module specification

Design Project: Context, Process and Proposal aims to engage with both the detail and the wider context of an architectural design. You will develop an architectural project or projects from inception to proposal by defining, testing and justifying how they are appropriate and relevant in a particular physical, social, economic and environmental context; you will explore the means by which a designed proposition can be realised effectively. This design module rehearses your ability to construct an ambitious, sophisticated and appropriate brief, programme and conceptual rationale for a design proposition.

Worth 60-credits, the module is taught in one of the Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch design units, each of which has its own individual preoccupations and specialisms. It aims to address your architectural research skills, design activities and the processes required to establish a project brief, as well as examining how built environment proposition(s) can be realised effectively through spatial, material, formal and organisational design, adjustments and transformations. The scope, scale and remit of the proposition will be a direct result of your methods of engagement and research and will therefore be particular to your individual approach and that of your design unit.

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 RIBA: The Way Ahead 2022). It operates in conjunction with AR7022 Applied Technology in Architecture, which will teach you technical knowledge to integrate into your design project(s). The module also aims to prepare you to undertake the following design module, AR7P49 Design Thesis: Project Specialisation, Proposition and Resolution, by promoting a self-aware and clearly articulated understanding of how ideas and agendas developed. The module aims to provide a practical framework through which you can address the professional practice and 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 ARB in 2021 outlining the core competences expected at RIBA 2.

Initially, you will establish a rationale for a design proposition on the basis of a topic you have developed. You will become adept at seeking out an appropriate way to act as an architect within a given context or situation – one which is likely to be complex, multi-layered and unpredictable. The module aims to place emphasis on achieving a detailed, precise and sophisticated understanding of the constituent parts of the context: its economic, social, ethical, political and environmental characteristics and infrastructures. The means of achieving this understanding will entail direct engagement with the context involving the development of diverse, ambitious methods of investigating the situation as found. Visual, physical, organisational, covert and material forms of exploration will help to generate the raw material for analysis and action: the design brief.

Secondly, the proposal(s) which grow(s) from these investigations should embody a clear and appropriate conceptual framework(s) against which your proposal(s) can be tested.  The directness and precision of your understanding will allow you to generate a range of issues or ‘places to act’ within a given situation, such that there is a genuine value and relevance to the designed scenarios that develop. You will be expected to justify and be self-critical about your chosen methods of working in order to test the design process that you have developed. The module aims to help you deliver a well-developed, ambitious and well-resolved design proposal which has taken into account the complex and unpredictable conditions of a particular context and embodies within its rationale, scale, scope and remit, a coherent ambition for architecture. You will become confident in designing through a development of your skills, understanding and ability in the design process.

Co-requisite or pre-requisite: AR7022 Applied Technology in Architecture

You will study Design Project: Context, Process and Proposal through one of a choice of design units, each led by one or more unit tutors. Each design unit will state an overall agenda, set of interests and context within the built environment and provide an outline of a project or related set of projects. These vary from year to year and the outline programme for each design unit is presented in turn at the beginning of the Autumn term (Semester 1) at which time you will have an opportunity to rank your choice of design unit and programme you wish to work with.

In this module you will study within a design unit but will be expected to work with some independence in developing your final architectural design(s). The detailed syllabus will therefore be generated between you and your tutors within the overall context and with the support of a design unit. You will take responsibility for developing a project brief, identifying and researching relevant issues, developing and testing design processes and securing the required knowledge.

The outcome of your design project will consist of a three-dimensional and spatial design proposal, which is equivalent in scope and complexity to a small/medium sized building. Through the proposal you will make explicit how the social, ethical, political and cultural context of your proposal has been considered; the needs and desires of your client, the community and society at large; how the environmental and economic context of your proposal has been considered; how the professional context that guides building construction has been considered.

Scheduled teaching ensures that independent study is effective and addresses the learning outcomes and assessment tasks. You will be required to study outside of scheduled classes – particularly in the working environment of the design studio. A range of learning strategies are deployed and individual learning styles accommodated. The module’s learning outcomes, its contents and delivery, are regularly reviewed to ensure an inclusive pedagogical approach.

The module and course utilise the University’s blended learning Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Weblearn to support and reinforce learning. Peer-to-peer communication is fostered in group activities and tutorial support provided regularly. Reflective learning is promoted through assessment tasks and formative feedback, particularly in the traditional context of the design review. You are encouraged to reflect on your progress and engage in sequential decision making through staged submissions and to make recommendations to yourself for future development. 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.

