Towards Net-zero Energy: Lessons for Architectural Design Education

This paper explores the goals, methods, and lessons from six years of teaching a required graduate course focusing on the integration of luminous and thermal design for net-zero energy architecture. An integrated approach to passive heating, natural ventilation, and daylighting were at the core of this design curriculum, into which innovative systems and renewable energy were integrated. Design excellence, comfort, and human experience were of equal importance as energy and ecological performance. The goal of the course was to foster student awareness, intuition, and design skills to support qualitative and quantitative decisionmaking in the early phases of low- and net-zero energy architectural design. The objective of this paper is to share the teaching and learning goals, net-zero energy design protocols, and assessment methodologies.

keywords: Net-zero Energy, Architectural Education, Energy Modeling, Passive Solar Design