Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture

Architectural Design Studio 1: Exploring and Experiencing Architecture

The aim of Architectural Design Studio 1 is to initiate exploratory thinking and creative capacities in beginning students through spatial explorations, particularly focused on the relationship between the body and interior space. Understanding of space, material, organisation, and composition are explored through topics of proportion, ergonomics, scale, and circulation, framed around specific methodologies of craftsmanship, tools, materials, and representation in both 2D and 3D.

Architectural Design Studio 2: Creating and Writing Architecture

Architectural Design Studio 2 will be a student’s first architectural proposal responding to both existing sites and specific users that encapsulates modern and current architectural history, theory and practice with a particular focus on architectural tectonics, theories of experience and time-based architectures. Students will evolve a design enquiry from idea to strategy to architectural proposal for a small sized modestly detailed design proposal that responds to people’s needs and use of place. Students will learn to interpret writings and buildings, to develop their reading and writing skills, and to make use of the fundamental conventions of academic writing.

Architectural Design Studio 3: Exploring and Practicing Ethical Design

The aim of this module is for students to design a medium sized moderately detailed architectural spatial and tectonic proposition in responce to contingencies and questions of ethical response, namely the needs and aspirations of building users and other stakeholders, accessibility, health and life safety and the relation to an urban context. This module will introduce urban design studies and the relationship between buildings and the surroundings for relevant and contemporary responses to an urban condition and local planning legislation. Students will be encouraged to develop ethical professional behaviours through participation with tutors, peers and other stakeholders in a collaborative studio practice mode to collectively produce work and taking an increasingly active role in framing their individual design work, in terms of approach, scope, brief, scale and media.

Architectural Design Studio 4: Exploring and Applying Climate Literacy

The aim of this module is for students to design a medium sized moderately detailed architectural spatial and tectonic proposition to show compliance with aspects of the Green Building Index (GBI) and the principles of landscape architecture. Students will demonstrate both an ability to outline strategies in responding to technical and environmental issues of landscape architecture and user requirements through the lens of a climate literacy toolkit, and to resolve their spatial proposal at a scale (1:50) to reveal how tectonic choices and structural techniques enhance and expand the architectural idea and respond to local climatic conditions.

Architectural Design Studio 5: Design Enquiry and Proposition

The aim of the Architectural Design Studio 5 (ADS5) is to teach students the strategies and principles of legislation surrounding fire safety, health and life safety, construction design and management and post-occupancy. Students will also be taught evaluation tools for predicting and monitoring building performance.

Architectural Design Studio 6: Design Synthesis and Resolution

Architectural Design Studio 6 (ADS6) builds on prior knowledge and abilities gained in Architectural Design Studios regarding design exploration, experience, creation, writing, ethics and climate literacies to integrate aspects of technical, environmental and professional practice decisions with the design process, synthesis and resolution to produce a large sized architectural spatial and tectonic proposition for a specific site. The ancillary aim of this module is for the students to develop a detailed design of a major element of their final design project, evidenced by a sectional drawing or model, to represent the integration of material choice and assembly, construction systems, environmental and structural considerations and the impact on and from human use. The module concludes at the Degree Exhibition, where students will apply professional behaviours and skills to collectively design, produce, brand and curate all Final Architectural Design Studio works.