Courses in Environmental Sustainability
- ARET 2400 – Site Planning and Development
This course educates students about considerations taken into account during the process of site-planning and development. Among the topics, we learned about sustainability in regards to site-planning and overall design; this included categories such as theory of sustainability, factors to consider in sustainable site design, principles of sustainable design, site access and layout, and amenities and landscaping. Part of this course entailed a project that allowed us to apply these learning outcomes in the local community.
_____________________ - ARET 2300 – Building Regulations
This course offers a detailed look into the realm of building code and regulations. We analyzed Part 5 of the BC Building Code, which covers Environmental Separation in buildings; including environmental factors such as thermal properties of the building envelope and protection from weather and climate. We learned about these standards, and how/why they help maintain the sustainability of a building.
__________________ - ARET 3300 – Building Design
This course allows students to collectively apply the fundamentals of building design learned throughout the ARET program. Part of which we learned was how the environment is a significant factor for buildings. Some of the considerations we covered were topography, site conditions, and climate. For our project, we applied these factors into our own design for a low-income housing development in town. In addition, we learned various ways to make our building energy efficient and step-code ready.
_______________________ - ARET 1510 – Building Lighting Design
This course provides in-depth study and practice of building lighting design. Learning about the concepts of quantity and quality of building lighting brought about topics of efficiency of fixtures and techniques like natural daylighting instead of artificial lighting. We also researched the International Dark-Sky Association (the recognized authority on light pollution). Their purpose is to protect the night from light pollution. Learning about their mission provided tools, resources and design techniques to mitigate excessive or unnecessary lighting and prevent inefficient lighting design.
________________________ - ARET 1200 – Materials and Applications
This course introduces students to materials and methods in the building industry. We discussed current materials and the benefits or limitations of them such as environmental impact, durability, and end-of-life cycle. Methods of construction were also covered, and terms of sustainability when comparing them was discussed. We learned about new technologies and practices to be aware of in our future careers in the realm of building technology.
Social Organizations
ARET CLUB
In the Architectural and Engineering Technology Program, the associated club is known as the ARET club. As the students in each year progress throughout the program, more responsibility is passed along to keep the continuation of the club active. The third years would be considered the “Executive Members”. A large part of being in the ARET club is facilitating and organizing events for the program. This includes social events, such as design competitions, and educational events, such as building conventions and field trips. In particular, this year, we helped organize the accommodations for the annual trip to Vancouver for a convention known as Buildex. This event provides extra-curricular involvement in the building industry and exposes students to the realm of work in which we are pursuing. We saw showcases of new technology and practices in industry, where sustainability is a main topic. This year, my classmates and I organized a new hotel closer to the convention center that allowed the program walking distance to the event rather than requiring a charter bus. This was a significant change in the planning of previous years. It worked great and offered more opportunity for walking tours in the heart of downtown Vancouver.
Extra-Curricular Knowledge Sharing
Attended Event: LEEP for RENOVATIONS FORUM
This event hosted technical experts, manufacturers, installers, renovators and building owners together to review the business case, best practices, and technical solutions available through the local supply chain, for energy and carbon efficient deep renovations. The content focused on mechanical system design and performance considerations, envelope renovation systems building science, durability and resilience, and renewables and battery storage. I attended the presentation in person and gained much appreciation for the subjects I was familiar with from school but were then transformed into a real-life scenario. Additionally, the display and information tables set up in the event space provided more understanding and learning about specific materials and technologies.
Attended Event: BC Wood Works/ CWC – Wood Design Luncheon Kelowna
This conference featured presentations on current topics in architecture, engineering, design and construction with wood by experts in wood design and building. Suppliers were also available on hand with their exhibits to answer questions about wood products and systems. This event was an opportunity to expand on topics from my courses and see how they are applied and presented in the industry. As it relates to sustainability, wood is a renewable, carbon sequestrating material with valuable structural properties; wood construction has been a sound option in many building applications, however it has been restricted to structural limits in the past. This conference explored the different developments made in engineered wood and displayed the evolving uses and applications of wood in the built environment. With being capable of more structural possibilities, more construction can be accomplished by wood frame construction, helping to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings.
