As environmental concerns become more important at the local, regional, and global level, more awareness must be paid to the development of sustainable buildings. Buildings are accountable for a large portion of resources and energy in addition to producing a substantial amount of environmental pollutants. For example, in the USA, buildings count for one-third of the total energy and well over one half of the electricity in the country. In developing countries, it is important to follow more environmentally conscious paths than earlier developments in the Western world while assuring that they reach comparable standards of living.

The goal of the seminar is to explore design, technology and implementation of environmentally responsive urban housing in China. Some principal goals are to minimize solar gains in the summer, improve air quality and ventilation, and reduce energy consumption of buildings. This investigation will be brought about through careful design of individual building interiors and exteriors, in addition to building groupings. Assumptions will be tested through accurate modeling and use of tools such as computational fluid dynamics. Designs will make use of local materials and building methods as well as local building conditions and lifestyles while introducing innovative technologies such as ground coupled heat pumps and solar-powered dehumidification as well as incorporating traditional technologies such as shading and natural ventilation.

Specifically, three real projects that are scheduled to begin construction in the latter part of 2000 will be looked at in detail. The projects include the design of four high-rise residential structures in Beijing, to mid-rise multi-story housing units in Shanghaiís Taidong Residential Quarter, and low-rise residential buildings in Shenzhen. The projects are the cooperative effort between MIT, Tsinghua University in Beijing, Tongji University in Shanghai, and local development companies in China.

For more information, you may consult the websites from previous workshops.