This course introduces environmental principles and approaches to ecological design as they relate to the built environment. The class will prepare students to understand their physical environment: how elements in the built environment interact to modify both space and climate. Students will develop a theoretical, technical, and experiential understanding of how the physical aspects of a building mediate between occupants and elements to make a habitable environment. The material will be presented to provoke studio design issues and to provide an understanding of the architectural integration of environmentally conscious design strategies. The course content will include climate analysis, thermal comfort, psychrometrics, ventilation and indoor air quality, thermal performance of building envelope materials, embodied carbon, lighting and daylighting principles.