Building Sustainability from the Bottom Up: New Architectural Degree at Carleton University

When looking up at a city skyline, have you ever marveled, “who builds these architectural wonders?”

Buildings can evoke strong emotions within us, but now more than ever how do we make daring and beautiful buildings and still be kind to the environment? Carleton University has an answer. The university is offering a new Bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability that can us teach how to build greener buildings.

Overall, the program — which begins in September of 2011 — focuses on efficiency and creating environmentally-friendly buildings: building restoration and the energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly building design.

Pulling inspiration from the environmental focus, the degree has two specializations for students to choose from: the structural stream and the environmental stream. The structural stream concentrates on conservation and sustainability in the design of new structures and the assessment and retrofit of existing structures. The environmental stream focuses on sustainable building practices with an emphasis on water quality and conservation, air quality, life cycle analysis and disposal of materials and waste streams.

In a competitive workplace students look at real-world applications when choosing a program; as such, this program has been designed to meet the strict professional and academic requirements of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. One aspect of the degree is the specialized design project that they do in their final year; there will also be co-op opportunities if they wish to explore that option in gaining valuable knowledge and experience that will assist them when entering the workforce.  

The dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design, Rafik Goubran looks the Bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability as a way of building bridges between disciplines, “As the design and construction of sustainable buildings requires close co-operation among the team of architects and engineers, this new interdisciplinary program will meet this need by producing graduates who will follow green principles and practices.”

Carleton University wants to do its part in protecting the environment and working towards a sustainable future. This program is another example of melding the old and the new; designing buildings that meet the needs of people and preserving our environment.

Carleton Creates Unique Degree Program in Architectural Conservation and Sustainability [Carleton University]