ARCH 7030
Data-driven Methods for Design and Sustainability
Summary
This research elective is designed for students interested in deepening their understanding of data- driven methods in architecture with an emphasis on sustainability. The course blends seminar and workshop formats, featuring input lectures from guest speakers in academia and industry. The topics range from environmental performance to augmented intelligence in design.
Deliverables
Students will work on a hand-on project to analyze complex sustainability-related phenomena, such as energy consumption, mobility patterns, thermal comfort, daylighting, well-being, and quality of space. To this end, students will develop an individual research question that they will answer with a data-driven approach, developed over the semester. The final deliverable is an
- implementation of their approach (using Rhino, Grasshopper, C#, Python, Javascript)
- conference-ready manuscript / slide deck where processes, findings, and conclusions are documented.
Prerequisites
Students should have intermediate to advanced digital skills and prior experience in environmental systems and computational design, as the course skips introductory workshops in favor of a more technical focus. Experience with Python/C# will be advantageous but is not required. The teaching methodology will emphasize evidence-based design, variant testing, and evaluation using existing and custom- built computational tools. The course fosters a collaborative learning environment, encouraging students to work with curiosity and rigor as they develop new tools and insights collective