CLIMATE—CARBON—EQUITY Making Sustainable Design Concepts Accessible for All

Abstract

Climate has a significant influence on how buildings perform, and how we design and build buildings impacts the climate. Therefore, the most effective sustainable strategies for low-carbon buildings are heavily influenced by the climatic context of the project. In this thesis, I present the development, validation, and application of an early-stage design analysis method called climabox as a toolset to evaluate the potential for low-carbon building strategies in any location for which climate data is available.

By presenting reliable bioclimatic information in a clear, intuitive format, the approach enables designers and consultants worldwide to make actionable, sustainable design decisions from the beginning of a project forward. The methodology has been implemented in a web app called ClimaPlus that is accessible on any web-enabled device.

The web app has been successfully tested in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), launched in collaboration with MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), to teach sustainable building design as part of the Future of Energy Systems MicroMasters program. The goal is to make easily accessible and actionable design guidelines available for learners who want to develop energyefficient and low-carbon building concepts anywhere. With a total enrollment of over 40,000 learners worldwide, I discuss the challenges and lessons learned from delivering the introductory, university-level sustainable building design course.