Sustainable material use in the Zero Pentathlon, a design assignment on holistic sustainable renovation of dwellings

Since six years, in the Zero Pentathlon design assignment, students in architecture have to develop a renovation concept for a detached dwelling, built before the eighties, taking into account 5 criteria: 1) nearly zero energy renovation, 2) sustainable material use, 3) sustainable water management, 4) architectural and functional qualities and 5) constructional logic. Since three years, they also treat the current occupants as their clients. The assignment is strictly scheduled and supported by means of tutoring, lectures, visits and design support tools for energy and material use. The paper first presents the concept of the assignment, the educational vision behind it and the evolution over the years. Then, it focusses on students’ material choices along the design process and on decision support for sustainable material use. Prior to this year’s assignment, a survey was conducted to investigate students’ drivers for material choices. Additionally, students were asked to keep a material diary during the design process to report about their major material decisions. The results of the survey and the material diaries, combined with a synthesis of material use in students’ designs, will be used to further enhance the integration of sustainable material use in future editions of the Zero Pentathlon.