Built Environment - Environmental Design and Engineering UCL

Overview

The Built Environment - Environmental Design and Engineering programme from UCL  leverages the expertise of specialists from leading companies to ensure the content remains industrially relevant. Upon graduation, you will join our extensive network of alumni who have been driving change in building design and construction for the past 45 years.

During your degree you will:

• Explore the fundamentals of energy demand and the consequences on the design, engineering and regulatory processes taking place in the built environment.

• Examine how buildings and the built environment impact people’s health and wellbeing by learning about Indoor Environmental Quality and applying knowledge to existing buildings to assess the effects of indoor air quality, and thermal, acoustic, and visual comfort.

• Learn how to design for the climate emergency gaining key skills in using passive design, natural and mechanical ventilation systems, solar heating and cooling and addressing embodied carbon.

• Gain expertise in building performance simulation and modelling tools to inform the design of sustainable buildings.

• Learn about net zero carbon design and engineering, evaluating the whole life carbon emissions of building services systems to the whole life carbon emissions of buildings.

• Gain hands on experience applying laboratory and field experiment techniques using state-of-the-art facilities to explore the energy and environmental performance of real buildings.

• Explore your own specialist interests by choosing optional modules spanning advanced building simulation, retrofit, indoor air quality, acoustics, systems thinking, energy systems modelling and more.  

Employability

Through the course, you will learn skills and knowledge that are sought after by the leading practices in the industry, getting hands on experience applying them in a variety of scenarios.

These include: 

• Experience using Dynamic thermal simulation modelling using IES VE, the most widely used software by the UK industry.

• A multidisciplinary integrated design approach for net zero carbon design.

• Practical knowledge on indoor environmental quality monitoring and analyses, eg using sensors for monitoring indoor temperature and relative humidity.

• Using quantitative research methods, eg statistical analyses and qualitative research methods, eg occupant survey, questionnaire design

• Multi-objective design optimisation using state of the cutting-edge tools such as Grasshopper.

• EnergyPlus and Python coding (depending on optional module choice).