Issue date:     04 December 2023

Submission:  Online submission via QMplus; see formatting details below

Due date:       17:00 on 22 January 2024

Note:              This is a Programme Level Assessment (PLA) constituting 50% of the entire module grades for EMS402U and EMS410U.

Part A:  Design Project

Scenario: You are a team of interns doing a summer placement at Arup, a global  engineering consultancy firm. Your Team has been tasked with redesigning and/or

retrofitting buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the aim of achieving net zero   in line with the Paris Agreement. The Client has requested a presentation deck (i.e. slides) in advance of your Team’s project delivery meeting with them.

Purpose:  The purpose of Part A of this assignment is for you to present your design project in its entirety. You are presenting the culmination of your work to the Client who commissioned it. You are showcasing your Team’s work over the past four months, so make it shine. There are individual components and a Team submission, so please follow the instructions you are given in the Instruction Meetings and on the coursework submission points when they become available.

Background:  To cap global warming at 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The built environment generates 40% (27% operation and 13% construction) of annual CO2    emissions. Although there was an increase in energy efficiency investment of 16% in 2021 (compared to 2020), the global sector’s emissions increased by 5%. Couple this fact with the projected doubling of global built floor area by 2060, it is no surprise COP27 agreed the gap  between the climate performance of the sector and the 2050 decarbonization pathway is wideninga . This is the problem we will tackle on this project.

Scope: Your Team may explore innovative architectural designs using biogenic and other regenerative building materials that will reduce the embodied (structural) and operational CO2 emissions of the built environment. Your Team can choose to consider single homes, multiple dwellings and other building types (e.g. commercial or industrial). Your Team may choose to consider new-build or retrofitting existing infrastructure. Teams will also choose a specific geographical location for their design and may incorporate ideas from traditional building methods, architectural designs and self-sufficient (off-grid) living. Ultimately, for any new design to be adopted, it must serve an unmet need or reduce cost. User experience (UX) and aesthetics are critical design attributes.

Potential Design Areas:  Refer to CW 1 Information Sheet.

a  Data sources: International Energy Agency (IEA), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Architecture 2030 .

The project proposal should include:

i.      S0: Title slide, proforma will be provided.

ii.      S1: A 2-line description of the proposed design.

iii.      S1: Bullet point answers to the 5Ws+  (i.e. rationale for the project).

iv.      S2: A versus table of weighted design attributes.

v.      S3-6: The design concepts that you propose to address the brief – include annotated sketches and a very brief explanation of each concept (min one per Team Member).

vi.      S7: A decision matrix to evaluate the proposed concepts against the weighted attributes.

vii.      S8: A potential refinement step to your winning design concept including (where necessary) a final proposed design after the refinement step.

viii.      S9-10: Technical drawing/s and CAD model of your final design concept (2D and 3D CAD).

Hints:  Present an aesthetically pleasing document. You are “selling” something here.

Consider the main stakeholder; the Client – they are paying! Write short sentences with ideas that flow in a logical manner. Explain any ambiguity. Present neat annotated concept sketches. Format your tables and slides with an eye for aesthetics.

Formatting Details:

File type, page format:    PDF file; A4 pages in landscape

Number of pages:           10 slides absolute maximum – excluding title slide