International semester Building life cycle management

The Building Life Cycle Management programme offers a focused introduction to architectural design and the full life cycle of buildings.
Open to students with a bachelor-level degree in building, civil engineering, architecture, or related fields, it delivers a 4.5-month autumn curriculum taught by international experts.
Courses, workshops, modelling sessions, and technical visits build skills in circular economy principles, facility management, smart buildings, and sustainable construction.
Interdisciplinary projects strengthen collaboration across design, sustainability, and building operations.

Visualisation of a twin green building project using BIM, highlighting sustainable design features and energy efficiency.

Contents

Mastering Architectural Design and Building Life Cycle Management

This programme is designed for students who have completed three years of study in civil engineering, architecture, or a related field and who wish to gain an in-depth understanding of architectural design and the full life cycle of buildings-from conception and construction to operation, maintenance, and sustainability management.

Over 4.5 months, students will be taught by more than 50 international experts through a combination of theoretical courses, applied workshops, digital modelling sessions, collaborative projects, and technical visits.

This semester takes place in the autumn.

Programme Objectives

This semester aims to train engineers capable of:

Applying the principles of Circular Economy in Real Estate to optimise resource use, reduce waste, and promote sustainable construction practices
Managing building operations effectively through Facility Management strategies, ensuring long-term performance and occupant satisfaction
Collaborating on complex, interdisciplinary challenges in the Global Project module, integrating design, sustainability, and management considerations
Designing and implementing Smart Buildings that leverage digital technologies and automation for energy efficiency, comfort, and operational optimisation
Developing expertise in Sustainable Buildings, including energy performance, environmental impact assessment, and low-carbon construction strategies

This programme emphasises a multidisciplinary and hands-on approach to meet the current and future needs of the building sector.

Teaching Program - Programme - S9 (Building Life-Cycle Management) & S10

UE × 5/5/10/5/5 ECTS.

Circular Economy in Real Estate60 h - 5 ECTS
Facility Management60 h - 5 ECTS
Global Project72 h - 10 ECTS
Smart Buildings60 h - 5 ECTS
Sustainable Buildings66 h - 5 ECTS

ECUE - Introduction to Real-Estate Economics & Management

Duration: 12 h

Expected Learning Outcomes

Read a project pro-forma; explain green-lease clauses and ESG drivers.
Map stakeholders, contracts and value creation in RE projects.

Indicative content

Market cycles, valuation, green leases, financing basics.
Risk/return profiles; governance & contracts in RE ops.

ECUE - Life-Cycle & Total-Cost Analysis

12 h

Expected Learning Outcomes

Model project cash-flows and interpret LCC indicators (NPV, TCO).
Compare variants using eLCC and sensitivity analysis.

Indicative content

eLCC, NPV, social-costing; KPI dashboards & reporting.
CAPEX/OPEX breakdown; risk allowances.

ECUE - Land-Use, Space & Adaptability

Expected Learning Outcomes

Analyse adaptability potential and reversible-use scenarios.
Integrate density, space metrics and user needs in concepts.

Indicative content

Density, reversibility, functional mix; space KPIs.
Regulatory & design levers for adaptability.

ECUE - Resilient & Future-Proof Solutions

Expected Learning Outcomes

Draft a resilience strategy using 2050 climate scenarios.
Argue robustness and business-continuity measures.

Indicative content

Hazards & robustness matrices; adaptation pathways.
Insurance, continuity & retrofitting levers.

ECUE - Circular Renovation Strategies

Expected Learning Outcomes

Develop a circular renovation concept at building/cluster scale.

Specify urban-mining, DfD and reuse provisions.

Indicative content

Urban mining, design-for-disassembly, reuse logistics.
KPIs & business models for circularity.

ECUE - Introduction - Principles, Processes & Procedures

Expected Learning Outcomes

Explain FM scope & strategic role (ISO 41001, EN 15221).
Map core processes and stakeholders over the asset life-cycle.

Indicative content

FM scope, management systems, asset life-cycle.
Process mapping, roles & governance.

