Tallinn University of Technology – Academy of Architecture and Urban Studies
Academic year 2025-26 - fall semester - 6 ECTS credits
Lecturers: Dr. Francesco De Luca, Arch. Ioannis Lykouras
Assistants: Payam Madelat MSc, Jelena Kazak MSc
Day and time: Monday from 01.09 to 15.12, from 11:30 to 14:45.
Location: TalTech Mustamäe campus Architecture building room ICT-701. It is mandatory to attend the course in class. if necessary and in very limited occasions the lectures can be attended in Teams.
Syllabus
Introduction
Buildings share of global energy use and energy-related
CO2 emissions. Source: United Nations, 2021.
Thus, sustainability, low energy and carbon-neutral
development, healthiness and well being, use of renewable energy, inclusivity
and accessibility, and the reuse of urban areas fall within the agenda of
countries and international organizations and are part of initiatives as the UN
Sustainable Development Goals [5]. Buildings and urban forms have a major
impact on building energy use, passive heating and potential energy generation.
Building orientation, articulation and envelope have significant influence on
the healthiness and liveability of indoor spaces, and they can improve the quality
of daylight, which is the source of interior building illumination that is most
appreciated by occupants. Urban density, building heights and patterns
determine the livability of urban areas and outdoor thermal comfort experienced
by people.
This underlines our responsibility. As
designers, architects and planners we are increasingly urged to develop design
solutions for climate adaptation that result in reduced impacts on climate and resource
depletion.
Design Goals
The course topic for the year
2024/25 Digital Design for Sustainability want to emphasize the importance of
architecture and urban design to contribute to develop a sustainable future for
the environment and the society. The course objective is to provide the
students the knowledge to design buildings and neighborhoods integrating architectural and urban
design with sustainable design principles, environmental and climatic simulations
and performance analysis to help tackling the pressing issues of climate change
and resource depletion and resilience of the built environment. The course, capitalizing on the use of digital
design and simulations at the building and urban scale, focuses on five design
goals: Design for Accessibility, Design for Well-being, Design for Clean Energy,
Design for Climate, Design for Ecosystems. The task is to design a building, or
a compact cluster of buildings, with high architectural quality using sustainable design principles and
simulations related to the goals and analyzing the performance of several
design variations through quantitative metrics and qualitative criteria. The
scope is to understand the relations between buildings and their use, and environmental
and climatic factors, to improve the building sustainability and to select a
design solution with high environmental performance.
1 - Design for Accessibility
Related UN SDG: 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Planning livable neighborhoods must take into account how to eliminate all the physical and sensorial barrier to guarantee accessibility and usability of public spaces for all, and mostly for vulnerable and disabled people. Important aspects are related to connections with public transport and amenities, walkability and bikeability, outdoor comfort and safety with respect to climatic hazards, nature based solutions, social liveliness and economic activity, and absence of architectural barriers. The course Design for Accessibility goal focuses on outdoor thermal comfort and urban network analysis.
2 - Design for Well-being
Related UN SDG: 3 - Ensure
healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
One of the aspects of sustainable
building design is realizing indoor spaces with adequate natural illumination,
thermal comfort mostly by means of passive and low energy strategies, visual
comfort during the whole year, natural ventilation, pollutant free furnishing
materials, visual connection with the outside especially with areas with people
and natural elements. Has been proven that these aspects positively influence
the physiological and psychological well-being of building occupants. The
course Design for Well-being goal focuses on daylight and view out.
3 - Design for Clean Energy
Related UN SDG: 7 - Ensure access
to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
The reduction of the energy used
by buildings through passive design measures, energy efficiency and the
generation off site and on site of renewable energy are crucial factors for
reducing resource depletion and green house gas emissions of the built environment.
On site solar energy can provide large part or all the electric energy needed
to heat, cool, light and for the appliances of buildings. The course Design for
Clean Energy goal focuses on optimizing building integrated photovoltaic
systems to provide the energy required by the building.
