Acoustics and Lighting Education in Architectural Engineering: Experience of WPI
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 20, Issue 2
Abstract
The growing complexity of buildings requires architectural engineering to integrate many different specialized capabilities, among which building physics often plays a primary role. Architectural engineers must understand all building systems and be able to apply physics principles to the building envelope and indoor environment. This paper discusses the content and educational approaches of two new courses, Building and Architectural Acoustics and Building Electrical and Lighting Systems, in the new architectural engineering program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). For both courses, teaching through project-oriented education presents unique challenges. The projects the classes focused on included optimizing the lighting design at the Worcester Art Museum and the acoustic design in WPI classrooms. This hands-on approach, focusing on both actual measurements and simulations, encourages students to develop a professional attitude for applying theoretical principles to the solution of engineering problems and trains them in the use of state-of the-art tools. Finally, the extension of these experiences to other courses is discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Aaron Sakulich for proofreading the paper and the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.
References
Accreditation Board on Engineering and Technology (ABET). (2011). 2012-2013 Accreditation policy and procedure manual, 〈http://www.abet.org/〉 (Nov. 10, 2013).
AGi32 14.1 [Computer sofware]. Littleton, CO, Lighting Analysts.
Alahmad, M., Brink, H., Brumbaugh, A., and Rieur, E. (2011). “Integrating sustainable design into architectural engineering education: UNL-AE program.” J. Archit. Eng., 75–81.
Albano, L., Fitzgerald, R. W., Jayachandran, P., Pietroforte, R., and Salazar, G. (1999). “The master builder program: An integrative, practice-oriented program.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 112–118.
Albano, L., and Salazar, G. (1998). “Project-based course for integration of design and construction at WPI.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 97–104.
AutoCAD 2013 [Computer sofware]. San Rafael, CA, Autodesk.
Beranek, L. (2003). Concert halls and opera houses: Music, acoustics, and architecture, Springer, New York.
Berardi, U. (2012a). “A double synthetic index to evaluate the acoustics of churches.” Arch. Acoust., 37(4), 521–528.
Berardi, U. (2012b). “Sustainability assessment in the construction sector: Rating systems and rated buildings.” Sustainable Dev., 20(6), 411–424.
Berardi, U. (2013). “Clarifying the new interpretations of the concept of sustainable buildings.” Sustainable Cities Soc., 8(1), 72–78.
Berardi, U. (2014). “Simulation of acoustical parameters in rectangular churches.” J. Build. Perform. Simul., 7(1), 1–16.
Bielefeldt, A. (2011). “Incorporating a sustainability module into first-year courses for civil and environmental engineering students.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 78–85.
Boothby, T. E., and Marra, R. M. (2003). “The Bowers program: Effects of cross-disciplinary design activities on architectural engineering student performance.” J. Archit. Eng., 119–125.
CATT-Acoustic 8 [Computer software]. Gothenburg, Sweden, CATT.
Cavanaugh, W. J., Tocci, G. C., and Wilkes, J. A. (2010). Architectural acoustics: Principles and practice, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.
DAYSIM 1 [Computer software]. Ottawa, National Research Council Canada.
DIALux 4.10 [Computer software]. Lüdenscheid, Germany, DIAL.
Dietz, M., Mulford, J., and Case, K. (2009). “The Utah House: An effective educational tool and catalyst for behavior change?” Build. Environ., 44(8), 1707–1713.
Estes, A. C., et al. (2011). “Accreditation—The new architectural engineering program criteria.” Proc., AEI 2011: Building Integration Solutions, A. C. Lynn and R. Reitherman, eds., American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC, 105–112.
Estes, A. C., and Estrada, H. (2008). “The nation’s architectural engineering programs: A diverse group.” Proc., AEI 2008: Building Integration Solutions, M. Ettouney, ed., American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC, 1–13.
Garrido, J. A., Zamarreño, T., and Girón, S. (2012). “Virtual models for the prediction of acoustic fields of Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Granada, Spain.” Appl. Acoust., 73(9), 921–935.
Geschwindner, L. (1995). “Penn State architectural engineering.” J. Archit. Eng., 133–139.
GhaffarianHoseini, A., Dahlan, N. D., Berardi, U., GhaffarianHoseini, A., Makaremi, N., and GhaffarianHoseini, M. (2013). “Sustainable energy performances of green buildings: A review of current theories, implementations and challenges.” Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev., 25, 1–17.
Hodgson, M., York, N., and Yang, W. (2008). “Comparison of predicted, measured and auralized sound fields with respect to speech intelligibility in classrooms using CATT-Acoustic and ODEON.” Acta Acustica United Acustica, 94(6), 883–890.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO). (2009). “Acoustics—Measurement of room acoustic parameters—Part 1: Performance spaces. 3382-1, Jersey City, NJ.
Mark, R., and Billington, D. (1995). “Architecture and engineering at Princeton University.” J. Archit. Eng., 93–96.
Mokhtar, A. (2000). “Architectural engineering curriculum at Illinois Institute of Technology.” J. Archit. Eng., 91–94.
National Society of Architectural Engineers (NSAE). (1989). “Executive board news.” NSAE Times, 4(1), 1.
Radiance 4 [Computer software]. Berkeley, CA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Reinhart, C. F., Dogan, T., Ibarra, D., and Wasilowski Samuelson, H. W. (2012). “Learning by playing – Teaching energy simulation as a game. ” J. Build. Perform. Simul., 5(6), 359–368.
Steinemann, A. (2003). “Implementing sustainable development through problem-based learning: Pedagogy and practice.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 216–224
Wang, N., Esram, T., Martinez, L. A., and McCulley, M. T. (2009). “A marketable all-electric solar house: A report of a Solar Decathlon project.” Renewable Energy, 34(12), 2860–2871.
Winchip, S. M. (2011). Fundamentals of lighting, Fairchild, New York.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 20 • Issue 2 • June 2014
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2013
Accepted: Nov 13, 2013
Published online: Dec 13, 2013
Discussion open until: May 13, 2014
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.