MSc Architecture and Environmental Design ARCHIVE

Tutors: Rosa Schiano-Phan (course leader), Benson Lau, Jon Goodbun, Mehrdad Borna, Juan Vallejo & Amedeo Scofone

Dr Rosa Schiano-Phan (course leader – MSc Architecture and Environmental Design) has extensive experience in the field of environmental design devoting most of her career to consultancy and research. She is co-director of Natural Cooling Limited and co-author of The Architecture & Engineering of Downdraught Cooling, published in 2010.

The MSc Architecture and Environmental Design responds to the needs of current and future professionals for a deeper understanding of the principles of environmental design, and their effective application into architectural practice worldwide.

The course reacts to recent developments in the discipline, responding to new research and experimentation, addressing the lack of environmental criteria in the creative design process and of comprehensive performance prediction and feedback protocols. Students gain the knowledge and tools to make informed design decisions based on post-occupancy feedback and performance analysis, towards a new paradigm of environmental architecture, which is environmentally and energy conscious, yet sensitive to the contextual and socio-cultural landscape we live in.

The course teaches environmental design methods which relate to the various stages of architectural design, enabling the evaluation of existing buildings and the design of new ones following a combined bioclimatic and building user-focused approach. The core design modules follow an evidence-based approach where the acquisition of specialised software and analytical tools are directly applied to an evaluation and a design project.

The course is interdisciplinary and international providing skills that can be applied to diverse building typologies and global climatic, environmental and contextual issues. The modules focus on the understanding of the principles and methodology of environmental design and on the development of critical thinking to challenge established practices, positively driving change towards a better and sustainable future.

You can apply and find out more about the course here.

You can also follow AED’s work on Instagram.