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

On satisfactory completion of Design Project: Context, Process and Proposal, a number of Learning Outcomes (LOs) will have been addressed. Each is related to the Architecture RIBA 2 - MArch Course Learning Outcomes (CLO). You will:

1. develop and evaluate appropriate and relevant method(s) of engagement and observation of a site and situation (CLO 11(a) 1, 2, 3; 11(b) 4; 11(c) 4; 11(d) 2);

2. develop systems of analysing, interpreting, using and spatialising researched material in order to speculate on possible designed scenarios that intervene in and adapt in a given situation (CLO 11(a) 1, 2, 3; 11(b) 1, 4; 11(c) 2, 3, 4; 11(d) 2);

3. construct effective processes that can be used to rigorously test ideas in terms of their relevance to the given situation (CLO 11(a) 3; 11(b) 1, 2; 11(c) 3);

4. formulate and communicate clear and well-founded conceptual frameworks that underpin designed scenarios (CLO 11(a) 3; 11(c) 2; 11(d) 1);

5. critically reflect on the implications of intentional and unintentional outcomes embedded in a designed scenario (CLO 11(b) 1, 2, 4; 11(c) 5);

6. communicate effectively the ideas and intentions of the designed scenario through an appropriate range of conceptual and representational techniques (CLO 11(d) 1, 2, 3);

7. develop a personal attitude towards the process of design and an agenda (independent of the design unit) that can be clearly expressed as a set of aims and ambitions for the final design project (CLO 11(a) 2, 3, 4; 11(d) 2);

8. test the rationale for design proposals with respect to their relevance and appropriateness to a given context or situation, and adjust the design accordingly (CLO 11(b) 1, 2; 11(c) 5; 11(d) 2);

9. direct and manage an appropriate design process to achieve a convincing and well worked through design proposition that skilfully manipulates spatial, material, formal, environmental and organisational conditions at a range of scales (CLO 11(a) 4; 11(b) 2, 3, 11(d) 2, 4);

10. demonstrate precise understanding and integrated knowledge of the role of materials, structure, environment, health and life safety and services in the delivery of architecture and the built environment (CLO 11(a) 4; 11(b) 3; 11(c) 1, 3, 4);

11. design and integrate key elements, components and assemblies within the design proposal - focused on the detailed design incorporating knowledge of materials, structure, environment and services (CLO 11(a) 4; 11(b) 3; 11(c) 1, 3, 4);

12. demonstrate an understanding of the role of construction, structure, services and materials in relationship to spatial and human conditions and building user’s requirements (CLO 11(a) 5; 11(b) 3, 4; 11(c) 1, 3, 4, 5).

Assessment items will be based on:
• Portfolio (Component 1, 50%) of approx. 30-45 A1 sheets or equivalent, addressing the module’s learning outcomes through the tasks and criteria as set out in the assessment brief. The emphasis is on a well-edited, carefully crafted portfolio of high-quality design. Modes of documentation may include but are not limited to: drawings, photographic material, multi-media material, quantitative data, qualitative data, 3D models or prototypes, web-based material and written commentary. All 3D and multi-media work should be recorded in graphic form and explained to a standard suitable for assessment purposes;
• a technical report (Component 2, 25%), of no more than 2,000 words and approx. 50 A3 pages or equivalent, addressing the module’s learning outcomes through the tasks and criteria as set out in the assessment brief;
• a design research diary (Component 3, 20%), around 3,000 words and any number of pages, addressing the module’s learning outcomes through the tasks and criteria as set out in the assessment brief. Diagrams, sketches, drawings and photographs should be used to demonstrate your understanding of the relationship between research and production in design and decision making;
• an oral portfolio presentation (Component 4, 5%) which will demonstrate the learning outcomes above through appropriate forms of documentation and representations. The presentation of the design portfolio will consist of a 10-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of discussion with the review panel.

The rationale for the development and use of these assessment items is as follows:
• Component 1: the portfolio enables you to show a design project and brief for coherent architectural and built environment design(s) founded on relevant research, to demonstrate a well-managed, thoughtful and productive design process, to produce a focused body of work that identifies and integrates specialist issues and skills. In the portfolio you can evidence care in the way your design thesis project responds to environmental, political, economic, social and professional issues; the skills of portfolio preparation will be transferable to architectural practice in your future career;
• Component 2: the technical report, which will be developed in conjunction with learning from AR7022 Applied Technology in Architecture and allows you to test your technical knowledge in the studio design project and to demonstrate precise understanding and integrated knowledge of the role of materials, structure, environment, health and life safety and services in the delivery of architecture and the built environment;
• Component 3: the design diary offers the opportunity to evidence self-management. You can show in the diary how your design project integrates knowledge and understanding of design, environment and sustainability, construction, materials and structures, cultural context and management, practice and law. The diary allows you to show judgement and exercise transferable skills likely to be relevant to your professional career;
• Component 4: the presentation exercises your communication skills in presenting and representing and tests your ability to make a presentation of the design in portfolio through oral presentation, rehearsing the transferable skill of oral presentation to an audience of peers required in architectural practice.

The pass mark for the module is to be calculated as an aggregate of the components weighted accordingly, with the proviso that the candidate must pass the portfolio and technical design report components.

http://AR7P48 Design Project: Context, Process and Proposal – Core Reading List