| CODE | EVD5214 | ||||||||
| TITLE | The Built Environment: Aesthetics and Sustainability | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Environmental Design | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit will seek an ethical evaluation of the global, social, political, technological and environmental issues intertwined in the built environment. It will focus on the ethical significance of upholding aesthetic qualities and the moral conscience needed to guarantee the quality of the built environment, its sustainability, as well as the quality of life as a whole. The study unit will also take a closer look to the local context, by mapping out the present situation of the built environment in Malta, through the three pillars of sustainability: the environmental, social and economic dimensions. Study-unit Aims: - To expose the student to principles of the appreciation of nature, landscape, and the built environment, be it historic or modern; - To give an appraisal of basic principles of composition that constitute the aesthetic quality of the built environment; - To showcase different and evolving styles of architecture and their sustainability through international case studies; - To familiarize students with the concepts of energy performance of the building envelope and its interaction with the immediate microclimate. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - describe the design parameters that comprise the aesthetic appraisal of a built environment, both historic and modern; - analyze which aesthetic qualities in the built environment affect personal wellbeing, whether positively or negatively; - explain and measure the parameters of the sustainability index of buildings and their environmental impact. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - enhance the powers of observation through the appreciation of high quality aesthetics in architecture; - appraise a building for its aesthetic qualities; - calculate the sustainability index of a building, village or town; - single out the parameters that contribute towards environmental ethics. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Reading List - Thompson, P.B., Sustainability and Environmental Ethics, University Press of Kentucky, 2010. ISBN: 9780813125879. - Bechtel, R.B., Environmental Psychology, Published Online, 30 Jan 2010. DOI: 10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0311. - Shrader - Frechette, K., Environmental Ethics, Oxford Handbooks Online, 2009. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199284238.003.0009. - Fox, W., A Theory of General Ethics: Human Relationships, Nature and the Built Environment, MIT Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780262062558. - Craig, D., Architecture can Save the World, The Philosophical Quorum, Quarterly, 2004. Citation: 10.1111/j.0031-806X.2004.00167.x. Supplementary Reading List - Vee, C., Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, MCB UP Ltd., 2003. ISSN: 0969-9988. - Kibert, C.J., Wilson, A., Reshaping the Built Environment, Island Press, California, 1999. ISBN: 1559637013. - Cheney, J., Postmodern Environmental Ethics:Ethics as Bioregional Narrative, Philosophy Documentation Center, 1989. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Group Learning, Ind Online Learn, Lect & Tutorial | ||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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