4 - Design for Climate
Related UN SDG: 13 - Take urgent
action to combat climate change and its impacts
The global crises of climate
change, global warming and resource depletion are strictly related with human
activities. Green house gases emissions are the main responsible for the
worldwide increasing surface and air temperature, posing a serious threat for
humans and ecosystems. Buildings are responsible of huge amount of CO2
emissions during all the phases of their life cycle, of which the main are
construction and use, producing embodied and operational carbon, respectively.
The course Design for Climate goal will focus on designing to reduce the
embodied carbon emission of buildings.
5 - Design for Ecosystems
Related UN SDG: 15 - Protect,
restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation
and halt biodiversity loss
The presence of green and blue
infrastructures, grass and trees and water basins, favor the creation and
restoration of natural habitats inside the cities. Trees absorb CO2, and
significantly increase outdoor thermal comfort during the warm season through
shading and reducing the air temperature by transpirative cooling. Has been
proven that the view out toward green elements and trees has beneficial effects
and can reduce physical and psychological discomfort of building occupants. The
course Design for Ecosystems focuses on providing adequate areas supporting
vegetation.
Studio Work
The course is conducted as a
design studio. It will consist of lectures, how-to tutoring and consultations done at the university by the lecturers and assistants. Most part of the work to
finalize the project proposals will be conducted by teams as home work.
Teams
The project proposals will be developed by students in teams. Each team will focus on one design goal (described in the previous section) to develop the sustainable design proposal. Team 1 will focus on the design goal Design for Accessibility, team 2 on Design for Well-being, team 3 on Design for Clean Energy, team 4 on Design for Climate and team 5 on Design for Ecosystems. Thus, the student teams will be 5. We expect that each team is composed by 3 to 5 students. It is advisable that each team member participate in the development of the project idea and in the selection of the design proposal, then everyone specializes in one or more aspects, e.g., three-dimensional modeling in Rhino, a specific simulation, results analysis, architectural drafting in Rhino or in the BIM environment, so to work more efficiently. At the same time, all the students of each tam must have knowledge of all the design aspects taken into account for the sustainable design proposal. It is also advisable that, if some students have already skills in using the three-dimensional modeling and parametric software Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, they are not all part of the same team, instead they distribute among the teams.
Building functions
The project will consist of one building or a compact buildings cluster. In the case of one single building, it will be an articulated building constituted by different volumes. The function of the buildings to design are residential and offices, for a new mixed use area. The two functions will be integrated in the final architectural design of all teams. Team 1, 2 and 5 will not need to select the functions of the buildings before the simulations and calculations. Teams 3 and 4 will select the functions of the building volumes before the simulations and calculations. This will be explained more in detail at the start of the course.
Design Areas
Each team focusing on one design goal will developed the project on an assigned design area, different for every team. Since the task is to design a compact though articulated building or buildings cluster, and due to the different design goals, the buildings of design goals 2, 3 and 4 should use not more than 1/2 of the plot using the Building Coverage Ratio (BCR) metric provided (max BCR 0.5), whereas the buildings of design goals 1 and 5 should use not more than 2/3 of the plot (max BCR 0.67) to leave a large part of the area of the plot for public use (BCR = total buildings footprint area (m2) / plot area (m2)). With “use of the plot” here we mean the area occupied by the buildings and by the space between the buildings. There is no exact requirement for buildings height. The location of the building or buildings inside the plot is part of the design by the teams. The remaining area will be planned by the team as open public area.
All the areas are located in
Tallinn. For each area it is possible to download a Rhinoceros file realized
with three-dimensional volumes of the buildings surrounding the area, the main
streets, and the plot where to locate the project. The unit of the models is
the meter. The existing three-dimensional buildings are divided in two groups.
A first group located in a layer called “Surrounding buildings” are the closest
to the design plot, to use for the simulations. A second group located in a
layer called “Urban area” are buildings to be use for visualization in
three-dimensional diagrams and architectural visualizations.
