Introduction

Natural and bio-based materials such as timber, bamboo, straw, earth, and bio-fibres have enormous potential to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Yet using these materials successfully requires a solid understanding of building physics, environmental performance, and sustainable design principles.
Bio-LCArch (Bio-Design for Low Carbon Architecture) is an educational initiative developed by Aalto University (Finland) and Beijing Jiaotong University (China) to help prepare the next generation of professionals for this transition. The project develops open educational resources that combine fundamentals of building physics, energy efficiency, and sustainable construction. 
Rather than treating sustainability as a separate topic, Bio-LCArch places it at the heart of engineering and architectural education. Our goal is to help students understand why sustainable bio-based constructive solutions matter, how they perform, and how to evaluate and apply them using the same scientific rigour employed for conventional construction.

What will you learn?

You will develop practical skills using industry- and research-relevant software and performance assessment methods, preparing you to make informed design decisions for low-carbon buildings.
After completing Bio-LCArch modules, you will be able to:

• Identify bio-based and low-carbon construction materials and their applications.Explain the fundamentals of heat and moisture transfer in conventional and bio-based building envelopes.
• Perform preliminary numerical assessments of thermal comfort, energy use, moisture safety, and carbon footprint.
• Apply laboratory methods to characterize the hygrothermal properties of building materials.
• Evaluate real-world case studies from Europe and China to support performance-based design.

How to navigate through the course

This is the landing page for the course. Once you have read the introduction and learning objectives, you may navigate the course modules in the side bar.

The course is divided into 4 modules - theory, hands-on laboratory practicals, calculations & exercises, and real-life case studies. The first three modules have multiple sections, each with a focus on different fields of building physics - heat transfer, moisture transfer, and sustainability.