Renewable energy education for architects: lessons from developed and developing countries

Taleghani, M., Ansari, H.R. and Jennings, P. (2010) Renewable energy education for architects: lessons from developed and developing countries. International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 29 (2). pp. 105-115.

Abstract

Sustainability is a crucial issue for our times and architecture has an important role to play in sustainable development. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of the total world annual energy consumption. In addition, over the past decade, several new approaches have emerged for the incorporation of sustainability and renewable energy into architectural education. One way of reducing building energy consumption is to educate architects in the design of buildings which are powered by renewable forms of energy for heating, lighting, cooling and ventilation. A comparison of sustainable architectural education in economically developed countries with that in developing ones provides some insights about how to modernize the architectural curriculum to facilitate the process of sustainable development. The key finding of this research is to offer design studio courses, short courses, and online courses in architectural education including the principles of sustainable development and the role of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and embodied energy.