formally accepted.

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Students must register for this course and attend all sessions.

Contacts

Shady Attia, Ph.D., USGBC Faculty and LEED Accredited Professional  Prof. in Sustainable Architecture & Building Technology Head of Sustainable Building Design (SBD) Lab
ArGEnCo Dept., Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Liège
Batiment 52, Bureau: (0/542)  Quartier Polytech 1, Allée de la Découverte 9 4000 Liège, Belgique
Tél:  +32 43.66.91.55 - email: shady.attia@uliege.be http://www.sbd.ulg.ac.be/ 

Association of one or more MOOCs