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Circular Economy for Sustainable Buildings

By Prof. Iyer Vijayalaxmi Kasinath   |   School of Planning and Architecture
Learners enrolled: 895   |  Exam registration: 356
ABOUT THE COURSE:

The idea of circular design in buildings is closely linked to the principles of a circular economy. It focuses on using resources efficiently, reducing waste, and creating buildings that are both sustainable and durable. In architecture and construction, circularity means designing buildings that can be reused, repurposed, or taken apart in a way that saves materials, harms the environment less, and lowers the demand for new resources. During the operation stage, buildings consume resources in the form of water and energy. Besides, solid and liquid waste is also generated by buildings. While there must be a focus on the conservation of embodied energy, it is equally important to understand how water and energy as a resource must be conserved during the life of a building. This can be achieved through the use of eco sensitive accessories, energy efficient heating, cooling and lighting accessories and also water conserving contraptions used for various purposes such as showers, faucets, taps, urinals, closets, kitchen sinks etc. Besides, the waste (solid and liquid) generated should also be reduced and recycled in line with circularity. This course also looks dimension of circular economy dealing with Resource Reuse & Recycling, Eco labelling of materials, Design of Adaptable buildings, Adaptability and Flexibility, and Design for Disassembly (DfD), Material Passport as a tool to resource conservation. 

INTENDED AUDIENCE: U.G and P.G. students in the Domain of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Town Planning.
Ph.D scholars, Faculty members, Green Building Industry Professionals

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Any of the Construction companies which focus on Green Building rating system
Summary
Course Status : Ongoing
Course Type : Core
Language for course content : English
Duration : 12 weeks
Category :
  • Architecture and Planning
  • Sustainable Architecture
Credit Points : 3
Level : Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date : 19 Jan 2026
End Date : 10 Apr 2026
Enrollment Ends : 02 Feb 2026
Exam Registration Ends : 20 Feb 2026
Exam Date : 17 Apr 2026 IST
NCrF Level   : 4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


Page Visits



Course layout

Week 1: 
  • Introduction to Resource Conservation in the Construction Sector - Land, Water and Energy
  • Significance of Resource Conservation- Water as a Resource
  • Carrying Capacity, Ecological Footprint, Resource conservation and its relevance to Eco Accessories
  • Significance of Eco sensitive Accessories - Part 1
Week 2: 
  • Significance of Eco sensitive Accessories - Part 2
  • Water as a resource
  • Water Efficiency
  • Waste water- sources and generation
Week 3: 
  • Efficient Water Management gadgets - Water Flow Regulator
  • Water Saving Faucets
  • Water Saving Urinals
  • Water Saving Toilets
Week 4: 
  • Low Flow Showers and Smart Showers
  • Water Leak detection and BIS
  • Energy as a resource
  • Energy Management Methods- Part 1
Week 5: 
  • Energy Management Methods- Part 2
  • Eco sensitive lighting accessories
  • Light Sensor
  • Energy Efficient Pumping and Cooling Systems
Week 6: 
  • Energy Efficient Fans and Low energy HVAC
  • Energy Efficient HVAC Filters
  • Bureau of Energy Efficiency
  • Solar Cooker
Week 7: 
  • Optimizing Efficiency and Sustainability: Building Management System
  • Rain Water Harvesting
  • Innovative Contraptions for water and light for a Circular Economy
  • Comprehensive approach to reduce Embodied Carbon in the Environment- Part 1
Week 8: 
  • Comprehensive approach to reduce Embodied Carbon in the Environment- Part 2
  • Circular Economy- Part 1
  • Circular Economy- Part 2
  • Circular Economy in the Built Environment
Week 9: 
  • Circular Economy in the Built Environment and other Sectors
  • Design for Adaptability- Part 1
  • Design for Adaptability- Part 2
  • Design for Disassembly
Week 10: 
  • Design for Disassembly- Case Studies
  • Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
  • Eco Labelling In India (GreenPro, Process, Benefits, Principles)
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories For Multifamily Residences (Holistic Application and Examples) –Electrical Accesories
Week 11: 
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories for Multifamily Residences (Holistic Application and Examples) -Kitchen Appliances
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories for Multifamily Residences (Holistic Application and Examples) Water Saving Contraptions
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories for Offices (Holistic Application and Examples) – Part 1 Lighting Control, Ventilation, furniture and Cleaning systems
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories For Offices (Holistic Application and Examples) – Part 2 Site Planning, Water Efficiency
Week 12: 
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories For Offices (Holistic Application and Examples) – Part 3
  • Eco Sensitive Accessories for Small Residences (Holistic Application and Examples) Part 1
  • Eco sensitive Accessories for small houses – Part 2 Smart Lighting System
  • Eco sensitive Accessories for small houses -Part 3. Bathroom Accessories, Outdoor Accessories Recap and Conclusion







Books and references

• Waste to Wealth- The Circular Economy Advantage, 2015, Peter Lacy , Jakob Rutqvist, 2015, Springer
• The circular economy handbook: Realizing the circular advantage, 2020, Peter Lacy, Jessica Long, Wesley Spindler:, Palgrave Macmillan, UK
• Natural Resource Conservation: Management for a Sustainable Future , 1998, Owen, O.S. and Chiras, D.D. and Reganold, J.P.,Prentice Hall

Instructor bio

Prof. Iyer Vijayalaxmi Kasinath

School of Planning and Architecture
Prof. Iyer Vijayalaxmi Kasinath is an architect who has completed her Ph.D. as an AICTE QIP Scholar and her Higher Research as an Erasmus Mundus Fellow for Academic Profile, from the Politechnico di Milano in the area of ‘Smart Materials and Nano technology in the Construction Industry’. She has over 28 years of experience in teaching architecture and specializes in Sustainable Built Environment and Climate Responsive Architecture. She is currently the Professor in the Department of Architecture at the School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada and the former Head of the Dept. and Dean (Research) there. She has completed funded research projects sponsored by the Government of India, and has published many technical papers in peer-reviewed blind refereed International journals and Scopus indexed books by reputed publishers. She has authored two scopus indexed books titled ‘Building Thermal Performance and Sustainability’ and ‘Embodied and Operational Carbon in Buildings’, Springer Publications, Singapore. She has also edited three Scopus indexed book by Springer Publications, Singapore. She has a Patent Published awaiting examination. She has received the award as faculty lead in the Solar Decathlon Competition from the Shri. Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences in 2022 and also in 2024. She is the recipient of the National Award for Teachers 2025 at the hand of the Honbl. President of India.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: April 17, 2026 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Madras .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team
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