Climate Change, Energy and Settlements

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Deliver an oral presentation.
• Conduct research and independent study.
• Communicate a design concept/approach graphically.
• Analyse and solve problems.
• Plan and organise both time and resources.
• Exercise independent judgement.
• Organise into and work effectively as a team.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Conduct a thorough literature research of a given research topic.
• Critically review climate change science predictions.
• Analyse and critically assess the climatic, environmental, technical and societal conditions that have led to specific building designs and settlement forms.
• Defend a chosen engineering solution in terms of its relationship with the climate and environment.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Current climate change science predictions and the potential impacts of climate change on buildings, settlements, energy demand and supply systems.
• Desk based research using various forms of media spanning the fields of architecture, engineering, history and social sciences.
• The importance of learning from vernacular structures as well as the climatic and environmental conditions for developing modern design solutions which consume minimal resources.
• The relationship of climate, environment, technology, society and its manifestation in buildings and settlement structures Intellectual skills.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Write a well-structured, clear and concise research report.
• Develop and present a design/engineering concept/approach.
• Demonstrate the ability to present and defend individual research.

This module links the development of society to the surrounding climatic conditions and investigates its use of energy to achieve comfortable living and working conditions in its buildings and settlements. It will comprise the following: 1. An introduction to the Earth’s climate system and climatic zones as basis for human activity and settlements. 2. The development of society in relation to the local climatic and topographic conditions, resources availability (food, building material, energy), technical skills and the societal framework. 3. The conditions for development, evolution and collapse of civilisations. 4. The development and organisation of human settlements addressing aspects of location, society, advantages to individuals, form, function, design and organisation principles. 5. An assessment of population development and its implications on settlements, buildings and resource consumption with particular focus on energy consumption. 6. Discussion of how energy systems contribute to the shaping of society and the conditions that resulted in the agricultural and industrial revolution. 7. An introduction to climate science looking at historical and recent observations, climate modelling and climate change predictions. 8. The assessment of global and regional climate change implications and associated mitigation / adaptation strategies. 9. The concepts of sustainability, ecological and carbon foot printing.

The module consists of lectures and tutorial sessions related to the assignments detailed below. Lectures will concentrate on the themes given above with the expectation that the students conduct further private study. A selected field trip will complement the lecture content. This is usually to the Weald and Downland open air museum near Chichester.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Tutorial

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Formative verbal feedback will be provided in tutorial sessions.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.