module specification

Technology 2 builds upon and extends the knowledge and understanding gained in AR4003 Technology 1. It focuses in more detail on how different aspects of technology interact within the context of larger and more complex buildings. The module introduces methods, terms and techniques that can be used to evaluate the range of different relationships that appear under the heading of technology. In particular the module investigates buildings and interiors that may involve multiple clients, for example public buildings and/or medium-density housing. It examines how and why standards are developed as well as the remit for research and experiment. The module further expands the knowledge of structures, materials, construction and detailing, environmental performance and comfort and building services established in AR4003 Technology 1, with particular attention given to sustainability as an ethical framework of values and responsibilities shaping the design of buildings and interiors.

The module aims to develop the student’s confidence in making design decisions. It extends their ability to identify strategies and assess the values involved in technological issues through the preparation and presentation of technical proposition at a range of drawing scales. The module enhances the student’s knowledge and understanding of building technologies and familiarizes them with the process of how to make well considered judgments, on the premise that relationships between various items or even categories of technological knowledge can be modelled and evaluated in a different ways. The module aims to develop a student's repertoire of practical and conceptual skills – including vocabulary – that can keep pace with their growing knowledge of the subject and help realise their design projects in technological terms.

The aims of the module are to teach skills pertaining to Health and Life Safety; Ethical and Professional Practice; Structure, Construction and Resources; and Design Processes and Communication (‘themes and values’ from Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA): The Way Ahead 2021). The module also aims to provide a practical framework through which you can address the academic discipline of architecture as outlined in the RIBA document ‘The Way Ahead, Education Themes and Values’ 2021 as well as ‘Guidance Notes to Institutions’ issued by the Architects Registration Board (ARB) in 2021.

Pre-requisite: AR4003 or equivalent.

In Technology 2 a series of lectures, seminars and workshops will be taught across five principle learning areas that explore the complexities inherent in technological strategies, technical details and design solutions. The knowledge gained will be further developed and implemented through a technical analysis of contemporary case study projects, providing a practical framework through which to evaluate building technologies, environmental performance and broader aspects of sustainability whilst further offering an insight into best practice approaches to sustainable design and construction detailing. The core learning areas arr structure, materials, construction, environment and services.

Structure: the ability to analyse, design and evaluate a variety of structural systems and the significance of their contribution to a design proposal; the regulatory requirements applying to structures and their components; the consequences of the choice between alternative structural systems and awareness of its environmental impact as part of a comprehensive design proposal (LO 1-5).

Materials: the ability to analyse, and evaluate materials, their properties, their combinations, and the possibilities of their uses as part of a design proposal; the critical appraisal of material choice with respect to their appropriateness compared to available alternatives (LO 1-5).

Construction: the critical analysis of architectural precedent to inform the selection and design of appropriate structural, material and constructional systems; the ability to devise strategies for the construction process and the integration of structural components into the overall; the review of precedents relevant to the technological strategies employed; their underlying principles or the specific functions of components within the proposal; the regulatory requirements applying to the construction process (LO 1-5);

Environment: the principles of architectural design in response to local climatic conditions; the design and integration of building services into a comprehensive design approach; the principles of designing architectural environments with regard to day lighting, thermal comfort and acoustics; the use of passive, active and mixed-mode strategies of environmental comfort and control to reduce a building’s energy requirements and lower carbon footprints; the role of the architect to effectively communicate the scope, build-up and complexity of a project sufficient to satisfy statutory requirements and to meet the environmental performance requirements of the end-user (LO 1-5);

Services: analyse, design and evaluate building services as a significant part of the design proposal; the review of precedents relevant service strategies employed; their underlying principles, and the integration of their specific functions within the proposal; the ability to analyse, design and evaluate urban infrastructure and their components and their significance within the design proposal (LO 1-5).

Scheduled teaching on Technology 2 provides the guidance and foundation to ensure that independent study is effective in addressing the module’s learning outcomes and assessment tasks.

In-class activity makes use of varied student-centred approaches such as active, flipped and blended learning, so that a range of learning strategies is deployed, and individual learning styles are accommodated. Information is provided through a range of means and sources to minimise and remove barriers to successful progress through the module. The course team seeks to embed the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework in fostering learning that is enjoyable, accessible, relevant and that takes account of the social and cultural context and capital of its students.

Activities foster peer-to-peer community building and support for learning. Reflective learning is promoted through interim formative feedback points that ask you to reflect on their progress, receive help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes and make recommendations to themselves for future development. Throughout the module, you will build a body of work, including written reflections on progress and achievement.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-based learning within the curriculum supports your personal and career development planning. Through these initiatives, you are increasingly able, as you progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of your discipline, the various opportunities available to you, and how to shape your learning according to your ambitions.

On satisfactory completion of Technology 2, a number of Learning Outcomes (LOs) will have been addressed.

You will:

1. Demonstrate an awareness of the professional practice of architecture and the responsibilities of the architect towards health and life safety and the environment;

2. Show an understanding of the complex and dynamic relationships involved in building technology, in particular the structural design, constructional and engineering problems associated with larger-scale building design;

3. Use different techniques and media to model and communicate complex technological relationships in order to examine, analyse, explain, compare, and evaluate particular solutions to design problems;

4. Utilise knowledge of physical problems and technologies and the function of buildings in the design of sustainable internal conditions of comfort and protection against the climate;

5. Show a critical understanding of alternative materials, processes and techniques that apply to architectural design and building construction within contemporary practice.

Students will produce a technology report and a suite of annotated drawings addressing the module’s learning outcomes through the tasks and criteria as set out in the assessment brief.

These will be detailed at the start of each academic year, but are broadly as follows:

• Technology Book (Component 1, 60%): A collated document demonstrating an organised knowledge and understanding of the principles of the core syllabus areas: structures, materials and construction, building services, environmental comfort and sustainability. The Technology Book documents each student’s participation in the core lectures and workshops and consists of text, photographs (scanned, labelled and annotated), sketches, diagrams, scaled drawings and a set of references for all texts consulted (LO 1-5).

• Annotated Drawings (Component 2, 40%): 1:100, 1:20 and 1:5 scaled, referenced and coordinated architectural drawings demonstrating the integration of structure, building services, materials, construction, and the detailing of building elements and components of a contemporary case study project (LO 2, 3, 4).

Students must pass both coursework components individually at 40% in order to be eligible for the BA (Hons) Architecture award.

http://AR5003 Technology 2 – Core Reading List