Tech 4, Integrated Building Systems

Fall 2025

 

Link to Syllabus (pdf version)

Link to Schedule

Link to Project Toolbox 

 

Syllabus  

  

1. Course Description  

Integrated Building Systems - Tech IV - is a course emphasizing the integration of technical domains like life safety, fire protection, environmental systems, structure, and enclosures, to aid interdisciplinary collaboration and provide the course participants with a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in modern building design. One of the central challenges in building construction is the part-to-whole problem, where building components, systems, and processes must come together seamlessly to form a cohesive whole. Architects, engineers, fabricators, and erectors play pivotal roles in developing each part. Among them, architects hold a critical role in ensuring that the design intentions remain intact while orchestrating the successful synthesis of these elements.

An essential aspect of the course involves gaining a better understanding of different building systems and the constraints associated with them. Architects can integrate these systems more comprehensively and effectively by comprehending the intricacies of life safety, fire protection, environmental systems, structures, and enclosures. This integration leads to elegance and overall efficiency in the design of buildings with a higher likelihood of being successfully constructed. The course takes a fresh and comprehensive approach to examining the primary systems within a building. Participants explore the key drivers, requirements, and intentions surrounding each system, allowing for a deeper appreciation of their role in shaping the overall design. Techniques for rapidly iterating around design ideas and strategies are introduced to enable participants to fine-tune their designs efficiently.

The course's primary objective is to provide participants with an intensive introduction to the practical application of technical systems in design. They are tasked with validating their design ideas against technical constraints and translating theory into real-world scenarios. Throughout the course, participants delve into the technical aspects of architecture, focusing on how these aspects reinforce and support design intentions. Concepts such as beauty, sustainability, functionality, and integration with the surroundings are at the forefront of the discussions. Various elements of building design, including structural form, environmental systems, materials, construction methods, and fire protection elements, are systematically developed and integrated to create a coherent design.

Structured in two modules, the course combines theoretical knowledge with practical applications. The first module involves lectures on technical topics, equipping participants with the necessary foundational knowledge. The second module is designed to encourage real-case applications. Working in teams, participants will select a design concept from the previous Core Studio II, and with the guidance of mentors, they further develop this concept into a highly-detailed design. The project shall strive to achieve the highest standards in terms of carbon neutrality, sustainability, and resiliency. The tension between design intent and the technical constraints fosters a critical decision-making process, allowing for thoughtful and informed design choices.

 

2. Course Schedule Summary 

The table below provides initial details for the timeframe. Knowing some dates may change, please refer to the Lecture and Crit Schedule for updated information.

 

Content	Date
Lectures	Tuesdays 2-3pm
Team Desk Crits	Tuesdays 3-5pm
Revit Primer	Sep 2 (2-3 pm) Follow-up session right after mid-term
Submissions & Reviews	Mid-term – 10/14 Finals – 12/9 Package submission – 12/9
Professor Office Hours	Rotating Tue 3-6  Other days by appointment
TA Office Hours	By appointment

 

3. Instructors & Critics

Instructor:  Berardo Matalucci, bm2996

Teaching Assistants:  Cherry Zhan (yz3753) Dajin Wang (dw3091)

Revit Instructors:  Joseph Brennan, jab2315

4. Course Content

A. Lectures  Tue 2-3pm

We will cover a specific technical concept each week through a series of lectures. These lectures will explore essential disciplines, including life safety, egress, fire protection, structure, mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems, and sustainability. The primary objective of these lectures is to encourage each system's development and seamless integration. Students will have access to lecture materials on Canvas, but using laptops during lectures is strongly discouraged. The lecture subjects are as follows:

 

• Revit Work Session,  Sep 2
• Introduction to Building System Integration, Sep 9
• Egress and Life Safety, Sep 16
• Sustainable Design,  Sep 23
• Structural Systems, Sep 30
• Mechanical Systems Systems, Oct 7
• Advanced Fabrication, Oct 21
• Team and Work Culture, Oct 28
• Light, Data, Security, Communication, Electrical Systems, Nov 11
• Water, Fire Protection Systems, Nov 18

Each lecture is taught through analysis, principles, and analysis as follows: 

• Design/Conceptual History and Development
• Cultural Context of Construction Topic
• Processes of Assembly, Performance and Materials
• Applications and Case Studies
• Direct Application to Project

 

B. Project Workshop Tue 3-5pm

The main focus of the course is the project workshop, where students will work in small teams on their projects. Teams will pick a project from Core Architecture Studio II's previous semester and work collaboratively on integrating different building systems. Once the project concept is selected, the course will progress through various systems, including structural form, life safety, fire protection, environmental systems, and envelope design. Constructive processes and assemblies will be developed, and opportunities for prefabrication will be explored.

Students will present their progress through weekly small group crits. A reviewing team consisting of an architect, a structural engineer, an enclosure specialist, and an MEP/Sustainable engineer will provide guidance during these consultations. The workshop will follow an iterative design approach, refining the project through drawing and analysis, mirroring the typical project phases from conceptual design to design development documents in many design firms.

