North South University | Department of Architecture
Course Outline
01. GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A. Date 30 September 2018
B. Department Architecture
C. Course Number ARC261
D. Course Title Environment & Building System I – Climate
& Design
02. INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
A. Name and Title Dr. Saiful Islam, Associate Professor
B. email saif.islam@northsouth.edu
D. Consultation Hours Monday & Tuesday, 10:00-11:00am
E. Consultation Room SAC804
03. COURSE SPECIFICS
A. Credit Hours 3
B. Contact Hours 3
C. Pre-requisites None
D. Co-requisites
E. Advisories
F. Course Justification
G. Field Trips
H Method of Grading
I. Repeatability As per NSU course retake policy
04. CATALOG DESCRIPTION
External and internal environments; considerations of climate, site climate, human comfort criteria and ranges; solar control, day-
lighting, ecology, energy and other issues affecting design. Climatic zones, characteristics and influence of climatic conditions on
the natural and built environments. Behavior and performance of a building and its components as a climatic modifier to provide
comfort and energy savings through architectural design. Architectural responses to different climatic conditions; building shape,
orientation, materials, construction systems, details and design solutions. Thermal design criteria, principles of thermal design
and natural ventilation.
Page 1 of 4
05. COURSE OBJECTIVES
To understand the relationship between climate and architecture
To understand the concept of thermal comfort
To realize major climatic variations along with learning unique characteristics found in different microclimatic conditions
To learn architectural principals and strategies to achieve thermal comfort in non-conditioned built environment
06. EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course a student will be able to:
A. Asses a built environment whether it is suitable for hot-dry, hot-humid, cold-dry or cold-humid
B. Identify major architectural design strategies appropriate for different macro climatic conditions
C. Asses a building whether it suits its surrounding microclimate
D. Review architectural drawings in terms of its’ potential to address climatic condition
07. TEACHING –LEARNING METHODOLOGY
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….
08. COURSE CONTENT
Lecture-1: Solar geometry, causes of seasonal variation, altitude angle and azimuth angle, sun-path diagram
Lecture-2: Causes of wind flow, patterns of global wind flow
Lecture-3: Elements of climate – temperature, humidity, wind speed & direction, precipitation, sky-cover, sunshine duration
Lecture-4: Classification of major climates, microclimate and urban heat island effect
Lecture-5: Heat transfer basics - latent heat, heat capacity, concept of heat source & heat sink, time lag
Lecture-6: Thermal comfort & discomfort, psychometric chart
Lecture-7: Passive solar – direct gain, Tromb-wall, sun-space, roof-pond, convective loop system
Lecture-8: Different passive cooling strategies, basics of wind flow, wind flow around and through buildings
Lecture-9: Shading strategies, moveable and fixed shading devices
Lecture-10: Site planning details in terms of shading and ventilation perspective, site design strategies for four climatic zones
Lecture-11: Sustainable design – priorities in sustainable architecture, global green house effect and renewable energies
09. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
LECTURE /SESSION DATE TOPIC
Week 1 & 2 – Lecture-1 Solar geometry
Week 3 – Lecture-2 Wind
Week 4 – Lecture-3 Elements of climate
Week 5 – Lecture-4 Classification of climates
Week 6 – Mid-term-1 and Lecture-5 Heat transfer basics
Week 7 – Lecture-6 Thermal comfort
Page 2 of 4
Week 8 – Lecture-7 Passive solar
Week 9 – Lecture-8 Passive cooling
Week 10 – Mid-term-2 & Lecture-9 Shading
Week 11 – Lecture-10 Site design
Week 12 – Lecture-11 Sustainable design
10. EVALUATION SYSTEM
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….
11. GRADING POLICY
Review Topic Percentage of marks
Attendance 10%
Assignment Thermal comfort evaluation of personal 20%
residences
Mid-term-1 Lecture 1 to 4 20% (Best one is considered)
Mid-term-2 Lecture 5 to 8
Final Lecture 9 to 11 and a few selected 50%
topics from the previous lectures
12. GRADING CRITERIA
Numerical Grade Alphabetic
93 A
90-92 A-
87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B-
77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C-
66-69 D+
60-65 D
BELOW 60 F
13. GENERAL POLICIES
Attendance policy
Students must attend 60% of the courses to be eligible to receive final grades.
Page 3 of 4
Gender Equity Policy
In accordance with the gender policies of the university, students will be evaluated equally regardless of his/her gender and
strictly on the basis of the individual’s performance.
Inclusive Education Policy Statement
All students will be given equal access to resources, consultation hours free from discrimination based on gender, language,
religion, ethnicity, disability or socio-economic background.
Academic Honesty
Students will be subject to the academic integrity policy adopted by the university. Plagiarism and copying will be dealt with
accordingly.
Electronic Devices
Use of computers, laptops, cell phones and other digital devices will not be permitted during exams.
14. TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
A. Optional Textbooks and other instructional material, such as:
a. Instructor-selected articles and published excerpts
b. Library resources
1. Books
2. Periodicals
c. Online resources, such as:
1. Course website -
2. Archinect.com
d. Computer resources
1. Computers
2. Scanners
3. Printers
4. Software
Page 4 of 4
