CIV 394 – Sustainability of Building and Infrastructure Systems

Current Catalog Description

This course introduces the different challenges associated with making building and infrastructure systems sustainable. This course will teach the students tools to evaluate economic, environmental, and social aspects of building sustainability. 

Prerequisite

AMS 361 or MAT 303 or MAT 305; PHY 132, PHY 134 

Corequisite:

None

Textbooks and/or Other Required Material

No required textbook

Recommended textbooks: Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery, 5th Edition by Charles J. Kilbert, 2022, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This course is

Not Required

Topics Covered

1. Sustainability and buildings
2. Building life cycle analysis (LCA) and lift cycle cost analysis (LCCA)
3. Building energy modeling and simulation
4. Building energy management
5. Impact of building occupants and behavior challenges
6. Renewable energy and efficiency
7. Existing buildings retrofits and challenges
8. Building certifications
9. Circular economy in buildings
10. Emerging technologies for building sustainability

Course Learning and Student Outcomes

Understand the role of built environment in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. ABET Student Outcome: 1, 7

Understand the challenges associated with making new and existing buildings sustainable. ABET Student Outcome: 1, 7

Explore the economic, environmental, and social benefits of sustainable built environment operations.. ABET Student Outcomes: 2, 4

Learn to use tools and techniques to evaluate the sustainability performance of built environment from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. ABET Student Outcome: 2, 4, 6

Identify opportunities to apply the tools and techniques learned in the course to achieve sustainable buildings and infrastructure systems. ABET Student Outcomes: 2, 6, 7

Develop team presentation and report writing skills. ABET Student Outcomes: 3, 5

Prepared by

Ci-Jyun Liang

Last Updated:

9/2023