Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: BUILDING ENVELOPE SYSTEMS

Department: Architecture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This seminar will be divided into two parts. It will begin with an overview of the historical evolution of the building envelope. This will include both an examination of existing construction technology and the natural forces that these surfaces must mitigate, including methods of modeling such as sun-shading, lateral forces, etc. The emphasis, however, will be on investigating contemporary developments in the design of building envelopes in both a technical and formal sense. These technologies will include: new cladding materials and coatings such as photo-reactive paint and electrochromatic glass, fiber concrete; new curtain wall technology including stress skin; rain screen wall systems; green walls, green roofs, photovoltaics and water harvesting systems. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ARCH 397.