Building materials. Essential materials for construction and design: mineral materials, wood, metal, glass and synthetics are presented and compared with regard to their constructional, physical and chemical characteristics, energy content, recyclability, sustainability and consistency of quality.

The energy balance of buildings. The fundamental concepts from the second semester are coupled with other energy-related factors, such as insolation, sun shades, the nonstationary behavior of building components, etc. to derive a sensible overall strategy for dealing with energy issues.

The fundamentals for the detailed construction of building elements:behavior of moisture and the humidity of air, surface condensation, mould growth, transport of moisture in multi-layer elements, tests for condensation and re-drying.