module specification

The Integrated Design Audit will enable you to demonstrate the integration and synthesis of key areas of professional architectural knowledge within the context of your studio design projects. The module follows the process of design development to introduce a range of perspectives, issues and interests. This process is recorded, evaluated and reviewed in relation to the major design project.

You will learn to integrate key fields of professional architectural knowledge in your design projects. You will be required to demonstrate that within your design projects you have a knowledge, understanding of and ability in the following core areas: cultural context; management, practice and law; environment, services and energy; structures, materials and construction.

The module is delivered within the design studio, supported by seminars and tutorials by specialists. You will learn from a diverse range of sources. You will gather information and engage in cross-disciplinary collaboration to simulate the dynamic, interdisciplinary and fast-changing nature of contemporary architectural practice, giving you an understanding of practice and an ability to work in teams.

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), appropriate to Level 6. 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: AR5003 or equivalent.
Available for Study Abroad NO.

The core areas of the syllabus of Integrated Design Audit are cultural context; management, practice and law; environment, services and energy; structures, materials and construction.

Cultural context: the socio-political, intellectual and technical influences that shape design; the influence of architectural histories and theories on contemporary design practice; the contemporary situation of the built environment and the imperative for sustainable building practices and materials; the critical analysis of seminal and contemporary architectural precedent to uncover organisational and technological strategies, and aspects of best-practice, to inform a comprehensive design proposal (LO 1 – 5);

Management, practice and law: the influence of statutory requirements: building regulations, town planning and development control policies on the design of a comprehensive design proposal; the role of the architect implied by the design and the management, organisational and practice structures necessary to realise it; the role of the architect to effectively communicate the scope, build-up and complexity of a project sufficient to satisfy statutory requirements, enable preliminary understanding of costs and meet the performance requirements of the end-user; the way a design proposal might be financed, procured and realised in relation to the contemporary construction industry (LO 1 – 5);

Environment, services and energy: the design of architectural proposals in response to local climatic conditions; the design and integration of building services into a comprehensive design approach; the design of high-performance architectural environments with regard to daylighting, thermal comfort and acoustics; the strategic design and integration of passive, active and mixed-mode strategies of environmental comfort and control to reduce a building’s energy requirements and carbon footprint (LO 1 – 5);

Structures, materials and construction: the physical properties and characteristics of the materials, components and products used in the design; the investigation and critical assessment of alternate structural, material and constructional systems and their relationship to local material, material handling and production, and construction contexts; the critical analysis of architectural precedent to inform the selection and design of appropriate structural, material and constructional systems; the assessment and selection of materials against a comprehensive understanding of sustainability: embodied energy and whole-life-cycle analysis; the influence of building regulations and expected lifecycles on material selection, and systems of construction and detailing (LO 1 – 5).

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

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 Integrated Design Audit, a number of Learning Outcomes (LOs) will have been addressed. You will be able to:

1. show how your understanding of the core areas of the syllabus has informed your design process of complex buildings in concept and resolution;

2. gather, process and make use of information, processes and strategies necessary to develop a well resolved design proposal, including managing, coordinating and learning from specialists across a wide range of disciplines, and integrating knowledge acquired from taught courses, consultancy, industry, testing, prototyping and participatory processes;

3. make and communicate clear strategic decisions in relation to the wider political, economic, professional, environmental, industrial and legal context informing your design;

4. integrate knowledge of sustainability, structures, materials and construction into a coherent architectural design;

5. communicate with professional, technical and lay audiences.

Students will produce a diary and report 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:

• IDA Process Diary (max. 7,500 words) (Component 1, 50%): You will produce an illustrated diary demonstrating how your studio design projects develop through research across the core syllabus areas. The diary communicates the design process in a reflective and edited manner and shows the integration of information gathered into the design development. It should include sufficient records of studio briefs, research, precedent visits, events and tutorials to explain the design process (LO 1, 2, 5);

• IDA Report (max. 2,500 words) (Component 2, 50%): You will produce an illustrated report demonstrating how your major design project addresses each of the core syllabus areas. The report communicates how the proposal's resolution has been informed by its wider context and the integration of technological considerations. It should include sufficient detailed drawings, diagrams and models to fully illustrate the strategies described (LO 1, 3, 4, 5).

Students are expected to attend all taught sessions. A professional approach to your studies, which includes both attending regularly or informing staff if you are unable to attend, will be reviewed as part of the assessment process.

http://AR6003 Integrated Design Audit – Core Reading List