Architectural Materials: Designing for Excellence and Sustainability

Course details

Materials are one of the classical bedrocks of architecture: the key component to designing beautiful, functional, sustainable spaces. This course covers everything you need to know about architectural materials, including their history, social context, categories, methods of assembly, functionality, and much more.

Join instructor and architect Branka Knezevic as she explores a wide range of current design practices using architectural materials for sustainable development. Gather insights into the latest cutting-edge trends with products and materials categories to understand how to select the most appropriate and sustainable materials for your next project. Along the way, you’ll learn about some of the best practices for specifying materials in your designs, such as MasterSpec and green building standards like LEED. By the end of this course, you’ll be prepared to leverage new opportunities in your field and take your craft and technical skills to the next level as a designer.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Introduction to materials in architecture and design
02 - Architects and building materials

1. Materials and the Built Environment

03 - A history of building materials
04 - Building technology and the future of building materials
05 - Architectural materials and the environment

2. Product and Material Categories

06 - Selecting materials for construction
07 - Materials for prefabricated and modular constructions
08 - Selecting finish materials
09 - Architectural materials - Fixtures and equipment

3. Specifying Materials

10 - Materials research basics
11 - MasterSpec format introduction
12 - Green building standards

Conclusion

13 - Next steps