Software
The software used for design and
simulation will be installed on the student personal computers. If some students do not have a personal computer, a solution will be found for them to use university computers. For some of the software, every student can use one of the
TalTech license and code. Other software is free. The software used is the
following.
- Rhinoceros/Grasshopper (design goals:
all). This software is used for three-dimensional modeling and parametric
design. Website https://www.rhino3d.com/. All the students will download
and install the software on their laptops from the Rhinoceros wabepage link https://www.rhino3d.com/download/archive/rhino/7/latest/. If necessary, the students can use this program and the other software presented at the following points in the computer lab U03-405 and U03-423. Although there is a new version of the software (Rhino 8) TalTech owns a Rhino 7 license. If this will constitute a problem of compatibility with other software used in the course, e.g., simulation software, and licenses, a solution will be found. Every
student will register an account on the Rhinoceros website (page “my account”),
and will send an email to francesco.deluca@taltech.ee as described in the Organization section for the activation of the license. Students are recommended to use their TalTech email for the registration. After, the student access to the TalTech Rhino
license will be activated. Before starting to use Rhinoceros the first time, the student will access their account on
the Rhinoceros website. Several tutorials are available at the page “learn”.
- Ladybug Tools (design goal: 1).
This software is used for environmental and climatic analysis as a plug-in for
Grasshopper. Website https://www.ladybug.tools/ladybug.html. Although this software is necessary for the teams working with design goals 1 and 5, it is recommended to all the students to install it because it is important that everyone learn all the design tools and because this software presents several tools to be used for different purposes in environmental design workflows. The software is freely
distributed by the developer. It can be downloaded from the website
food4Rhino https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/ladybug-tools login in with the registered Rhino account. Download the version 1.8 (latest). Installation
instructions are available here https://github.com/ladybug-tools/lbt-grasshopper/wiki (do not
install the software in the section “Optional Steps” at the installation page).
Since this installation can be complicated, it will be discussed during one
lesson.
- ClimateStudio (design goals: 2, 3).
This software is used for daylight and energy simulations as a plug-in for
Rhinoceros and Grasshopper. Website https://www.solemma.com/. All the students will download
and install the ClimateStudio version 2 software on their laptops from the following link (the file is
located on the cloud service used by the lecturers) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/095cgdbgw839rzugwk11z/ClimateStudio_2.0.9012.26837.msi?rlkey=k2tjuti7fj8nqoecervuzjq8h&dl=0The students
will receive by email the code to use the software. Instructions
about how to activate the software with the code will be given during the course. If the student wants, this license can be used for all the study period
at TalTech also after the end of the course. It is possible the TalTech license
for ClimateStudio will not work if not activated at TalTech. We will verify this during the course.
- EPiC (design goal: 4). This is a plugin in Grasshopper to quantify the embodied carbon of building designs. Website https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/research/projects/current/environmental-performance-in-construction/epic-grasshopper. EPiC integrates with Epic database available at the website http://www.epicdatabase.com.au/ which includes carbon emission factors of several construction materials. It also enables the designers to create Epic custom Material. The plugin can be downloaded from the website food4Rhino https://www.food4rhino.com/en/app/epic-grasshopper login in with the registered Rhino account. The plugin is free of charge. Please Select version 1.01 (date: 2023-06-30). The installation is quite straightforward and will be explained.
- BVGI (design goal: 5). This is a software developed by the tutors of the course as a parametric design plug-in for Grasshopper. It will be provided before the performative design lesson related to design goal 5.
IMPORTANT: Although not all the
plug-ins for environmental and digital design are necessary for the work
of all the design goals, all the students and teams are encouraged to install
them all and make exercises about all the sustainability tools even if they are
not strictly necessary for their work. In this way the students will learn
different methods of digital design for sustainability.
Specific parametric design tools developed by the course tutors will be used during the course. These will be provided during the course together with other study material and information. The software used for architectural design of plans, sections and elevations, for rendering, image editing and presentation panels layout can be any decided by the students. Presentation techniques and panel design will be topics covered in a specific lesson.
