ARCH5422
Advanced Building Systems II
Target Students MArch 1
Course Term 2
Course Type Required
From Building Performance to Systems
This course examines the critical connection between building performance requirements and the building systems. Through the framework of a structured technical workflow—developed via course syllabus, case studies, and building visits — students will learn to navigate the interdependent relationships among building program, performance requirements, systems selection, design concept, integration strategy, technological approach, and technical compliance.
Emphasis is placed on the spectrum of technological responses available — from passive, vernacular strategies to active, high-performance engineering — in meeting comfort, health, safety and energisation goals. Within this process, compliance is introduced not as a constraint, but as a critical guiding strategy, encompassing codes such as the HK Building Regulations, fire safety, and accessibility standards, alongside broader practice benchmarks.
The core pedagogical aim is to enable the understanding that the choice and integration of systems constitute a fundamental architectural decision. Students will critically analyze how conscious technical responses inform a building’s form, materiality, and aesthetic character, transforming performance requirements and regulatory frameworks into drivers of innovative, responsible, and architecturally meaningful design.
