11361 Before and After Air Conditioning
6cpRequisite(s): 144 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C10413 Bachelor of Design Architecture Master of Architecture
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
Much of the global building industry’s carbon emissions comes from operational energy: HVAC systems reliant on fossil fuels. Our comfort within a building depends on this carbon-intensive infrastructure; it also depends on specific cultural expectations. Comfort has a history, one in which architects played an essential role.
This elective examines design methods before HVAC, as a way to prepare for the design of buildings after HVAC. It explores how modern architectural experiments were also devices for climatic adaptability; this history informs speculations on how cultural and technological transformation can produce zero carbon thermal environments in the near future.
Detailed subject description.