ECUE - Facility Planning & FM Strategy

Expected Learning Outcomes

Develop an FM brief & space programme aligned with corporate goals.
Build scenario-based test-fits and translate them into FM requirements.

Indicative content

Demand analysis, space programming, long-range planning.
Make/Buy options, strategic alignment, road-mapping.

ECUE - HR Management & Workplace Productivity

Expected Learning Outcomes

Diagnose productivity blockers and propose HR/space actions.
Define workplace KPIs (absenteeism, engagement, utilisation).

Indicative content

Ergonomics, hybrid work, motivation, change impacts.
Well-being, inclusivity and space policies.

ECUE - Health, Safety & Security

Expected Learning Outcomes

Build a basic HSE plan and business-continuity checklist.
Perform a simple risk assessment and propose mitigations.

Indicative content

Risk hierarchy, BCM, crisis management.
Legal/regulatory basics; drills & audits.

ECUE - Outsourcing, Procurement & Partnerships

Expected Learning Outcomes

Draft service specs and KPI-based SLAs; run a compliant tender.
Use an evaluation matrix and negotiate value-based adjustments.

Indicative content

Make/Buy, SLAs, tendering, contract KPIs & penalties/bonuses.
Performance-based procurement and contract governance.

ECUE - Performance Management

Expected Learning Outcomes

Select KPI families and build a dashboard & commentary.
Perform variance analysis and propose corrective actions.

Indicative content

Benchmarking, SLA/OLA reviews, reporting cadence.
Continuous-improvement loops (PDCA/Lean).

ECUE - Maintenance Management

Expected Learning Outcomes

Compute MTBF/availability and plan a maintenance budget.
Prioritise work orders and choose strategies (RCM vs TBM).

Indicative content

Preventive vs predictive, CMMS, reliability basics.
Resource planning, spare parts & SLAs.

ECUE - Information Management

Expected Learning Outcomes

Configure a CDE and export/validate COBie.
Define Asset Information Requirements and CAFM/CMMS data flows.

Indicative content

CDE, COBie, CAFM integrations; information handover.
Governance, roles, audits & data-quality rules.

ECUE - Change Management & Innovation

Expected Learning Outcomes

Design a change roadmap and a pilot/quick-win.
Stakeholder analysis and tailor communications (ADKAR/Kotter).

Indicative content

Innovation scans, pilots, value cases.
Communication plan, adoption metrics, retrospectives.

ECUE - Multidisciplinary Project Management (CPM)

Expected Learning Outcomes

Structure a multi-trade WBS, plan dependencies and manage interfaces (interface matrix, RACI, reviews).
Steer progress with milestones, risks & change logs; run effective coordination meetings (design/BIM issues).

Indicative content

WBS, governance, interface management; coordination routines & design reviews, issue tracking.
Progress measurement & reporting (milestones, Earned-Value lite), risk & change control.

CUE - Corporate Social Responsibility

Expected Learning Outcomes

Apply CSR & ethics to the project (materiality, stakeholders, code of conduct).
Define indicators, governance and reporting rhythms.

Indicative content

Materiality & stakeholder mapping; responsible procurement.
Reporting frameworks (GRI/ESG), KPI dashboard.

ECUE - Intercultural Team Management

Expected Learning Outcomes

Collaborate effectively in international teams; anticipate bias & conflict.
Adapt communication to cultural profiles; run effective remote meetings.

Indicative content

Intercultural models (Hofstede, Lewis); feedback & conflict resolution.
Remote collaboration rituals, facilitation & decision-making.

ECUE - Project Management (Synthesis)

Expected Learning Outcomes

Consolidate scope, cost, schedule & risk into an integrated management plan.
Prepare governance pack: RACI, meeting map, reporting & decision rules.

Indicative content

PMBoK overview; integration with CPM & CSR streams.
Gate reviews, baselines, change requests.

ECUE - Introduction - User-Adapted & Smart Buildings

Expected Learning Outcomes

Define smart-building KPIs and maturity levels.
Identify core use-cases and value drivers for owners/occupants.

Indicative content

Typologies, ISO 30145, maturity models; benefits panorama.
Data & services landscape (BMS, IoT, analytics).

