A new post-graduate course to improve the energy efficiency of buildings is to launch at The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment, at Robert Gordon University (RGU).
The course – PG Cert Building Retrofit – has been developed to improve the energy performance of the existing building stock and to help decarbonise and deliver a net zero carbon future.
Scottish Government targets aim to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with a commitment that gas boilers will no longer be installed in new homes from 2024. In Aberdeen, 45% of homes have no wall insulation, many suffer from damp problems and have poor indoor air quality, according to the Scottish House Condition Survey in 2019.
Course leader, Amar Bennadji, from The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment, said: “Given the fact that the great majority of buildings that will be in use in 2050 are already in existence, there is no more important an issue than improving existing housing stock and upgrading or retrofitting old houses with energy improvements, if net-zero targets are to be met.
“The Scott School of Architecture & Building is at the forefront of sustainable design having successfully been accredited as a member of the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC). The accreditation recognises the School’s record in improving the sustainability of the built environment, by transforming the way it is planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated.
“The new post-graduate course in Building Retrofit joins a portfolio of courses on offer at The Scott Sutherland School that have sustainability at their core and I’m delighted to be surrounded by such a dedicated team to develop the course.”
The PG Cert Building Retrofit course will be offered online to full time and part time students and will start in September 2022, with another intake in January. Students will develop specialist knowledge and skills required to effectively work in this field in the UK context.
As part of the course, they’ll consider the balance between performance, cost, and disruption such as putting insulation into an old property. The course contains two distinctive parts, a theoretical part followed by a simulated practical part with industry involved in the delivery.
