Building Engineers are responsible for designing the engineering systems in buildings. These systems consume almost half of all the energy we use today. Building Engineers together with architects design energy efficient and environmentally-friendly buildings.

All the mechanical and electrical systems inside a building which make it safe, make it work and make it a great place to be, come under the title of ‘Building Engineering’.

How do we design buildings that consume much less or even no energy at all? This is the challenge that you’ll face as a modern Building Engineer.

There is a strong emphasis throughout the course on low energy design and the application of what you learn through practical and project work. When you’ve completed the course you will have a detailed knowledge of the design of energy efficient engineering systems in modern buildings.

In the first year you’ll complete a “design, make and test” project. An example of this could be to design, make and test a solar collector. You will learn about how energy is used in buildings, how to design heating and ventilation systems and undertake mini project work. You will also study physics and maths.

In the second year you’ll learn more about the design of mechanical and electrical engineering systems and buildings using computer aided design. You will learn about assessing the energy performance and energy rating of buildings. Projects are an important part of the second year allowing you to apply what you have learnt during the lectures to an actual building. You will complete two design projects in the second year working in a group with other students.

The third year of the course includes the major design project and dissertation. The main design project builds on the project in the second year. You will design all the engineering systems for a large commercial building including design drawings and calculations. The dissertation is a detailed study into one area of your project that you find interesting. This might be about solar energy or a new method of air conditioning.

Study Abroad Opportunities

On progression from this programme to the level 8 (TU825) honours degree programme, you have the option of spending 6 months with the Hochschule Munchen (University of Applied Sciences in Munich) which has nine specialist laboratories covering all aspects of Building Engineering.

Professional Accreditation

This programme is accredited by Engineers Ireland and you can work anywhere in the world.

Further Study

Students who reach the appropriate level in the final year have the opportunity to join Year 3 of the Building Engineering Sustainable Energy Systems Honours Degree in TU Dublin.

Work Placement

We work with 20 industry partners to secure informal work placement over the summer for our students, both in Ireland and abroad.

Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) is Ireland’s first Technological University, offering a unique range of programmes and disciplines, with pathways to graduation from foundation and apprenticeship to undergraduate and doctoral levels. TU Dublin is the University where the arts, business, sciences, engineering and technology converge, and its 28,500 students and researchers come from all over Ireland and from all parts of the globe. TU Dublin has well-developed campuses in Dublin City and in the two largest areas of population growth in the Greater Dublin Region – Blanchardstown and Tallaght. Now, a new campus is being developed on a spectacular 73-acre site at Grangegorman in central Dublin. This is the largest higher education development project in Europe. The campus will provide an exceptional learning environment that supports research, innovation, and the advancement of knowledge and will welcome more than 10,000 students in September 2020. A further 5,000 students will relocate to the campus by 2022.

With an international outlook, TU Dublin welcome students and staff from around the world while TU’s strong international partnerships provide opportunities for student and staff exchange programmes, major cross-collaboration research projects, and employment opportunities. TU Dublin is immensely proud of its network of 100,000+ TU Dublin graduates who are making their careers here in Ireland and in 70 countries worldwide.

Bolton Street campus has been a centre for technological education for over 100 years. This three storey neo-classical building was designed by CJ McCarthy and was built in 1908. It has since been extend in 1961 and again in 1987. Plaster representations of artisan figures decorate the hallway and corridors of this ornate building. The figures are casts from John Henry Foley's models for figures at the base of the Albert Memorial on Leinster Lawn. Despite substantial extensions, the essential historic character of the building has been maintained and the building forms an important part of the surrounding streetscape. The campus is fully equipped with computer and electronic labs, lecture theatres with the latest audio- visual equipment and learning aids, fully equipped workshops, library, restaurants, students’ union area, and student recreation area.