Building Environment and Climate BSCI 9100

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the fundamentals of fluid dynamics relevant to building performance including conservation equations, limiting forms of the Navier-Stokes equations, high Reynolds number flows, boundary layer concepts, and turbulence.
• Explain macro- and meso-scale atmospheric circulations and their effects on local weather events, including the influences of ocean and land masses and topographical influences, in the British Columbian context.
• Evaluate wind and rain loads on buildings by applying empirical approaches based on concepts of the atmospheric boundary layer, wind velocity gradients, the power law for wind pressures, topographical and urban influences, building geometry and pressure coefficients, wind-driven rain, and water detention/retention on site.
• Assess interdependence of the urban landscape and buildings from the perspectives of air pollution; site conditions and microclimates; human comfort; and urban heat island.
• Select, process, and analyze meteorological data from local stations and standard weather files to be used in simulation models and performance projections under future climate scenarios.
• Use statistical analysis and methods on urban climate and environmental data to evaluate prevailing local environmental conditions surrounding built environments, the inherent uncertainties involved, and their impacts on building performance.
• Evaluate passive and hybrid low-energy systems and technologies that integrate human comfort and health aspects as well as urban ecology and environmental sustainability principles into the urban built environment.
• Assess conditions for thermal comfort using models and indices that consider human perception and thermoregulation, solar radiation and local environmental conditions, and adaptive human responses.
• Communicate building science priorities related to the sustainability of the built environment with colleagues of other disciplines, while considering practical multi-disciplinary challenges and constraints.
• Discuss the impacts, roles and responsibilities of engineers to protect the public and property, while considering social and environmental implications of decisions and actions.
• Apply research principles and methods, and develop research plans to investigate building science environmental and climate related issues.

Effective as of Fall 2021