Peter Land was interested in something like it 15 years ago and does some very interesting work now. Len Bihler and others like David Sharpe told us that natural ventilation had no place in commercial construction. Have they changed their minds?

There's a lot of hype about sustainability everywhere but I think there are some at IIT that take it very seriously. And other places as well...

It's an expensive school to attend. A cheaper school maybe a more sustainable option!

I haven't experienced it directly in design studios. But classes like energy conciouc design do cover sustainable issues.

as of a few years ago, it was a general approach that the school talked about, and individual professors individually pushed sustainability to varying degrees. (some not at all, but almost everyone talked about it)

it was all around us, but I'm not sure there was a studio that was devoted to something like a zero net energy home, with the exception of maybe Land's topics. our mech/elec class was heavy in passive design, renewable energy, and other sustainable practices. Elective studios are very independent and it really depends on your professor. And I doubt the core undergrad curriculum has devoted a significant amount of time to the topic.

outside of arch, the school as a whole has been pushing the topic. especially for all their engineering students. A large chunk of IPRO's (req'd group projects with people from other disciplines) deal with saving the earth. I worked on a sustainable site plan for IIT's suburban campus. I think they were working on designing a hydrogen fueling station prototype with some zero net energy goals. I was pleasantly surprised when I visited chicago's center for green technology, IPRO boards were hung upstairs. (not ours :( though it's probably all old news by now)

In the Architectural Engineering program IIT also has a variety of classes that touch on sustainability. These include courses on building science and ventilation design, thermodynamics etc. They teach the technical aspects of efficient building enclosure design, window selection etc. etc.

In general I would say the structural engineer courses do not specifcally discuss sustainability. On the other hand, by the vary nature of structural design, material minimization and efficiency are overarching goals that play a prominent role in any system.

I'll throw a second for Peter Land's work. His courses still focus on high technology and sustainability.

Jamchar,

the question is What does Jamchar want to per sue. if you want to focus on sustainability then go for it. I dont understand why people think Sustainability is such a new word. you will find that IIT has a program flexible enough to accommodate your goals. you can go for the Starchitect studios (aka the crazies) they know who they are, or you can go to A studio that will actually teach you how to build some thing.