Learning Sustainable Building Design

Research by the National Institute of Building Sciences and others indicates that the most resource efficient, best performing, and environmentally sustainable buildings are designed using Integrated Design. Integrated Design is an interdisciplinary design and development process where architects,  engineers, and construction(AEC) professionals work together at the conception of a project to create synergy among various building systems in order to improve the overall building performance.

Preparing AEC students to be successful in interdisciplinary collaboration requires developing cognitive skills and providing a shared conceptual framework that draws together content, concepts, and approaches from each discipline.  This website shares some of the core common content for preparing AEC students for engaging in interdisciplinary collaboration. Furthermore it shares a prototype virtual reality tool “VR-Skope” developed as a scaffolding to promote a common learning core among AEC students.