POST-GRADUATE PROGRAMME 2015—17 MEGA INTERNATIONAL MASTER OF ENERGY AND GREEN ARCHITECTURE ARKITEKTSKOLEN AARHUS WHAT IS MEGA? On a global scale, architects acting with knowledge in sustainable strategies are needed like never before in history: not as decorators, show masters, beautifiers or technocrats but as professionals working with global spatial challenges. Urbanization is growing exponentially. Streams of refugees are at an all-time high and ask for basic shelters, in one day ten million people had their homes destroyed by a typhoon in the Philippines and two billion people have no access to basic sanitation. The building sector alone produces a gigantic 60% of global waste and 40% of energy is consumed running buildings (without calculating energy used in construction). species, pollution of oceans, deforestation and global waste production take turns to the worse. Global social sustainability is overtaken by an all-time high of social inequality. There are, indisputably, many different approaches to environmental and social sustainability, especially when it comes to architecture. MEGA stands for this plurality! The challenges are gigantic. And they are not the same in context and in intensity in different locations. Therefore there is not one single and not one simple solution. Sustainable architecture is complex and it is much more about people with their present and future living conditions than about built objects. To accept these challenges and to generate a much needed impact as transformers of tormented space and as contributors to a society that values a healthy and resilient environment, architects must act as public intellectuals. On the other hand, young, versatile and inspiring ´alternative practices´ are emerging. Their common approach is to address relevant problems of space and architecture which initially have no client. They extend the methods of traditional architectural practice and create a new relationship between the design processes and the users and they are creative in generating new forms of financing public projects as well as their own efforts. Many ´green buildings´, showing more an image of green than any relevant environmental responsive substance are not good enough, no matter how many of the 400 world-wide existing environmental labels they had got. Let´s be serious: all the relevant negative environmental parameters, CO2 output, non-renewable energy consumption, extinction of A growing number of high-profile architectural practices have changed outdated working modes, implemented new design tools and revolutionized their project teams, some have even built up serious research departments which inform sustainable design. Both developments give hope. And MEGA is an international education taking the challenges and bringing together two different cultures. MEGA prepares you to become a player of sustainable architecture on a strategic and on a global level: climate responsive buildings are our goal, and they need to be supported by material and social responsiveness to become truly successful. WHAT WILL YOU LEARN? 4. SEM. 15 ECTS 3. SEM. 15 ECTS 2. SEM. 15 ECTS 1. SEM. 15 ECTS 1 MASTER THESIS THE MASTER THESIS IS AN INDEPENDENT AND ORIGINAL WORK OF EACH STUDENT WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY THE PROFESSORS. STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PROFOUNDLY WORK ON A SUBJECT THEY BRING FROM THEIR OWN INTEREST OR PRACTICE 15 ECTS STRATEGIES OF IMPLEMENTATION SUSTAINABLE AGENDAS INTO ARCHITECTURAL PROJECTS 6 ECTS INTEGRATE DESIGN PROCESSES FOR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 6 ECTS RESEARCH AND ACADEMIC WRITING PREPARATION FOR THE MASTER THESIS 3 ECTS ´GREEN BUILDINGS´ - THEORIES AND STRATEGIES 3 ECTS ´GREEN BUILDINGS´ - ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PARAMETERS AND DESIGN TOOLS 7 ECTS ´GREEN BUILDINGS´- TECHNOLOGIES 5 ECTS THEORIES OF SUSTAINABLE LIFE STYLES, ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING 3 ECTS SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE ON REGIONAL AND URBAN SCALE 7 ECTS SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF INFRASTRUCTURES 5 ECTS “Green architecture is the direction of modern design and construction … the course includes many strategies, ideas and methods. At the same time I can reflect on my past design and research.” MEGA student, Cao Hui WHO IS TEACHING? Walter Unterrainer, professor in sustainable architecture at the Aarhus School of Architecture, is coordinator and academic leader of sustainable agendas in research and education throughout the school. Walter Unterrainer has been a practicing architect for more than 30 years focusing on ecological and energy-efficient buildings and retrofitting on all scales. He was part of former MEGA education. SONG Yehao, professor, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University Beijing, is a researcher, educator and practitioner with a long experience in sustainable architectural and urban developments in and outside China. Professor Song won many prestigious honours and awards for his designs and he was teacher and supervisor of former MEGA education. INFORMATION: CONTACT: MEETING ON 06.05.2015 AT AARHUS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, AUDITORIUM NØRREPORT 22 [email protected] The Aarhus School of Architecture reserves the right to make changes in the programme.