Special Course in Building Physical Design (5 ECTS)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will know fundamentals of sustainable development and principles of heat and moisture transfer and air flows in structures. Student is able to consider heat and moisture performance of the structures constructed, as well as to calculate moisture and mould risks of different building materials and structures. Student knows transfer phenomena of pollutants and will be able to model the behavior of pollutants. The student knows the causes of moisture and mold damages, as well as different methods to measure temperature and relative humidity. Student knows the factors that affect on the energy efficiency of buildings, as well as know the basics of acoustical design of buildings.

Content

Introduction to sustainable development
Thermal bridges in structures
1-dimensional computational analysis of temperature and humidity of structures in non-steady state conditions
1-dimensional computational analysis of temperature and humidity of structures in steady state environment
Transfer of indoor air pollutants
Causes for moisture and mold damage
Mold indexes
Measurement of temperature and relative humidity
Energy efficiency of buildings
Fundamentals of building acoustics

Teaching methods

Lectures, tasks, 3 home assignments, exam

Location and time

Myllypurontie 1 Helsinki. Dates and class rooms in schedule

Learning materials and recommended literature

Lecture notes
Siikanen, Unto, Rakennusfysiikka. Perusteet ja sovellukset. Rakennustieto 2014. Chapters1-4 and 6-7
RIL 255-1-2014 Rakennusfysiikka : 1, Rakennusfysikaalinen suunnittelu ja tutkimukset Vinha, Juha. Suomen Rakennusinsinöörien liitto 2014.
Chapters 1-3
Rakennuksen kosteus- ja sisäilmatekninen kuntotutkimus -opas
http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/75517 Chapter 5
Rakennusten kosteustekninen toimivuus
Ympäristöministeriön ohje rakennusten kosteusteknisestä toimivuudesta
https://ym.fi/documents/1410903/38439968/Ohje_Rakennusten-kosteustekninen-toimivuus-2020-F3A686EA_E374_4983_A396_CC15D6830B7B-156354.pdf/323bffe4-19f4-9b97-6c59-d314db622cb4/Ohje_Rakennusten-kosteustekninen-toimivuus-2020-F3A686EA_E374_4983_A396_CC15D6830B7B-156354.pdf?t=1603260109033

Exam dates and retake possibilities

18.12.2025 9-12 MPA3018. Re-exams in January will be announced later.

Student workload

Lectures 36 h
Home assignments 9 h
Reading for the exam 87 h
Exam 3 h

Assessment methods and criteria

Exam 0-5, assigments passed/to be corrected/failed

Evaluation criteria in Curriculum:

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena and factors affecting on them
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate simple problems of thermal and moisture performance of structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in simple cases
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air and make an estimate of measurements

Assessment criteria, good (3)

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development and list the UN's sustainable development goals
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena, factors affecting on them and explain calculation methods
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer and their effect on indoor air concentrations
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems and classify reasons in buildings of different time periods
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate problems of thermal and moisture performance of multi-layer structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in different cases
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air and make an estimate of measurements

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development, list the UN's sustainable development goals and analyze the meaning in terms of the construction industry
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena, factors affecting on them, explain calculation methods and analyze reliability of the calculations
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer and their effect on indoor air concentrations
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems and classify reasons in buildings of different time periods
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate problems of thermal and moisture performance of multi-layer structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in different cases and analyze results
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air, make an estimate of measurements and propose necessary follow-up measures

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena and factors affecting on them
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate simple problems of thermal and moisture performance of structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in simple cases
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air and make an estimate of measurements

Evaluation scale

0-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena and factors affecting on them
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate simple problems of thermal and moisture performance of structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in simple cases
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air and make an estimate of measurements

Assessment criteria, good (3)

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development and list the UN's sustainable development goals
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena, factors affecting on them and explain calculation methods
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer and their effect on indoor air concentrations
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems and classify reasons in buildings of different time periods
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate problems of thermal and moisture performance of multi-layer structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in different cases
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air and make an estimate of measurements

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development, list the UN's sustainable development goals and analyze the meaning in terms of the construction industry
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena, factors affecting on them, explain calculation methods and analyze reliability of the calculations
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer and their effect on indoor air concentrations
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems and classify reasons in buildings of different time periods
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate problems of thermal and moisture performance of multi-layer structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in different cases and analyze results
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air, make an estimate of measurements and propose necessary follow-up measures

Assessment criteria, approved/failed

The student is able to:
-explain the definition of sustainable development
-list temperature, humidity and fluid dynamics phenomena and factors affecting on them
-explain significance of cold bridges in buildings and ways to take them into account in planning
-explain the problems associated with indoor air pollutants transfer
-list reasons for moisture and mold problems
-use different methods for measuring room air temperature and relative humidity
-calculate simple problems of thermal and moisture performance of structures
-design room acoustics in some basic cases
-calculate mould risk of different building materials and structures in simple cases
-measure humidity of structures and indoor air and make an estimate of measurements