Course Title: Master of Science in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design)
Over the past five years the Dublin School of Architecture has developed a range of upskilling programmes in Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) for building design professionals. NZEB is the energy performance standard required under the European Union Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD). This Directive requires that all new public buildings must meet the NZEB standard from the end of 2018 onwards, and ALL new buildings from the end of 2020 onwards. The Directive also provides for the deep renovation of existing buildings to the NZEB standard beyond 2020. Achieving the NZEB standard will require a culture change at all levels in the building industry, from procurement, to design, construction, use and maintenance of the building over its life cycle.
This will require industry upskilling on an unprecedented scale across the EU. From our experience in developing upskilling programmes over the past five years it is clear that the extent of the knowledge gap within the disciplines of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector is as yet neither appreciated or acknowledged. Recognising the scale of this emerging upskilling challenge the lecturing team in the TU Dublin School of Architecture has developed new skills and teaching methods over the past five years and has prepared a range of new courses in science based building performance.
The MSc BP(EED) course is open to the following categories of applicants:
- Registered Architects
- Professionally qualified architects who are or have been members of the RIAI, subject to interview.
- Registered Architectural Technologists
- Professionally qualified Architectural Technologists, subject to the requirements scheduled below.
- Registered Building Surveyors
- Chartered Engineers
- Professionally qualified Engineers, subject to a minimum 2.2 Level 8 qualification plus 2 years minimum relevant accredited professional experience, or equivalent.
- Other technical design professionals subject to a minimum 2.2 Level 8 qualification plus 2 years minimum relevant accredited professional experience, or equivalent.
Applicants may be required to demonstrate ability in architectural technical drawing and building fabric design.
For building design professionals such as architects, architectural technologists, engineers and building surveyors, an understanding of NZEB will be critical to professional survival. The NZEB standard will apply to all new public building from the end of 2018 and to all buildings by 2020. The need for NZEB upskilling is clear.
Graduates of the MSc in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design) will be uniquely qualified to research and assess the energy performance in new and existing building typologies including multi-unit residential and non-domestic typologies measured against national performance metrics.
They will be able to research and advise on insulation options assessed as safe in accordance with the best international standards and detail, specify and oversee the installation to ensure performance targets are met.
Graduates will understand the dynamics of thermal, moisture and air movement through building fabric and design the optimal balance of all three to ensure the integrity of any retrofit solution proposed and protect the structural longevity of the building fabric.
In short they will be leaders in the field of retrofit assessment and design. Their skills will be equally applicable to new build work where the principles of building fabric design are significantly more easily accommodated.
With energy analysis skills building on and enhancing their construction industry experience, graduates will be ideally placed to secure employment in the area of energy renovation of the existing building stock – an emerging and expansive field of construction activity across the European Union, in response to the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
MRIAI and RIAI (Arch Tech) graduates will be eligible to apply for RIAI Environmental Accreditation.
The course is delivered through a series of modules, some in blended online mode supported by workshops every four weeks, some in traditional part time college-based mode.
Semester 1 of the PGCert is delivered through a series of three 5 ECTS blended online modules as follows:
- NZEB Policy & Technologies
- NZEB Calculation & Cost Optimality
- Energy Modelling Tools #1 (DEAP)
These modules can combine to form a CPD Diploma in NZEB Tools.
Semester 2 of the PGCert is delivered through a further series of three 5 ECTS blended online modules as follows:
- Energy Modelling Tools #2 (PHPP)
- Hygrothermal Risk Assessment for Building Performance
- Thermal Bridge Calculation for Building Performance
Semester 3 of the PGDip is delivered through a combination of 5 ECTS blended online and10 ECTS traditional part time college-based project modules as follows:
- Building Environmental Assessment Methods
- Building Performance NZEB Design Project: Multi-Unit Residential
Semester 4 of the PGDip is also delivered through a combination of 5 ECTS blended online and 10 ECTS traditional part time college-based project modules as follows:
- Energy Modelling Tools #3 (Dynamic Simulation / NEAP)
- Building Performance NZEB Design Project: Office
Semester 5 of the MSc is delivered through two 5 ECTS research modules and a 20 ECTS Building Performance Research Dissertation and Project modules as follows:
- Research Methods
- Research Studies
- Building Performance (EED) Research Project and Dissertation
The delivery of TU414 MSc in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design) course suits those upskilling, re-skilling & returning to work.
As the programme is ‘nested’, please visit webpage for TU412 PG Cert BP(EED) for Stage 1 information, and webpage for TU413 PG Dipl BP(EED) for Stage 2 information.
In Stage 3, the programme runs in the calendar year, not the academic, year. In Spring two (5-ECTS) modules take place, with online classes each Wednesday over the full Semester. The third (20-ECTS) thesis module is delivered through tutorials arranged with thesis supervisor at mutually agreed times. There are two feedback workshops to a wider cohort in the Autumn.
A key aspect is that may students decide when they view lecture materials. Students should plan for a weekly commitment of ~10 hours in most weeks of each module.
Applications will open in February 2025
TU414 MSc in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design) is a 3-year 'nested' programme. All access to the full Masters is via the 1-year course TU412 Postgraduate Certificate in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design).
Non-EU Students
Non-EU students, not resident in Ireland, are not eligible to apply for part time programs that are delivered on-campus. Applications for part time courses that require on-campus attendance will not be processed and the application fee will not be refunded.