ECUE - Building-Performance Follow-up, Measurement & Optimisation

Expected Learning Outcomes

Build a performance KPI dashboard and detect drift with basic FDD.
Set baselines and outline an M&V plan (IPMVP-lite).

Indicative content

BMS data, retro-commissioning, FDD methods.
Analytics/visualisation; anomaly triage & actions.

ECUE - Big-Data, Inter-connectivity, Cloud/IoT, ML & AI

Expected Learning Outcomes

Set up a simple IoT stack and pipeline; train a baseline ML model.
Assess data quality, privacy and cyber-security constraints.

Indicative content

Edge vs cloud, digital twins, data pipelines & storage.
Intro ML models & evaluation; governance & security basics.

ECUE - User-Adaptation & Human-Building Interaction

Expected Learning Outcomes

Prototype a UX dashboard and feedback loops (nudging).
Design a behaviour-change experiment with clear metrics.

Indicative content

UX design, surveys, comfort & feedback channels.
Privacy, consent, A/B tests & evaluation.

ECUE - Smart Materials

Expected Learning Outcomes

Evaluate suitability and trade-offs of smart materials.
Quantify life-cycle/maintenance implications vs conventional options.

Indicative content

PCMs, electrochromic façades, self-healing materials.
Integration constraints, reliability & maintainability.

ECUE - From Smart Buildings to Smart Cities

Expected Learning Outcomes

Map building-city data flows and interoperability needs.
Propose a district-level data integration storyboard (use-cases, actors).

Indicative content

City platforms, standards, resilience & flexibility markets.
District-scale case studies; governance & business models.

ECUE - Introduction - Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL) Approach

Expected Learning Outcomes

Apply the TBL lens to concept options and stakeholder value.
Translate TBL into measurable KPIs and trade-off charts.

Indicative content

People-Planet-Profit metrics; ESG & materiality; decision framing.
Case reviews and TBL scorecards.

ECUE - Bioclimatic Architecture

Expected Learning Outcomes

Optimise orientation/form using climate charts; propose passive solutions.
Quantify passive gains and comfort hours with simple calcs.

Indicative content

Climate analysis, shading, natural ventilation; comfort targets.
Early-stage sizing and quick models.

ECUE - High-Performance Buildings & Resource Efficiency

Expected Learning Outcomes

Size envelope/RES for NZEB; evaluate embodied & operational impacts.
Build an energy balance and justify choices with LCC.

Indicative content

Passive House/NZEB, embodied carbon, RES options.
Trade-offs, cost & LCC basics; compliance checks.

ECUE - Integrated Systems Approach to Building-Services Design

Expected Learning Outcomes

Produce concept diagrams balancing loads, RES and controls.
Draft control logic (functional scheme) and commissioning plan.

Indicative content

HVAC, renewables, controls integration; operability.
Commissioning, metering & handover.

ECUE - Modelling Tools for High-Performance Design

Expected Learning Outcomes

Build a parametric model and run quick LCA/comfort scenarios.
Automate sensitivity studies and present results clearly.

Indicative content

Rhino/Grasshopper-Ladybug; OneClick LCA (or eq.).
Data exchange workflows; QA/QC routines.

ECUE - Buildings → Clusters → Precincts → Cities

Expected Learning Outcomes

Explain scale effects; assess district energy & mobility solutions.
Compare two district scenarios using KPIs (energy, comfort, CO₂).

Indicative content

District heating/cooling, eco-district case studies.
KPIs, governance & financing models.

Why Choose This Semester at BUILDERS School of Engineering?

A unique multidisciplinary programme:
Integrating construction techniques, economics, law, and environmental aspects.

High-quality teaching:
Delivered by more than 50 international experts from partner universities and industry.

A professional, hands-on approach:
Including real-world projects, technical visits, and laboratory work.

Immersion in an international environment:
Encouraging intercultural exchange and academic collaboration.

A strong career asset:
Developing cross-disciplinary skills that are highly valued in the building and infrastructure sectors.

Campus: Caen
Applications: Open to French and international students.

Semester : Autumn semester, from September to January