Design Workflow
The development of the project is
conducted through different phases which constitute the design workflow. The
method used in the course is the evidence-based method. Once the architectural
concept is finalized, it is used to develop several design alternatives, either
as different solutions (generating from the same concept) or as modification of
an original solutions. Thus, the solution which shows higher level of
sustainability, i.e., is more performative, and at the same time embeds well
the initial architectural idea is selected for the final architectural design
proposal by each team.
The design workflow is composed of different phases.
- Conceptual design. The initial
idea is developed. Its architectural quality, connection with the site and
local functions, and relation with environmental factors are verified. The
project concept is developed through sketches and diagrams. Conceptual design is developed before to start the project for all the design goals.
- Building massing. This relates
with the study of the building volumes or buildings in terms of size, height,
distances and orientations, and in relation to the functions it will
accommodate. The building massing is developed through three-dimensional
modeling in Rhinoceros or parametric modeling in Grasshopper. Building massing is developed at the beginning of the project for all the design goals.
- Floor plan layout. This phase
is used to realize schematic floor plan layout of the building massing (one or
more floor plans depending if the building is one or different) to be used for
performance analysis which pertain the interior of buildings. Floor plan layout
is realized through BIM software. Floor plan layout is realized through BIM software. Floor plan layout is developed with building massing for design goal 2, and during the architectural design phase for the other design goals.
- Simulations. During this phase the
different environmental and climatic performance simulations in relation to the
specific design goal and assessment methods are conducted for the design
solutions tested by the teams. Simulations are performed during the project for all the design goals.
- Performance analysis. In this
phase the results of the different environmental and climatic performance
simulations of the building or urban environment design solutions are analyzed in
relation to metrics to select one which fulfill required levels. Performance analysis is performed during the project for all the design goals.
- Architectural design. During
this phase the selected building solution is used to develop the architectural
project consisting in situation plan of the entire area, typical floor plans,
sections and facades, and 3D perspectives and views axonometric. Architectural design is performed after the performance analysis and solution selection for all the design goals.
Deliverables
The final review (exam), which
will take place in January, will be done by each team presenting the project
using 4 panels (placard) of standard size A1 (594 mm width x 841 mm height). If
necessary, it can be agreed with the lecturers to add 1 more panel. The content
of each panel is the following.
Panel 1. Diagrams and sketches for presentation of the project concept. Three-dimensional diagrams or flowchart for presentation of the conceptual buildings layout and massing variations. Volumetric of the more significant building variations used in performance studies.
Panel 2. Performance results
presentation of selected building variations. The performance of the different
variations will be presented through color coded three-dimensional diagrams of
the areas and building massing and relative legends with metric units, and with
comparative charts. Presentation of the building variation selected for
architectural design.
Panel 3. Architectural design of
situation plan, the buildings ground floor and their integration. The situation
plan will show the design of the entire area and connections with surrounding
urban areas and structures. Architectural design of typical floor plan of all
the buildings of the project, including stairs and elevators, halls and
corridors, premises, rooms, windows and furnishing.
Panel 4. Architectural design of
sections and elevations. Three-dimensional representations as renderings, and
axonometric views.
It is required to each group that
the 4 drawing panels of the project are sent by email to the course lecturers
before the final review day in pdf format. The maximum file size for each A1
project board in pdf format is 10Mb. Together with the A1 boards is requested
to deliver an A4 file in pdf format of all the project panels with a maximum
file size of 2Mb.
Grades
Team grades will be assigned in an
objective way according to the method described hereinafter. However, a certain
degree of subjective evaluation cannot be excluded. The course grades will go
from 0 to 5 and will be the sum of partial grades given for the following
sections.
Project concept – from 0 to 1. This
section evaluates the quality of the project concept, of the building layout
and massing, of the relation of the project idea with the surrounding urban
environment or to specific urban design principles, and with the sustainable
design goal. Relative to the material presented on panel 1.
