The master programme has the following main themes:
- Energy and sustainable development
- Green architecture and design
- Management and personal development
- Business development and intercultural understanding
The programme is based on education sessions, split in four modules.
1st semester - Understanding energy and green architecture:
The scope is to make the master candidates understand the theories and the mechanisms behind energy politics, ecosystemic thinking, green architecture and sustainable retrofitting. The master candidates must also understand the market and the cultural differences in different parts of the world - e.g. Europe and China - which influence the building and the housing sector.
During the first semester there is one session in Denmark, Aarhus and one session in China, Beijing. The session in Aarhus includes a study trip to Austria and Germany and the session in Beijing includes a study round tour of Beijing.
2nd semester - Developing innovative solutions for cities and buildings
The scope is to develop principles of sustainable planning/eco cities and green architecture, incorporating existing cultural and technical traditions, and enabling the master candidates to develop highly innovative and advanced solutions. A very important element is the design of innovative processes and the developing of a market for innovative solutions. The semester includes certification as Certified Passive House Planner.
The semester is structured as two virtual Design Studios of two months each, one in city scale and one in architectural scale. The master candidates attend to these studios via Internet.
3rd semester - Implementation of energy projects in China and Denmark:
The semester is focused on implementation and includes a two week workshop in Beijing in cooperation with Chinese and Danish companies.
Tsinghua Urban Planning and Design Institute is involved in developing building projects in China and will lead this theme. The master candidates play a leading role in developing super low energy projects, using the knowhow developed during the master programme and being part of a Chinese/Danish project team in cooperation with THUPDI and Tsinghua University.
4th semester - Master Thesis:
The semester starts with an internet seminar in academic writing and working with the themes and central issues of the master thesis. The rest of the semester is concerned with writing the master thesis, which is written individually by the master students.
The defence of the thesis will take place at Aarhus School of Architecture.
See prospective classes in the Danish description of the course.