ºù«Ӱҵ

Core modules:

Architectural and Landscape Design 01

This module is designed to introduce students to architectural and landscape design in a studio context. The module will be structured through a series of short design projects, which students will be asked to respond to in an imaginative and critical manner.  The module aims to: widen perception of architecture and landscape; introduce issues of cultural and technological significance; generate the interpretation and solution of a series of wide ranging design problems. The technical aspects of the work aim to: develop an understanding of the way building structure, construction and services inform, interpret and contribute to the architectural design process; Students will also study a limited palette of native trees and shrubs.  Methods of representation will be introduced, including model-making, technical drawing and sketching and the opportunity for the demonstration of that understanding will be provided as an essential component of practical architectural and landscape design.

The module also introduces students to the full scope and diversity of landscape architecture and the role of landscape architects in tackling contemporary social and environmental issues, presenting and giving examples of the areas of practice known as design, management and planning, with particular reference to the ºù«Ӱҵ area. The role of the Landscape Institute is also introduced. The aim of this module is to familiarise students with the range of work undertaken by landscape architects and the challenges the profession seeks to address.

Students will study freehand and three-dimensional abstract design as a means of evaluating, creating and representing designs. Experimentation, subjectivity and objectivity will enhance the learning process. An integrated project brief for the final semester studio project is taught jointly across the School of Architecture and Landscape and reviewed and assessed jointly. This integrated project enables students to apply the skills and knowledge they have acquired in Architecture and Landscape Architecture to a single project site.

40 credits

Architectural Humanities 01

The course explores the reciprocal relationship between architecture, landscapes, the built environment and society, introducing a broad range of inhabitations and domestic settings across the world and across time. Through a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approach lectures will examine how humans have approached their needs for shelter and inhabitation, and the relationship between domestic types and public life, both in the past and in the present. The relationship of buildings to landscapes across a range of scales is explored. The course seeks to establish that architecture and landscapes are socially contextualised through style, symbolic references, typologies, use, materiality, meaning, structure, layout, and form, and also through the framing of human activities and rituals. By adopting a global approach the course engages with broader questions of locality, exchange, and adaptability.

The course examines how the field of architecture is positioned in relation to wider issues - in particular, climate breakdown. Neither architecture nor climate are simply technical phenomena: both are social, political, and cultural; both raise questions about resources, land, economics, labour, policy, infrastructure, and more. We will explore these entanglements starting from a series of building case studies, and moving outwards to explore the wider landscape, material and immaterial networks that constitute architecture and climate. You will begin to position yourself in relation to these and other networks, and reflect on how you might encounter them in your future. Lectures will relate the physical making of the modern world to political, social, and other constructions.

20 credits

Architectural Environment and Technology 01

This foundational module introduces first year architecture students to the essential interplay between the built and natural environments. It establishes a critical understanding of how buildings respond to, are shaped by, and impact their surroundings. 

Students will explore core principles of environmental physics relevant to architecture, including heat transfer, solar gain, natural and artificial lighting, and basic acoustics, learning how these factors fundamentally influence design decisions and occupant comfort. The module introduces methods for climate analysis, orientation and site assessment, enabling students to understand the environmental context of architectural projects.

Students will be engaged in discussions relating to Climate Justice, the Climate Emergency and the responsibility of the architect to understand the impact of design decisions on the embodied and operational carbon cost of a building project. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical understanding of how architectural technology, materials, and sustainable discourses and processes relate to colonialism and empire

Students will gain an introductory overview of common building materials and fundamental construction techniques, considering their inherent properties, structural behaviour, and environmental implications. 

Key concepts of sustainable design will be introduced, focusing on passive strategies, energy awareness, and the importance of resource efficiency. Simple building services related to heating, ventilation, and water will be discussed in principle. 

Through lectures, case studies, and a close connection with studio design work, this module provides the essential environmental and technical knowledge base required to inform responsible and responsive architectural design proposals developed in parallel studio modules and future studies.

20 credits

Architectural Design (Landscape) 2

A course of studio based practical architectural design work which aims to: widen perception of architecture; introduce issues of cultural and technological significance; generate the interpretation and solution of a series of wide ranging design problems. The technical aspects of the work aims to: develop an understanding of the way building structure, construction and services inform, interpret and contribute to the architectural design process; and provide the opportunity for the demonstration of that understanding as an essential component of practical architectural design.

20 credits

The Dynamic Landscape

This unit is designed to further develop the landscape design skills and knowledge gained in the 1st semester. The module runs over 12 weeks and will be largely studio-based, but there will be field trips and visits. Based on one site students will work through all the stages of design development from site analysis through to final presentation. Precedent will be used to inform practice and students will undertake self-directed study to build knowledge of the theoretical basis of the design approach in such settings. Students will further develop their understanding of and use of landform manipulation, vegetation and other built structures to create a variety of space and experience. Studio exercises and seminars will be central to the learning process. Particular emphasis will be placed on the interaction with water and approaches to the 'water's edge' in the landscape. Graphic skills, freehand and technical, needed to convey ideas at both the design development and the presentation stage (essential to the landscape architect ) will be developed with further teaching in the area of digital design communication. Development of the knowledge of vegetation, particularly native trees, and its use and place in the landscape will take place through taught sessions, field study and individual research.

20 credits