The conditions for a symbiotic relationship between buildings and the urban environments they form and occupy are the main concern of the Sustainable Environmental Design (SED) Master’s programme. Knowledge and understanding of the physical principles underlying this relationship, along with the conceptual and computational tools to translate them into an ecological architecture and urbanism, form the core of the taught programme. With close to 60 students from some 30 countries that encompass different climates, this year has contributed a wealth of new projects to the programme’s continuing research agenda on Refurbishing the City, which has initiated over 300 projects in 70 cities. Common objectives of all projects in SED are to improve environmental quality in cities, achieve independence from non-renewable energy sources and develop an architecture of sustainable design. Projects are based on real sites and specific environmental design requirements, which are focused on the inhabitants of these areas as well as being climate-responsive. The generative process is driven by strict performance criteria following a process of adaptive architecturing that proceeds from inside to outside, attuning the built form to natural rhythms and inhabitant activities. Term 1 focused on case studies of selected urban schemes in London. These involved field measurements to assess environmental performance, followed by computer modelling and parametric analysis to investigate potential for improvements. The findings of these case studies provided starting points for Term 2 design briefs that explored responses to climate change, technical developments and lifestyle trends for London. Terms 3 and 4 are devoted to dissertation projects that this year are set in over 50 locations around the world. The following pages highlight one of the Term 2 projects located in London alongside a representation of MArch design dissertations that illustrate the current research of the programme. 

Director 

Simos Yannas 

Course Masters 

Paula Cadima 

Joana Gonçalves 

Rosa Schiano-Phan 

Klaus Bode 

Jorge Rodriguez 

Gustavo Brunelli 

Software Tutors 

Rohit Garg 

Mariam Kapsali 

Guest Speakers and Invited Critics

Laura Apezteguia

Nick Baker

Priji Balakrishnan

Meital Ben Dayan

Michael Bruse

Herman Calleja

Peter Chlapowski

Peter Clegg

Claude Demers

Christian Dimbleby

Brian Ford

Werner Gaiser

Vidhi Gupta

Alan Harries

Catherine Harrington

Richard Hawkes

Dean Hawkes

Amy Holtz

Jessica James

Ivan Jovanovic

Shelley McNamara

Federico Montella

Edward Ng

Fergus Nicol

Andre Potvin

Becci Taylor

Harsh Thapar 

Carolina Vasilikou 

Laura Aelenei 

João Cabral 

Helder Gonçalves 

Michel Toussaint 

José María

de Lapuerta 

María José Manga 

Sebastián Severino 

Fundación Metropoli