An Introduction to Sustainable Building Design

An Introduction to Sustainable Building Design online PDH course is a part of the Environmental Engineering category of courses. “Sustainable design” is no longer a boutique concept in the design and construction of buildings and related infrastructure.  It is widely required by government agencies and is becoming more and more in demand by responsible private owners.  This course introduces the framework for applying sustainable design principles.  You will learn the goals of each, opportunities you can use to pursue them, and resources that will help you reach them.  When you have completed this course you will have a road map that will guide you in making sustainability an integral part of your management of building and infrastructure design and construction projects.

This course is intended for engineers, architects and other design and construction professionals wanting to learn how to design and apply the principles of sustainable design.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, you will be able to:

• You will learn about the six principles of sustainable design: optimization of site potential, optimizing energy use, protection and conservation of water, selection and use of environmentally preferable products, enhancement of indoor environmental quality, and optimization of operations and maintenance practices;
• You will learn about the seven principles of sustainable site planning. You will learn about nine opportunities you should examine that may help you to maximize the sustainability of your project site;
• You will learn about the five principles of energy use optimization and seventeen opportunities you should examine that may help you maximize the energy efficiency of your building;
• You will learn about the seven principles for the protection and conservation of water and eighteen opportunities should consider employing to optimize the protection and conservation of water;
• You will learn about eight principles for employment of environmentally preferable products and materials and twenty six opportunities you should examine to maximize the use of environmentally preferable products and materials on your projects;
• You will learn about ten principles to employ in enhancing indoor environmental quality and fifty two opportunities you may have to optimize enhancement of indoor environmental quality;
• You will learn five principles for optimization of operational and maintenance practices and twenty seven opportunities that may help you to reach this goal; and
• You will learn about resources that you can use learn more about your sustainability options, and how to access and employ them.