Building Technology Laboratory
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this lab-based course on building technology and experimental methods. Students design and test strategies for daylighting, passive heating and cooling, and natural ventilation for indoor air quality, with projects varying by year. Lab work covers measurement and analysis of thermally driven and wind-driven airflows, lighting intensity and glare, and heat flow and thermal storage, conducted at both model and full scale. Several experiments are tied to ongoing field research in developing countries, grounding the lab exercises in real-world building performance problems. The course materials include lecture notes, lab assignments, and project descriptions from MIT's Department of Architecture. It suits students interested in the physical science underlying sustainable building design, combining classroom concepts with hands-on experimental testing rather than purely theoretical instruction.