Net zero energy building design methodologies include integrative approaches and numerical tools to provide optimal performance and cost-effective results. Team integration, characterized by knowledge transfer between disciplines, has yet to be quantified for the design processes of these buildings. This article proposes a specific methodology for designing net zero energy buildings, tested through a case study design process conducted in an academic setting at Universidad Centroamericana in El Salvador, with the participation of students and faculty members. Through a survey, interdisciplinary knowledge transfer between team members was measured. We found that, without additional instruction, team participants outperformed a control group without project involvement by 16.4% (P < 0.002, t-test) in terms of interdisciplinary knowledge. This result implies that designers acquire new knowledge from other disciplines by interacting and solving design problems, although such acquisition is not uniform between disciplines. Remarkably, results show that the disciplinary groups that acquired the most knowledge about each other are Mechanical Engineering students and Architecture students. These results help us understand how to improve the design process, limit boundaries for disciplinary interactions, and determine which specific knowledge gaps to target per discipline in engineering and architecture education.

The recent IPCC 2023 report reiterates that humans are responsible for global warming over the past 200 years, causing a rise in temperature of 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels, urging the implementation of mitigation options, especially in the building energy sector. One strong mitigation strategy is designing and building net zero energy buildings (NZEB), although their implementation faces challenges such as opposition to change, especially in tropical countries with traditional and conservative design and construction practices. This paper uses data from a pilot NZEB Laboratory building at UCA, El Salvador, and details its results by comparing different construction system scenarios. The present work presents the results of the Life-cycle assessment (LCA) in three popular construction systems in El Salvador, comparing them with the baseline of its current operation, through 3 iterative calculation tools: structural, thermal and carbon footprint estimation, managing to visualize important findings on how vernacular systems could meet the NZEB performance with added insulation in the structural walls. In addition, a triple-axis sustainability analysis (environmental, economic and social) is conducted using the weighted criteria matrix, which provides nuanced results, such as the proportional share of embodied carbon between the proposals, there is not much difference between the results of the proposed systems, but compared to the baseline, the proposals represent a significant increase of more than 50%. Our results show that in this context, the scalability of NZEB buildings is feasible for different construction systems, paving the way for a progressive and incremental.

Este proyecto de investigación busca responder a esta pregunta central: “¿Cuáles son los procesos de transformación no industrializado y qué características debe poseer el plástico PET reciclado para que sea reutilizado cómo materia prima para la producción de nuevos materiales de construcción?”. Para intentar responder la pregunta de investigación, se parte de la hipótesis central: que sí es posible controlar los parámetros que inciden en el proceso de transformación no industrializado del plástico PET reciclado para garantizar que las propiedades físicas cumplan con los parámetros que son requeridos a los materiales de construcción para cubierta de techo y recubrimiento en paredes. La comprobación de esta hipótesis requiere de nuevos enfoques de investigación interdisciplinar en pro del estudio de características físicas y operativas propias del material para verificar, así, la factibilidad de convertirse en material de construcción en el contexto salvadoreño

Al segon any de l'esdeveniment mundial de pandèmia 2021 i amb restriccions encara vigents, aprofitant les oportunitats que les tecnologies de la informació (TIC) brinden a l'activitat docent, es va organitzar un projecte acadèmic innovador denominat Setmana de la Tecnologia en Arquitectura (STArq) , que va comptar amb la participació de professors de tres universitats, la Universitat Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas UCA a El Salvador, Amèrica Central, La Universitat Nacional de La Plata a Argentina i la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya a Espanya. L'objectiu de STArq ha estat motivar l'alumnat a un desenvolupament integral i innovador d'un projecte d'arquitectura vertical amb un enfocament de sostenibilitat, però sobretot contribuir al desenvolupament de la capacitat de síntesi per exposar les idees en un àmbit internacional, a mitjançant metodologia basada en projectes ABP i metodologia de disseny integratiu. In the second year of the global pandemic event 2021 and with restrictions still in force, taking advantage of the opportunities that information technologies (ICT) provide to teaching activity, an innovative academic project called Technology week in Architecture (STArq) was organized, which was attended by professors from three universities, the Central American University José Simeón Cañas UCA in El Salvador, Central America, The National University of La Plata in Argentina and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain. The objective of STArq has been to motivate students to an integral and innovative development of a vertical architecture project with a focus on sustainability, but above all to contribute to the development of the synthesis capacity to expose their ideas in an international scope, through methodology based on ABP projects and integrative design methodology. En el segundo año del evento mundial de pandemia 2021 y con restricciones aún vigentes, aprovechando las oportunidades que las tecnologías de la información (TIC) brindan a la actividad docente, se organizó un proyecto académico innovador denominado Semana de la Tecnología en Arquitectura (STArq), que contó con la participación de profesores de tres universidades, la Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas UCA en El Salvador, América Central, La Universidad Nacional de La Plata en Argentina y la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña en España. El objetivo de STArq, ha sido, motivar al alumnado a un desarrollo integral e innovador de un proyecto de arquitectura vertical con un enfoque de sostenibilidad, pero sobre todo contribuir al desarrollo de la capacidad de síntesis para exponer sus ideas en un ámbito internacional, a través de metodología basada en proyectos ABP y metodología de diseño integrativo.