Building Life Cycle & Sustainability

Learning objectives and expected outcomes

• Understand the concepts of sustainable development
• Understand the life-cycle of buildings
• Be familiar with standards related to building life cycle

Lecture slides and multimedia materials

PDF of lecture slides Building Life Cycle and Standards

Active learning exercises

• Using an ecological footprint calculator to understand the impacts of lifestyle and home dwelling. Instruction
• Using a carbon footprint calculator to identify opportunities to reduce individual carbon footprint. Instruction

Homework and Reading

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future

1. Read Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development
2. Write a one-page essay on the current state of sustainable development in the U.S. and how it aligns or contradicts the concept of sustainable development as described in Our Common Future. Specifically, describe how the green building and sustainability standards covered in the module are successfully contributing to sustainable development and where they are falling short.