Course

7T860 - Building technology in extreme climates and conditions

  • building and construction in non-Western countries and the relation between building technology and socioeconomic and cultural aspects
  • natural disaster and risk reduction fors heltering
  • contemporary sheltering / State of the art (shelter solutions / livelihood, use of local resources and initiatives, waste- / energymanagement, mapping, impact measurement)
  • innovation for sheltering (product development process, engineering for sheltering, examples form TU/e research)

Learning objectives

  1. Analyze and identify the differences concerning building technical demands and solutions for a healthy, safe, comfortable and environmentally responsible built environment, between areas exposed to extreme climates and conditions and the (conventional) Western situation.
  2. Anticipate on the observed differences through a demand driven evaluation and selection of feasible building techniques, systems and materials for practical application under extreme conditions, such as disaster-prone areas.
  3. Develop and design a shelter related product/solution related to an issue in ongoing TU/e sheltering research based on a program of requirements consisting of mainly quantified demands.
     

Assessment criteria

The assessment will be done through a assignment report, which will be valued on the quality of the Presentation (report, group presentation during the course) and Product (fulfillment of assignment, quality of concept, level of technical detail, innovativeness).

The assessment criteria below are concerning the `Product¿ criteria.

1. Accurateness of problem definition
2. a. Completeness of state of the art selection and assessment criteria for evaluation
2. b. Relevancy of chosen solution principles
3. a. Applied design / development approach (trial and error, innovation by addition, systematic analytic approach)
3. b. applied design / development tools
4. a. Fulfillment of the specific demands in the assignment
4. b. Quality of the design concept
4. c. Functionality / relevancy for user/client
4. d. Technical quality
4. e. Innovativeness

The assessment criteria below are concerning the `Presentation¿ criteria

1. Report
a. Structure of the report (academic, as indicated in tutorial)
b. Completeness
c. Language
d. use and placement of references
e. quality of drawing/sketches
f. quality of technical drawings
g. Layout

2. Presentation
a. Structure of the presentation (clear goal and solution principle, within available time)
b. Appearance (`product pitch¿)
c. Model / 3D visualization of solution


Knowledge

  • Building and construction techniques and issues in non-Western (developing) countries
  • Building technology principles in relation to a variety of climatic, socioeconomic and cultural aspects
  • Natural disasters and risk reduction
  • Contemporary sheltering issues:
    • State of the art shelter solutions
    • Livelihood
    • Use of local resources and initiatives
    • Water and sanitation (WatSan)
    • Waste management and hygiene
    • (sustainable) energy provision
    • Mapping, decision making and impact measurement)
  • Innovation for sheltering:
    • Product development process
    • Engineering issues in sheltering
    • Examples from (best) practice and ongoing TU/e research/graduation projects