1. Demonstrate qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment or further
training including an understanding of the personal incremental and ongoing learning
process which defines the study and practice of architecture, and the demonstration of
the ability to acquire, evaluate and apply an understanding of the discipline of
architecture in relation to the duties and responsibilities of architects to their clients, to
wider society and to their role within the construction industry more generally.
Reflection

2. Understand the limits of an evolving subject knowledge, and the influences this has on
research methods for the exploration and development of an individually defined
response to a design brief.
Learning

3. Demonstrate a range of visual, written and verbal techniques to conceptualise, represent
and communicate your ideas and completed work to specialist and non-specialist
audiences, and deploy key techniques of the discipline effectively.
Communication

4. Demonstrate qualities and transferable skills necessary to work with other people,
accepting responsibility and recognising individual strengths and weaknesses including
the development of existing skills, and the acquisition of new competencies that will
require the exercise of personal responsibility, delegation and decision making and will
enable students to assume significant responsibility within organisations.
Reflection

Progress will be formatively assessed throughout the module, with periodic reviews of work considering progress on Design Process, and Design Resolution & Design Communication, respectively. The areas assessed in this module can be summarised as follows:

Design Process considers the appropriateness of research carried out in terms of precedents studies, (including historical and technical precedents), the creative interpretation of the client’s requirements, a detailed understanding of the site through analysis and contextual study and the extent to which alternative proposals have been considered and explored as part of the students reflection on their own work. The use of hand drawn sketches, workbooks and models is encouraged at this stage.

Design Resolution considers the extent to which the final proposal responds to the context of the site, the needs and aspirations of the client and their brief and reflects the students developing architectural identity and their interpretation of the project in the context of the module.

Design Communication considers the clarity and completeness with which the design is documented and illustrated. It assesses how a student has articulated their design ideas graphically, physically, and verbally.
The first summative (marked) assessment for this module will consider the project against the three criteria as a whole and comprise of a pin-up and verbal presentation / critique of the project by the group. The presentation should include drawings, models and prototypes (if appropriate) and should outline the input of individual group members. Students will be required to peer review members of the group and this will be used to weight the group mark as it is applied to individual students and to reflect personal performance and contribution more accurately to the group project. Typical questions considered in the peer review process might include: (1) willingness to provide ideas, (2) willingness to use ideas of others, (3) willingness to work as required, (4) availability to work on project, and (5) contribution to the project. Students are expected to assess themselves as well as their peers.

This assessment is worth 40% of the module mark and will assess the following Learning Outcomes:
LO1 – Reflection.
LO4 – Reflection.

The second summative (marked) assessment for this module will comprise of the submission of a curated portfolio of work for the project,
including finished drawings, photographs of models and prototypes, sketch books (workbooks) and evidence of independent research
and study.

This assessment is worth 60% of the module mark. and will assess the following Learning Outcomes:
LO2 – Learning
LO3 – Communication
LO4 – Reflection.
All learning outcomes have to be met in order to pass the module.

This module acknowledges that architectural design is often a collaborative endeavour and asks you to work in groups with other students on the course and where possible from elsewhere in the school, on a ‘live’ project developed in response to an emerging issue or need in the city. You may also be asked to work alongside external stakeholders such as building professionals, representatives from the university, local government, or from external groups and organisations, on a project that will necessarily be dynamic in its realisation, meaning the brief may evolve as the project progresses, and sufficiently complex in its ambition to allow for meaningful input by the students and disciplines involved. In turn you will be responsible for developing the project brief as part of the module and will be supported by staff across the school through presentations, seminars, tutorials, and practical sessions.

This module equips you with the skills and knowledge to benefit from collaborative working and is closely aligned with the professional practice of architecture. Engaging in this module will enable you to effectively allocate and share tasks with your peers, review one another’s work, and ultimately to use this process to enrich your own ideas and contribute to your emerging design philosophy.

Throughout this module you will have access to the school smart zone and dedicated external building area to realise your ideas, concepts and prototypes, and will have an opportunity to engage in the following:

- To work effectively as part of a team.
- The preparation, critical analysis, and interrogation of a project brief.
- The preparation and evaluation of design concepts through model making, prototyping, sketching and drawings.
- Development of a design proposal with regard to the function, brief, and context as well as spatial and user requirements.
- The verbal and graphical presentation of your ideas.
Outputs for this module will include, physical models and large scale / full scale prototypes, digital models, collages, sketches,
photographs, and hand drawings, a group presentation and peer review.
This module will be supported by input in the following Level 5 Modules: Design & Representation 2; Design Cultures 2.

Richardson, P., (2007). XS Green: Big Ideas, Small Buildings [1st Edition]. London., Thames & Hudson.
Hawkes, Dean (2019) The Environmental Imagination: Technics and Poetics of the Architectural Environment
[2nd edition] Abingdon, Oxon; Taylor & Francis.

Access to architecture studio, wood metal and plastics workshops and the SmartZone with drawing and model making equipment – details will be identified at the beginning of the module. Access to outside build space. Access to computers with 3D modelling, image editing and Microsoft 365 software. Access to Blackboard VLE, Microsoft Teams, and physical and remote access to Staffordshire University library resources including LinkedIn Learning.

None

Co-requisites - Design & Representation 2; Design Cultures 2.