Course syllabus for Architecture in the anthropocene

Course syllabus adopted 2023-02-13 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameArkitektur i antropocen
  • CodeACE400
  • Credits10 Credits
  • OwnerMPARC
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyArchitecture
  • ThemeArchitectural design project 7.5 c
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 05113
  • Open for exchange studentsYes
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0123 Written and oral assignments 10 c
Grading: TH		10 c

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Aim

The course aims for students to develop and demonstrate key technical knowledge, awareness, skills, and abilities related to the design of regenerative architecture with the potential of a positive environmental impact contribution in the age of the Anthropocene. The course is primarily focused on design exercises and projects using Studio Based Learning (SBL). As such the learning is primarily based around turning knowledge about our climatic predicament into a set of practical and technical skills and abilities. All related to the design, testing and performance of architecture that would be applicable in future design studios. The course enhances previously garnered knowledge and understanding of the paradigms of sustainable architecture to bring it a step further towards regenerative design and the potential of a positive carbon footprint. The course, being both primarily skill based and a compulsory course of the program, is relatively broad to cater to the diversity of design studios contained in the program but offering the students concepts related to the climate change, digital design skills such as design and associative modelling, 3D scanning as well as simulation.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

Knowledge and understanding
  1. Discuss how the project work is relevant to contemporary architectural discourse and research related to climate change.
  2. Demonstrate the re-iterative design process, that a project undergoes as it is informed and developed from concept to realization, through consultancy, research findings and rigorous testing.
  3. Demonstrate the environmental adaptation and performance of a design project.
Competence and skills
  1. Apply skills and abilities related to bioclimatic design
  2. Situate a design project in a digital environment using digital design tools
  3. Be able to use digital means of analysis and/or simulation and consultancy to inform aspects of the environmental adaptation and performance of a design.
  4. Implementing technical research findings in a design project and the public communication and dissemination thereof.
  5. Be able to systematically apply knowledge and understanding of environmental, technical and process principles in design.
Judgement and approach
  1. Formulate early assessments of peer design projects related to the performance and the environmental impact of the proposal and its relation to contemporary architectural discourse and best practice.
  2. Interpret, question, and develop given prerequisites based on achieved knowledge and experience and excel by creating unexpected new knowledge and design outcomes.

Content

The building sector being one of the largest culprits of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption is bound to be radically transformed and this change is bound to be rapid, thus the course proposes a new ‘Contemporary Design Challenge’ annually. It is specified in the Course Program that is published two weeks before the commencement each year. The Contemporary Design Challenge is a small design project that ideally should help develop design skills and abilities that would be applicable in subsequent studio projects.

The course covers a broad subject matter but with an emphasis on transforming the knowledge of the subject to practical skills and abilities. As such the course is centred around the technical and hard knowhow that you need to design climate smart architecture. The content cover everything from climate fundamentals, environmental impact of the built environment, adaptation to extreme environmental and environmental hazards, design for retrofit and adaptive reuse, operational and whole life energy and carbon modelling, life cycle assessment and circular economy, passive and active design principles, densification, biodiversity, ecology, research, and innovation etc.

The course is primarily a skill-based course implementing Studio Based Learning (SBL) around project assignments transforming general knowledge to specific skills and abilities. Students are expected to take significant responsibility for their own studies. Traditional in-class lecturing is restricted, and most demonstration and lecturing material is made available on-line. The in-class time is primarily spent on learning activities and tutorials. Collaboration within the project groups and during classroom activities is essential.

Organisation

The course is divided into three distinct phases:

1. Technology, research, and experiments
Technology demonstrations, precedent and material studies and text seminars, design research that targets environmental adaptation and performance.

2. Buildings & Material
Design, materialization, assemblage, and performance of small-scale design project suited for a particular climate.

3. Contexts & Environment
Adapting and integrating a design project into a context and environment. Assessment of its performance and environmental impact.

Literature

An up to date reading list is an integral part of the annual course description depending on the material and technology selected for the year. Only the reference literature is listed below.

Kate Franklin, Caroline Till 2018, Radical Matter: Rethinking Materials for a Sustainable Future,
Thames and Hudson Ltd

IPCC WorkGroup2 (55th Session) 2022, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and
Vulnerability, Cambridge University Press

Examination including compulsory elements

Student work in phase 1-3 is presented and evaluated in reviews with invited guests according to the submission requirements specified in the course description. The final marking is based on an illustrated design diary submitted at the end of phase 3. A minimum of 80% attendance or participation in lectures, pin-ups, demos, and visits is required to pass the course.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.