Performance simulations and results
analysis – from 0 to 1. This section evaluates the correctness of
simulations or calculations also through parametric tools, to which extent the selected
design variation meets the performance required by the metric used for the
design goal, and the performance analysis and comparison of different design
variations. Relative to the material presented on panel 2.
Architectural design – from 0 to 1.
This section evaluates the proper translation of the project concept in
architectural design. Importance will be given to the attractiveness of the
open spaces, the functionality of the typical floor plan layout, and the
congruence of the façade design with the building massing and surrounding urban
environment. Relative to the material presented on panel 3 and 4.
Presentation – from 0 to 1. This
section evaluates the quality and completeness of the presentation, through
diagrams, drawings, charts and images of all the project panels. It evaluates
as well the sufficient level of sustainable design and performance analysis knowledge
acquired (relative to the design goal) and the clarity of the oral presentation.
Participation - from 0 to 1. For the final grade, the quality of
midterm presentations and active participation in the course will also be taken
into account. All the students of the same team will receive the same grade.
Exceptions can be made for students of the same group with different level of
participation in the course and in the project.
Schedule
The course will take place at TalTech Mustamäe campus Architecture building room ICT-701 and in Teams every Monday from 11:30 to 14:45, from 01.09 to 15.12 2025. A Teams team is created for the course to which the students will register accepting the invitation of the lecturers. A Teams team meeting will start at the beginning of the lesson and the recording will be available after the lesson. To access the recording in Teams from the General page access Files and then open the folder Recordings. Alternatively you can access the SharePoint of the course from the this link Lessons recordings.
The following chart presents the main activities during the course and their sequence by week.
Week 01 - September 02
Course introduction, scope and expected outcome - Presentation of previous years’ select projects.
Lecture - Environmental Performative Architecture and Planning.
Rhinoceros account, introduction to Rhinoceros (Rhino) and Grasshopper (GH).
Week 02 - September 09
Design areas presentation – Teams creation and area selection.
Digital design – Basics of Rhino-GH.
Week 03 - September 16
Digital design - Methods for realizing and editing building massing in Rhino-GH.
Lecture - Design for Accessibility. Metrics used in the course.
Performative design for Accessibility 1 – Introduction to Ladybug Tools for GH, microclimate analysis and outdoor thermal comfort analysis with the Universal Thermal Climate Index metric using Ladybug Tools for GH.
Week 04 - September 23
Digital design – Import/export between Rhino-GH and BIM software, methods for realizing and editing building massing in Rhino-GH.
Lecture - Design for Well-being. Metrics used in the course.
Performative design for Well-being 1 – Introduction to ClimateStudio for Rhino, daylight simulation and analysis using the EN 17037 Daylight Provision metric using ClimateStudio for Rhino.
Week 05 - September 30
Digital design - Methods for realizing and editing building massing, floors and windows in Rhino-GH.
Lecture - Design for Clean Energy. Metrics used in the course.
Performative design for Clean Energy 1 - Solar radiation analysis, energy generation calculation using ClimateStudio for GH.
Week 06 - October 07
Digital design - Methods for realizing and editing building massing, floors and windows in Rhino-GH.
Lecture - Design for climate. Metrics used in the course.
Performative design for Climate 1 – Estimation of embodied carbon emission using EPiC for GH.
Week 07 - October 14
Digital design - Methods for realizing and editing building massing in Rhino-GH.
Lecture - Design for Ecosystems. Metrics used in the course.
Performative design for Ecosystems 1 – Parametric analysis of ratio of plot area covered with vegetation in GH.
Teams selection of design goals.
Week 08 - October 21
Performative design for Accessibility 2 - Outdoor thermal comfort analysis with the Outdoor Thermal Comfort Autonomy metric using Ladybug Tools for GH. Wind comfort analysis using the Lawson comfort criteria. Analysis of simulation results in GH.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design.
Week 09 - October 28
Performative design for Well-being 2 – View out simulation and analysis using the EN 17037 View Out metric in ClimateStudio for Rhino. Analysis of simulation results in Rhino.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design.
