SBA Curriculum

Unit 1:  Fundamentals of Sustainable Building and Design

  • The “case” or rationale for green building
  • A view of the current state of green building in the region and nationally
  • The principles of sustainable design
  • An introduction to the practicum project

Unit 2:  The Importance of Place: Site, Transportation and Land Use Issues

  • An introduction to sustainable site design
  • An understanding of the site planning process
  • Sustainable site analysis and conduct a site assessment
  • Importance of transportation planning, siting, relationship to sustainability
  • Strategies to achieve sustainable transportation patterns and site development

Unit 3:  Energy Efficient Design

  • How the design of building energy systems impacts the human experience and the global environment
  • The value of contextual, holistic approach to building energy system design
  • How a building dynamically interacts with its occupants and the local climate, including renewable energy flows
  • Fundamental building energy systems, including HVAC and lighting

Unit 4:  “Green” Materials Selection

  • Factors in material selection and the issue of trade-offs
  • Resources to assist in determining materials appropriateness
  • Analytical process to evaluate materials for a project
  • Material considerations when using the LEED™ rating program
  • Material considerations when designing a green home

Unit 5:  Indoor Environmental Quality & Health

  • Benefits of improving indoor environmental quality
  • Common indoor air pollutants
  • Barriers and solutions to achieving good indoor air
  • Implementation issues to help achieve good quality indoor air
  • Ventilation system design strategies
  • Linkages between health, well-being and productivity
  • Physical, psychological and financial benefits of daylight and view

Unit 6:  Water and Site Design

  • Benefits of adopting a natural systems-based approach
  • Sustainable site development patterns
  • Impact reduction through landscape layout, plant selection and placement
  • Outdoor water conservation strategies and practices
  • On-site management methods for storm water and wastewater
  • Indoor water conservation

Unit 7:  Sustainable Job Site Operations

  • Construction waste management, site protection and IAQ protection
  • Incorporating green building materials
  • Planning and practices for sustainable construction

Unit 8:  Building Operations and Maintenance

  • Facility management (FM) functions, duties of FM department, FM professionals, and FM position in sustainability
  • Building Commission (Cx), what it is, how it is accomplished, and its critical importance to the performance of a building
  • Effective operations and maintenance
  • Effective training programs within a building

Unit 9:  Presentation of Team Projects & Graduation

To receive local certification, students will be required to demonstrate understanding and competencies of the course material through participation in small group project presentations and written papers. Presentation and written papers will be scored on a pass-fail basis.