Center for the Built Environment (CBE) Website 

At Berkeley, the building science faculty study environmental quality in buildings, and ways of producing desirable environments in an energy- and resource-efficient manner. The environmental attributes studied (thermal, luminous, air quality, acoustic) have both physical and psychological dimensions. The intellectual objective of graduate research in building science is uncovering the processes by which a building affects its occupants, evaluating the human/economic/energy consequences of the effects, and incorporating this knowledge in new procedures to design more acceptable buildings. A secondary objective is to prepare the student for a career involving building science, by having them participate in important funded research ongoing at Berkeley, and by engaging them in the activities of the professional societies where research is presented, debated, and put into forms that influence design practice.

Building science research at Berkeley can be divided into the following categories:

• Environmental requirements for occupant satisfaction: health, comfort, and productivity. We have worked extensively on thermal comfort standards appropriate for energy-conserving building design, on lighting and are also involved in ventilation and air quality standards. We have also developed climatic requirements for pedestrian safety and comfort in the outdoor environment.
   
• Design of climatically-adapted buildings that conserve energy and that may help preserve (in naturally heated and cooled buildings) long-standing architectural traditions and patterns of habitation. Although the general principles by which such buildings operate are well-known, it is very difficult to predict their actual performance in terms acceptable to an engineer. We have developed a number of computerized design methods to help put climatically-adapted architectural and site design on a quantified footing.
   
• New technology to improve the energy efficiency and quality of environmental control systems in buildings, both at the large commercial and the residential scale. Our past work has concentrated on heating and ventilating, lighting, windows and glazing, and new systems that provide occupants with control of their personal environments. We also develop technology and survey techniques with which one can diagnose how well an occupied building is performing.
   

Coursework is largely decided on an individual basis through consultation between the student and his or her advisor. In general each student will be required to develop competence in a range of building science topics that border the main topic of interest. Students often participate in research projects conducted by the faculty for external sponsors. Thesis research can be structured in many ways, but must be based on an appropriate combination of theory, modeling, and testing in the laboratory or field.