COURSE UNIT TITLE

: SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIALS AND ECONOMIC APPROACHES

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
MIM 3761 SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIALS AND ECONOMIC APPROACHES ELECTIVE 2 0 0 3

Offered By

Architecture

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

PROFESSOR DOCTOR AYÇA TOKUÇ

Offered to

Architecture

Course Objective

This course aims to comprehensively address the selection process, performance and academic impact of sustainable building materials in the fields of architecture and construction. Students will gain knowledge of recycleable, innovative and low-environmental-impact building materials, analyzing critical topics such as building life cycle, material importance, waste management and cost optimization. The course aims to enable students to define material selection criteria in line with sustainability principles and evaluate the impact of different material types on building energy efficiency and carbon footprint. Recycling and waste management will be examined wşthşn an integrated framework with sustainale building materials, focusing on different research and applications related to the use of waste-based and alternative materials in the construction industry. Additionally, the course aims to help students developp awareness of green building certification systems (LEED, BREEAM, etc.), life cycle analyses, and material economics, enabling them to make informed decisions by balancing cost, durability and environmental impact. Accordingly, this course supports students in developing awareness of sustainable building materials, analyzing scientific and technical information, and evaluating existing solutions.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Analyze the environmental, economic and building performance impacts of sustainable building materials.
2   Evaluate the material selection process in relation to building design, construction and performance criteria.
3   Understand the role, applications and economic impact of recyclable and waste-based materials in construction.
4   Gain knowledge of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), material performance and cost evaluation tools.
5   Recognize and assess innovative building materials and emerging material technologies within the framework of sustainability.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction to course content, methods and resources. explanation of research assignment. Introduction to sustainable building materials and material selection in the design process. Key concepts, sustainability principles, and integration of material selection in design decisions.
2 Environmental impacts of building materials and carbon footprint Energy consumption, waste management, and environmental impact analysis
3 Economic approaches and material selection Cost analysis, long-term efficiency, and investment perspective
4 Recycling and waste management Circular economy, material recycling, and waste reduction strategies
5 Next-generation building materials and technological developments- Part 1 Nanomaterials, biomaterials, smart materials
6 Next-generation building materials and technological developments- Part 2 Lightweight materials, self-healing materials, advanced manufacturing techniques.
7 Material use in the building life cycle process Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), material durability, sustainable maintanence and recycling strategies.
8 Mid-Term Exam and Evaluation After the mid-term exam, students will be informed about the research and presentations they need to conduct
9 Green Building Certifications and material selection LEED, BREEAM, and other certification systems focusing on material criteria
10 Material selection and its impact on building performance Effects of material selection on durability, energy efficiency, fire resistance and other performance factors
11 Student presentations- Part 1 Research presentations on sustainable materials
12 Student presentations- Part 2 Research presentations on material recycling, waste management and economic approaches
13 Student presentations- Part 3 Research presentations on the LCA, cost-performance analysis and case studies
14 General evaluation General outcomes of the course and students' feedback
15 General evaluation General outcomes and evaluation of the course

Recomended or Required Reading

Kibert, C.J. (2016). Sustainable construction: green building design and delivery. John Wiley & Sons.
Ashby, MF. (2012). Materials and the environment: eco-informed material choice. Elsevier.
Şenel, A. (2010). Investigation of sustainable building construction principles and new approaches. Master's thesis, Dokuz Eylül University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Izmir, Türkiye.
Şenel Solmaz, A. (2015). A simulation and multi-objectve optimization-based decision support model for determining optimal solutions to improve building energy performance. Doctoral dissertation, Dokuz Eylül University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Izmir, Türkiye.
Şenel Solmaz A., Vatansever Erol N., Tokuç A. (2024). Yapım endüstrisinde yenilikçi yapı malzemeleri: Nanomalzemeler ve dönüştürücü etkileri. in: Mimarlık, planlama ve tasarım alanında gelişmeler, Aşıkkutlu Hüseyin Samet (Ed.), Platanus Publishing, pp. 57-77.
Dijital Resources:
-USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) official website
-BuildingGreen.com
-Material ConneXion Database
-TED Talks ve MOOC Courses on sustainable materials

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture, individual research, homework, presentation and discussion of the assignments. The updated version of research reports will be submitted as a Final Exam.

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 ASG ASSIGNMENT
3 FINS FINAL EXAM
4 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.30 + ASG * 0.30 + FINS * 0.40
5 RST RESIT
6 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.30 + ASG * 0.30 + RST * 0.40


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

Mid Term Exam %30 (ÖÇ1, ÖÇ2, ÖÇ3, ÖÇ4)
Student Presentation %30 (ÖÇ1, ÖÇ2, ÖÇ3, ÖÇ4, ÖÇ5)
Final Exam %40 (ÖÇ1, ÖÇ2, ÖÇ3, ÖÇ4)

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Course Policies and Rules

To be announced at the beginning of the semester.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

aslihan.senel@deu.edu.tr; 0232 3018494

Office Hours

To be declared at the beginning of the semester.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 11 2 22
Student Presentations 3 2 6
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 10 2 20
Preparation for midterm exam 1 5 5
Preparation for final exam 1 5 5
Preparing assignments 1 4 4
Preparing presentations 3 3 9
Final 1 2 2
Midterm 1 2 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 75

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13PO.14PO.15
LO.1444
LO.2444
LO.3444
LO.44444
LO.5444

CONTACT INFORMATION
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No: 144 35210 Alsancak / İZMİR
Phone: +90(232) 412 12 12 - Fax: +90 (232) 464 81 35

Copyright 2015 DEÜ. BİD

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