Week 10 - November 04
Performative design for Clean Energy 2 - BIPV energy generation simulation and load match factor analysis using ClimateStudio for GH. Analysis of simulation results in GH.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design.
Week 11 - November 11
Performative design for Climate 2 - Estimation of embodied carbon emission using EPiC for GH. Analysis of simulation results in GH.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design.
Week 12 - November 18
Performative design for Ecosystems 2 - Analysis of view of green areas from building facades ratio using the BVGI tool for GH. Analysis of simulation results in GH.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design.
Week 13 - November 25
Mid term review of project idea, design variations and initial performance analysis.
Week 14 - December 02
Performative design – Analysis of simulation results for selection of design proposal, and presentation.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design, and presentation.
Week 15 – December 09
Presentation - Architectural design presentation.
Consultations - Architectural, digital and performative design, and presentation.
Week 16 – December 16
End of term review of completed project (draft) with the 4 panels.
Organization
The course has a Teams team accessible from here.
For the activation of the Rhinoceros license and for participation in the Teams team the students will send an email to Francesco De Luca at francesco.deluca@taltech.ee writing in the email subject line “EAL0140 2025-26 Rhino+Teams” and in the email text body: name, family name and the email address used also for registering to the Rhinoceros website (better to use the same email and possibly the TalTech email).
Information about the course and lessons are also available in the Moodle page of the course accessible from here. However, the main online environments for the organization of the course is this webpage and the Teams team.
On this webpage different types of resources and all the material, like files used during the lessons will be available. It is recommended that the students participate to the lessons in person at University. For any information students can contact Francesco De Luca at francesco.deluca@taltech.ee and Ioannis Lykouras at ioannis.lykouras@taltech.ee. The email of the course assistants are Payam Madelat payam.madelat@taltech.ee and Jelena Kazak jelena.kazak@taltech.ee.
Resources
Through this section material
useful for the course is available. They are a book list, links to learning
resources of the three-dimensional and parametric design and simulation
software, websites useful for the course and files to be used in the course.
Materials will be added continuously during the course to this section.
Books
The following books are available
at TalTech library. The books are useful for the course and in further studies
to acquire knowledge about basic and advanced principles of sustainable,
climatic and environmental design, building technology and performance
simulations. The books presented here are not mandatory for the course. They
are suggested readings.
- M. DeKay, G.Z. Brown, 2014.
Sun, Wind, and Light: Architectural Design Strategies: Architectural Design
Strategies, John Wiley & Sons.
- N. Lechner, 2014. Heating,
Cooling, Lighting: Sustainable Design Methods for Architects, John Wiley &
Sons.
- K. Anderson, 2014. Design
Energy Simulation for Architects: Guide to 3D Graphics, Routledge.
Several other books are available
at TalTech library about the topics of the course.
Links
- Rhinoceros/Grasshopper tutorials https://www.rhino3d.com/learn
- Grasshopper manual http://grasshopperprimer.com/en/index.html
- Ladybug Tools youtube tutorials https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtSMbRCHXHVFsETgWO0Jy08GRcHwhL0RA
- Ladybug Tools learning material https://docs.ladybug.tools/ladybug-tools-academy/
- ClimateStudio
documentation https://climatestudiodocs.com/
- ClimateStudio
tutorials https://www.solemma.com/climatestudio-tutorial-videos
- ClimateStudio
youtube tutorials https://www.youtube.com/user/SustainableDesignLab/videos
- EPiC youtube tutorial https://youtu.be/2frszoP1J9Q
- Rigi Teataja Methodology for calculating the energy performance of buildings
- Rigi Teataja Hoone energiatõhususe arvutamise metoodika
Material
- Rhinoceros commands >>>>>
- Rhino 3D model of design areas
- Vööri street >>>>>
- Ahtri street >>>>>
- Lastekodu street >>>>>
- Kristiina street >>>>>
- Marja street >>>>>
Lesson files, info and data
To be uploaded after each lesson.