2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Architecture and Building Engineering Graduate major in Architecture and Building Engineering
Evaluation and Design of Thermal Environment
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Architecture and Building Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Takashi Asawa
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Class
- -
- Course Code
- ARC.E425
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 19, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Many of regions in our country have hot summer, cold winter and confortable mid-seasons, so that it is important to evaluate building thermal environment with site-specific climate conditions and to apply the results to the architectural design process. Firstly, this course explains necessary points for the evaluation of building thermal performance and thermal environments taking into account site-specific climate conditions.. Secondly, this course details building heat transfer, thermal environment simulation, thermal comfort, passive system, architectural greening and thermal environment design.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand thermal performance and heat transfer of buildings, which create thermal environment in the built space, and the effects of site-specific climate conditions.
2) Acquire evaluation methods for building thermal environment using numerical simulations.
3) Learn human thermal comfort and understand design methods for creating comfortable thermal environment with architectural greening and passive systems.
Keywords
Thermal environment, Passive system, Built environment, Heat transfer, Simulation, Greening, Thermal comfort
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The course proceed with handouts for each lecture. In the latter part of the forth lecture, students are given exercise problems related to the lectures. At the end of the lectures, students are given a report assignment related to the lectures.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Social aspects of building environment, Energy saving | Understand social aspects of building environment and recent progress for energy saving in Japan |
| Class 2 | Heat transfer and thermal comfort in buildings | Understand 1) building heat transfer with conduction, convection and radiation, and 2) thermal comfort of occupants in buildings |
| Class 3 | Passive system (Building envelope and window system) Building thermal environment simulation | Understand thermal performances of building envelope and window system as passive systems |
| Class 4 | Passive system (Natural ventilation and cross ventilation) | Understand characteristics of natural ventilation and cross ventilation of buildings as passive systems |
| Class 5 | Building thermal simulation | Acquire the fundamental of building thermal environment simulation with the heat transfer equations Midterm exam for the first half |
| Class 6 | Climatic and site-specific conditions of buildings | Understand how to decipher climatic and site-specific conditions of buildings for passive design |
| Class 7 | Architectural greening and thermal environment design | Understand fundamental of architectural greening and its effect on the thermal environment of building and outdoor spaces. Understand how to design comfortable thermal environment. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Not in particular
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Not in particular
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students' knowledge of thermal environment, building heat transfer, thermal environment simulation, thermal comfort, passive system, architectural greening and thermal environent design will be assessed.
Participation and contribution to the class 40%, Midterm exam 20%, final report 40%.
Related courses
- UDE.E404 ： Basic Engineering on Thermal Environment
- UDE.E505 ： Applied Engineering on Thermal Environment
Prerequisites
Not in particular