Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) Sustainable Development in Architecture – European Best Practices

Introduction

The 'Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) Sustainable Development in Architecture – European Best Practices' (CAS SUS DEV ARCH) is a postgraduate course that is offered by the Faculty of Architecture of Berne University of Applied Sciences. It is designed as a seven-week, full-time course, requiring 40 working hours per week on average.

Goal

The course wants to offer a thorough upgrade in issues of sustainable development and sustainable architecture for professionals related to the creation of built environment. It offers an intensive input in current state-of-the-art knowledge and 'Best Management Practices' (BMPs) from a European point of view. The content aims at providing the most up to date information and understanding available in western European countries. The United Nations' Indicators on Sustainable Development, with their social, economic, environmental and institutional dimensions, serve as a guideline for the educational objectives and structuring of the course.

Target Audience

The CAS SUS DEV ARCH is aimed primarily at architects, but may also welcome planners, designers, policy makers, researchers, government officials or professionals of similar fields involved with architecture or the generation of human environments. The course seeks professionals with several years of practice experience who want to continue their education and become competent in the field of sustainable human built environments. About 30 -50 students are accepted per course.

Benefits

As a student, you will acquire specialized and profound knowledge in the field of sustainable development in relation to city, architecture and the built environment. You will learn how suitable tools during the planning and design processes are used. You will be able to discuss and communicate various aspects of Sustainable Development with relevant stakeholders and will be familiar with the current standards and sources of knowledge on sustainable architectural design. Students will obtain the necessary awareness to cope with today’s challenges in the field of sustainability as pertaining to the built environment. Subsequently, you will be able to keep your knowledge up-to-date independently.

Teaching Structure

The course lasts seven continuous weeks. The first four weeks of the course are taught in Berne/Burgdorf (Switzerland). The students attend an intensive program of lectures, supplemented with field trips. Subsequently, the students have three weeks to accomplish a written task that finalizes the module.

The lectures in Switzerland are primarily given in English. However, the main teaching language is Chinese. We achieve this by pre-translating all necessary documents (lectures, tasks, submittals, etc.) and simultaneously translating all speeches (lectures, reviews, critiques, discussions, etc.) from English and German into Chinese and vice versa.

Coaching Team

Head of course                         

Peter Bölsterli, Prof., Dipl. Arch. ETH SIA BSA RIBA

Head of Switzerland location       

Daniel Boermann, Prof., Dipl. Arch. ETH SIA

Examinations and Certification

Students have to meet certain requirements and working amount and quality in midterm tests and their final submittal in order to receive certification. A certificate certifies the successful completion of the course.

Tuition

The full course tuition must be paid in advance. For the year 2010 the total tuition fee for the 7-week CAS course amounts to RMB 45,000. This fee does not include accommodation and travelling costs, such as airplane tickets, field trip transportation, daily commuting, etc.