The project's journey will begin with a conceptual design phase, where students will investigate environmental concepts, structural systems, egress, and construction systems. Design development will follow, refining the building by sizing and integrating mechanical and structural components, as well as developing the construction of the building envelope. Finally, the participants will focus on developing details, assemblies, and the ability to integrate various systems seamlessly. The project shall strive to achieve the highest standard in terms of carbon neutrality, sustainability, and resiliency.

 

C. Building Information Modelling  

Course deliverables are best done using 3D Building Information Modelling (BIM) software.  A primer will introduce basic concepts of BIM through the use of the software Autodesk® Revit®.  The workshop is held during the first week of classes.

The goal of the use of Revit® is to provide a tool for learning the relationship between architectural design intentions and material and building construction decisions. BIM software provides the flexibility to provide changes to the building model in response to changes in wall types, material choices, window and door types and dimensions, structural systems, and materials, etc. Drawing output from the BIM models can also facilitate student learning by providing a faster and more thorough means to analyze, review, discuss and modify architectural / construction design relationships in the context of construction lab discussions. 

Further training will be provided in Video Tutorials will provide a basic introduction to the tools necessary to complete each step of an assignment. Building Information Modelling (BIM) software (such as Revit®) is playing a larger and larger role in how architects design and communicate and share project information with other design professionals and consultants including structural and mechanical engineers, lighting consultants, acoustic consultants, cost analysis consultants, etc.  As designers entering into the architecture profession at this time, it is crucial to develop expertise in the organization and workflow of BIM systems. 

The Revit work session will provide an overview of the possibilities of using Revit and Rhino for advanced coordination and execution of complex projects. The session will focus on suggesting approaches rather than explaining the practical use of the tools. A list of video tutorials is provided below. Students are required to view the recordings and get familiar with Revit. 

 

Link to video training resources.

 

5. Grading

In this course, every effort is made to grade impartially and to the best of our knowledge about performance.  Because the main deliverable of the course is a team effort, the same grade is assigned to all students within the team.  Occasionally, individual grades may be awarded for exceptional or deficient performance within a group.  Grading is based on the following criteria:

 

	Submission
	Submission & Review	Mid-term package		40%
		Final package		45%
	Process &  Professionalism	Team collaboration Assignments and Preparedness to weekly crits Punctuality and Attendance Sketches, project organization Responsiveness to critic feedback Lecture attendance		15%

 

Submission and Review are evaluated based on the following criteria: 

• Design and Technical Coherence
• Integration of Systems
• Sustainability approach and integration
• Complexity and Quality of Deliverables
  • Quality of drawing deliverables
  • Clarity of the design in drawing form

 

Presentations at reviews and desk crits (presentation by all group required)

Final grades are assessed on a class-wide basis and are graded on a curve based on the following percentages: 

High Pass	>90%
Pass	60 – 90%
Low Pass	50 – 60%
Fail	<50%

 

6. Policies & Academic Integrity

• If you require accommodation for a disability or any special need, please let me know as soon as possible.  Aspects of the course may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress.
• All students are held to the academic policies of the University.
• Plagiarism is knowingly presenting another person’s ideas, findings, images, or written work as one’s own by copying or reproducing without acknowledgment of the sources. It is intellectual theft that violates basic academic standards. In order to uphold an equal evaluation for all work submitted cases of plagiarism will be reviewed by the individual faculty member and/or the Dean. Punitive measures will range from failure of an assignment to expulsion from the University.
• Students who miss deadlines due to valid extenuating circumstances may submit the required work at a later date, as agreed upon with the instructor. University regulations limit such circumstances to serious personal illness and death in the immediate family. Unexcused late projects will not be accepted, incomplete projects will be evaluated in relation to their degree of completion, and a student will be allowed to present such work only with instructor approval. Lectures and demonstrations cannot be repeated.  There is no excuse for late submittals, late attendance at reviews or pin ups, due to printer or computer problems. You have to organize your output ahead of time or find other resources outside the college to complete your work on time.   Late work will be accepted only at the discretion of the instructors and is subject to a 5% grade deduction for every 24 hours past the deadline.
• The final course evaluations are important to the quality of instruction.  Please take the necessary time to critically and constructively evaluate the course as well as the instructor’s quality of instruction and guidance in relation to your own participation in the course, engagement in the subject matter as well as your interaction with your peers and your instructor.
• The instructors are committed to maintaining and coordinating processes to support students with mental health difficulties.  Please reach out confidentially should any issues arise during the course of the semester.

 

7. References

Reference excerpts from these texts will be provided for relevant class assignments and in support of lecture and crit materials.  The reference books will be provided at the library and in the studio.  Some are very useful reference books and it is recommended that students purchase the texts for future reference in studio work. 

• Advanced Building Systems, Klaus Daniels, Birkhauser Edition
• Building Code of the City of New York 2014 and Referenced Standards
• Detail Magazine
• Construction Manual Series, Bikhauser Edition
• Fundamentals of Building Construction, Allen and Iano.
• The Architects Studio Companion, Allen and Iano.
• Constructing Architecture: Materials, Processes, Structures, Deplazes.
• Heating, Cooling, Lighting. Lechner.
• Structures. Schodek, Daniel.  Bechthold, Martin.
• Professional Practice of Architectural Working Drawings.  Wakita, O et al.
• Building Systems Integration.  Vassigh, S. and  Chandler J.
• Integrated Buildings : Systems Basis of Architecture.  Bachman,