BUILT THROUGH RESEARCH.

"BUILT creates the opportunity to learn through direct, hands-on empirical investigation of buildings and to test prototypes for sustainable solutions that would otherwise remain purely conceptual."

RESEARCH + RESULTS

IN-CLASS EXERCISES
At the heart of BUILT lies research and results. BUILT has resources to host multiple research projects simultaneously. Whether working in groups, running independent simulations, or assisting a class assignment, BUILT can accommodate. Students engaged in research at BUILT often experience the causal relationship between building science and design. Through research, students gain a better understanding of what influences building performance, which, in turn, influences design decisions.

Building science research is unique in that it embraces the iterative process used in design. Research at BUILT goes through a number of iterations before determining, for example, how low a retrofit building's EUI can get, or what the quality of natural light is coming into an office space. By utilizing the iterative process we acquire data, analyze date for viability, change variables, and run research parameters again. In this way, students test their original assumptions and develop new hypotheses to improve the performance of buildings.

Research at BUILT is multifaceted. In addition to field data collection and/or software simulation, BUILT research includes analyzing and presenting findings in a clear and visually telling way. BUILT believes research should not be confined (and forgotten) in a paper. Instead, research should be presented and distributed to as wide an audience as possible in order to promote and further investigations into sustainability. That's why one of BUILT's goals is to encourage the development of critical analysis and compelling display of data.
BUILT largely does two things. Firstly, it educates students about building sciences through innovative pedagogical approaches such as active learning, professional partnerships, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Secondly, BUILT aspires to cross-pollinate with all sub-disciplines of architecture including history/theory, graphics, making, and fabrication. Rather than require these sub-disciplines to modify teaching style in order to incorporate traditional methods of teaching building science, BUILT curates an assignment to fit within the established curriculum and agenda of the course. Building science components are integrated into the assignments and serve as a means to learn more about the sub-discipline at hand.

To further explore the research conducted at and in collaboration with BUILT, by and with students, use the buttons below.