Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability in Architecture MSc

Program Overview

The MSc in Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability in Architecture equips professionals and graduates with skills in climate-sensitive building and urban design, environmental assessment, and sustainable building design. The program emphasizes research methods, practical experience using modeling software, and exploration of pioneering developments in sustainable architecture. Graduates are prepared for careers in architectural practices, sustainability design consultancies, and higher education.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This MSc program in Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability in Architecture is designed for graduates and professionals from various backgrounds who wish to enhance their knowledge of environmentally friendly and sustainable building design. The program aims to immerse students in the climate-sensitive design of buildings and urban landscapes, honing their skills in environmental assessment.

Objectives:

• Develop practical expertise in the environmental design of buildings and their surroundings in the context of a changing climate.
• Gain hands-on experience using computer environmental modelling software.
• Explore pioneering developments in sustainable architecture.
• Enhance knowledge of environmentally friendly and sustainable building design.
• Develop skills in environmental assessment.
• Explore the evolution of the environmental design of architecture.
• Discover how to use the latest computer environmental modelling software.
• Design buildings and their surroundings that are energy-efficient and sustainable.
• Gain a comprehensive grounding in research methods.
• Tailor the course to individual interests and tap into the research expertise of the program team.
• Examine key architectural concepts.
• Hone urban design skills.
• Enhance knowledge of low energy/low carbon building design.
• Learn additional specialized modelling tools and techniques.

Outline:

The module is taught through lectures, tutorials, and workshops.

• Environmental Assessment Techniques (ARCH717): This module covers the scientific study of dynamic building simulation, how building designers can model a building and simulate its environmental and energy performances using software packages, and how the simulated data can be interpreted and assessed according to regulations and green building rating systems.
• Net Zero Carbon Design (ARCH747): This module examines developments in the environmental design of buildings, from vernacular architecture to the 21st-century target of net zero carbon.
It covers key carbon issues, such as embodied carbon, life cycle analysis, and the retrofitting of existing buildings. The module also reviews indoor conditions and their effects on physical and mental well-being. The module is delivered through lectures, workshops, site visits, and guest talks from practitioners. It also introduces a framework for understanding the ongoing discourses in the field. It engages with a wide range of written texts on architectural theory and architectural designs informed by those ideas.
• URBAN DESIGN (ARCH731): This module aims to help students develop in-depth knowledge on urban design and enhance their design skills to address complex urban challenges.
It introduces students to a wide range of urban design theories, design principles, and processes. Students have the opportunity to study and debate key issues in urban design, the disciplinary foundations of urban design, various topics about public spaces, the application of urban analytical techniques and methods for practice, as well as urban design governance in relation to the planning system. The module draws examples or case studies from both local and international contexts and encourages students to think critically about possible design interventions in different urban environments towards sustainable development and place-making.
• Research Methodology (ARCH707): This module provides research methods training for the MA/MSc thesis.
Students learn how construction and management form an essential element of sustainable design for real-world scenarios. The module is delivered through weekly lectures, which include formal presentations and group-based exercises.

Teaching:

• Teaching is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials, all presented in person and on campus.
• Tutors are experienced academics with strong track records in teaching and research related to environmental design.
• Class sizes typically vary between 15 and 30 students, encouraging strong interactions between students and tutors.

Assessment:

• Students are assessed using a variety of formats, including written assignments, posters, presentations, computer simulations, design projects, and a research dissertation.

Careers:

• The MSc CRESTA develops both practical skills in environmental assessment and a deeper understanding of climate-sensitive design, planning for climate change, sustainable architecture, and computer modeling of sustainable building and urban environments.
• Students acquire specific analytical skills in the application of both quantitative and qualitative research methods and generic research skills, such as reflective learning, literature reviewing, and dissertation writing.
• The knowledge and professional skills developed upon completion of the CRESTA program prepare graduates for a wide range of potential career areas, including employment in higher education (teaching and/or research), architectural practices, and sustainability design consultancies.
• Graduates from CRESTA work both in the UK and internationally.

Other:

• The Liverpool School of Architecture benefits from comfortable, well-lit studio, work, and seminar/review spaces, including a "hi-tech" design studio, to which students have 24-hour access.
• Facilities include a Print Media Design Suite, computing labs, workshops, a laser suite, a CNC router room, 3D printers, computing labs, and research labs.
• A team of dedicated technicians helps students get the most out of these facilities and realize their ideas.
• The Liverpool School of Architecture is one of the UK's premier centers for architectural research and education.
• The school is ranked 9th in the UK for Architecture (The Guardian University Guide 2023) and 5th in the sector for overall research classified as world-leading (4 ) or internationally excellent (3 ) (REF 2021).
• The school is strongly focused on research and has many leading architectural experts based amongst its teaching staff.
• Membership of the School of the Arts and wider University presents intriguing specialist opportunities in fields such as autonomous building systems, arts and building design, and climate change risk mitigation.
• Work is underway on a major refurbishment of the school's premises, which will comprise a new-build addition of more than 2,000M.
The £23 million scheme has been designed by Dublin-based architects O'Donnell + Tuomey and is expected to be completed by 2024.

• UK fees (applies to Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland)
Full-time place, per year £10,800
• International fees
Full-time place, per year £24,800 Fees stated are for the 2024-25 academic year. Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching and assessment, operating facilities such as libraries, IT equipment, and access to academic and personal support. You can pay your tuition fees in installments. All or part of your tuition fees can be funded by external sponsorship. International applicants who accept an offer of a place will need to pay a tuition fee deposit.