Course syllabus for Dare to build, architects

Course syllabus adopted 2024-02-02 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameMod att bygga, arkitekter
  • CodeACE565
  • Credits15 Credits
  • OwnerMPDSD
  • Education cycleSecond-cycle
  • Main field of studyArchitecture
  • ThemeArchitectural design project 15 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 17113
  • Maximum participants24 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)
  • Minimum participants8
  • Open for exchange studentsYes
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0123 Project 15 c
Grading: TH		0 c0 c0 c15 c0 c0 c

In programmes

Examiner

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.

Course specific prerequisites


Aim

There is a need for integrated and transformative solutions fostering collaborations and shared learning between disciplines such as architecture and civil engineering to create a sustainable and resilient built environment. To do this the routine-based silo mentality and status quo of the building industry and its processes must be challenged.

The course, which is a design studio, provides students with a cross-disciplinary practice-based learning environment, following a modified CDIO methodology (conceive, design, implement, operate. See content section for more info) to realize a project into a built result. The aim is for students to explore and develop new methods and skills for communication, decision-making and implementation of design ideas.

Through this course the students will acquire relevant skills to enter their working life, and hopefully challenge and improve the industry. Skills include effective communication across disciplinary borders, using one's knowledge and abilities in a real context, and capacity building to tackle the complexities of both a technical design and building process, often focuses on material reuse, circularity and design for dissassembly. In order for this to be meaningful for the local community, it is important to lift such a process out of theory and into practice, showing that real change can be simultaneously made and learned.

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

The list below is related to learning outcomes, please note that COMMON learning outcomes are those that both Dare to build, architects and Dare to build, civil engineers share.

Knowledge and understanding

  • Describe and refer to different methods for communication, decision-making and implementation of sustainable and resilient design ideas.
  • Identify and explain the different practical implications of applied architectural design for a sustainable built environment, such as design for disassembly and recovery, i.e. circular reuse of materials.
  • Identify and explain the structure of a project life cycle in relation to the CDIO methodology.(COMMON)

Competence and skills

  • Design, assess and construct concrete proposals and solutions for local sustainable development and circularity in a multi-disciplinary team of building-designers.
  • Apply architectural design tools and methods from previous coursework into a real-world project.
  • Visualize and communicate design proposals in a professional way to classmates, clients, stakeholders and experts from different backgrounds and in different stages of the design-build processes.
  • Work in multidisciplinary project teams, lead project work and present results throughout all phases of the CDIO process in the project life cycle. (COMMON)
  • Motivate different proposals with reference to scientific, or experience-based, knowledge and value-based arguments. (COMMON)
  • Develop effective strategies and conditions for effective teamwork in order to deliver projects successfully. (COMMON)

Judgement and approach

  • Combine knowledge from different disciplines and sectors in architectural design proposals for sustainable development and beyond.
  • Explore the role of architects in collaboration with/contrast to the engineers and vice versa in the planning and construction process. (COMMON)
  • Reflect on the professional role of architects and engineers, including critical thinking, professional ethics and the needs for life-long learning. (COMMON)

Content

Every year, the projects are based on real-world collaborations with stakeholders and their existing initiatives.

At the Dare to build, architects course, the projects are carried on into a working group composed of students and teaching staff which, in a collaborative way and during the spring, develop further the design, preparations and pedagogics for the building phase. Finally, the building phase (in collaboration with the course Dare to build, civil engineers) provides the moment when the students from different disciplines implement and build the designs and concepts in a specific local context and together with the respective local community.

This course is integrated in the CDIO framework, focusing most heavily on the Implementation phase. The different phases are structured and modified as follows:
  • (re) Conceive – reconception of existing project/initiative/idea by Dare to build students.
  • (detail) Design - Participants further develop the details and redesign some elements of the project, and all necessary preparations for the construction phase, such as necessary material for the building permits, scheduling schematics, building site logistical plans, etc. In this phase all partners are involved in order to guarantee the exact feasibility of the implementation phase.
  • Implement – In collaboration with the course Dare to build, civil engineers, a reassessment and eventual modifications of the design is done through the lenses of the collaboration and the actual construction of the building is planned, executed and finished. All necessary building documentation is produced in order to sustain an informed and competent building process.
  • (plan to) Operate - The completed built project gets handed over to the stakeholders and local community, in a guided presentation and exhibition of the result (including possibly an inauguration event for the built project). All necessary final documentation for the operability of the project is produced and completed.

Organisation

The assignments will be described by the course description and the project brief, introduced at the first day of the course and further carried out in groups with different working tasks. Analysis, synthesis and application of knowledge and skills from previous courses is converged and achieved here through professional and staff led co-creation, interdisciplinary and practice-based workshops, tutorials, seminars, study visits, design work and practical construction work in the project.

Literature

Lists of (compulsory and) reference literature will be included in the course description.

Examination including compulsory elements

The architectural design qualities of the project are supervised, assessed and examined before the building phase starts.

The project is reviewed and evaluated through various oral and written assignments. Most of which will be group-based project tasks and include a reflective statement regarding the learning experience. The groups review and critique the work of each other (in a reflective and multi-disciplinary way). A final written individual reflection and conclusion is handed-in for individual examination.

Literature reviews and seminars around the topics of transdisciplinary collaborations between architects and civil engineers, ethical concerns and other complex challenges that the course and the project evolve around, are also part of the examination.

To pass the studio the following is required:
  • Attendance and active participation at lectures/seminars
  • Active participation in group work, presentations and cross critics
  • Delivery of course assignments of sufficient quality (fulfilling the requirements regarding content and presentation of the assignments, and in alignment with the course learning outcomes)
  • Attendance and active participation in construction of the building

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.