Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning

Overview

The Master of Science Degree Programme "Resource Efficiency in Architecture and Planning" (REAP) is an international and interdisciplinary programme at HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU). It aims to enable participants to promote sustainable architecture and urban development in different geographical and cultural settings. While its main emphasis lies on technology for the provision of sustainable urban and building services, the programme also conquers new areas by investigating the socio-economic context in which these services are provided and managed. This includes understanding and addressing barriers to implementation, e.g. through the development of ideas for different forms of legal and economic organisation of planning, construction and urban services.

The REAP Masters programme is an exciting opportunity for those who aspire to extend their knowledge and understanding of innovative technologies which can contribute to a more sustainable urban built environment. It targets persons from all over the world, with a wide range of academic backgrounds and work experience, sharing an interest in technology and society, and a concern for urban life, as well as for interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving.

In detail, the programme:

• provides an overview of the complex relationships between building and urban services technology (i.e., building construction and renovation, energy and water supply, waste and wastewater management) and the environment (i.e., resources and space consumption, impacts on environmental media and ecosystems)

• gives insight into patterns of user demand and behaviour and how they affect the technology-environment interaction

• imparts knowledge of resource efficient technologies, e.g. energy generation from renewable sources, as well as underlying principles, such as source separation and the closing of material cycles, demand side management, decentralised, modularised service provision, etc.

• reviews experience with and conveys ideas for different forms of legal and economic organisation of planning, construction and urban services provision

• teaches study and research methods and techniques for planning and decision support