Course syllabus for Housing in an urban context

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

Overview

  • Swedish nameStadsbostaden
  • CodeACE630
  • Credits10.5 Credits
  • OwnerTKARK
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyArchitecture
  • ThemeArchitectural design project 7.5 c,Environment 1.5 c
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingUG - Pass, Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 45133
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0124 Project 7.5 c
Grading: UG		0 c0 c7.5 c0 c0 c0 c
0224 Written and oral assignments, part A 1.5 c
Grading: UG		0 c0 c1.5 c0 c0 c0 c
0324 Written and oral assignments, part B 1.5 c
Grading: UG		0 c0 c1.5 c0 c0 c0 c

In programmes

Examiner

Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first 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

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
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

  • Housing design: Space for living, or equivalent
  • Urban design: Space in cities, or equivalent

The course is part of the learning sequence Design and builds on and deepens the ability to plan, design, care for, transform and renew built environments and buildings with a holistic approach and in complex contexts, taking into account various requirements, especially society's goals for sustainable development which were covered in the above-mentioned courses.

Aim

The course builds on the courses Housing design: Space for living (A1) and Urban design: Space in cities (A2) and is part of a sequence of design courses that give students the knowledge and skills to initiate, implement and present projects at different scales and create sustainable and functional solutions of high quality and good design. The purpose of the course is to provide knowledge and skills in the design of an apartment building in a city block with focus on aesthetic, functional and sustainable design solutions, where knowledge of building regulations also forms part of the design work. The focus of the design work is on the apartment building’s floor plan and apartment layouts, as well as on the entrance floor and the interaction between urban space and the home’s exterior/interior spaces (how the building meets the city). Room compositions and room configurations as well as transitions from public areas to common and private rooms are examined in relation to room experience, movement patterns and function.
The focus is also on the apartment’s accessibility in terms of building regulations and finances, how both the built environment and economic factors affect accessibility for the household. The student also gains knowledge about how the design of the apartment interacts with social qualities and how the apartment can be designed from a user perspective, taking into account the needs of different inhabitants in order to be sustainable in the long term. During the course, housing is also highlighted from a power perspective, where people’s living environment and housing as a fundamental right are discussed in relation to various societal interests.
The course aims to expand knowledge and skills in digital tools with focus on being able to present the project (verbally, in text, drawing, image) to various stakeholders with different backgrounds (municipality, property owners, residents).

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

  1. Give examples and compare different building and apartment typologies in relation to the apartment’s design and social dwelling qualities.
  2. Design homes with a focus on the floor plan configuration and design of different types of rooms (public, common, and private rooms, both interior and exterior) och med insikt om estetiska, sociala och funktionella värden.
  3. Design homes that allow usability and long-term sustainability for a variety of households.
  4. Explain and use building regulations and standards (eg fire protection) as well as principles for construction and installations, when designing an apartment building
  5. Describe the building’s energy balance and stormwater management and identify possible improvements.
  6. Use 3D as a tool in ongoing design work and present the project’s spatial qualities in 3D (focus on interior rooms).
  7. Present the project orally, in text, drawing and image to various stakeholders and reflect on how the chosen media interact with the background and the role of the recipients.
  8. Reflect on housing from a power perspective where different interests are put against each other (such as the interest of citizens, residents, and the developer of the project) linked to housing costs, housing qualities and financial accessibility as well as professional ethical aspects related to housing design and planning.

Content

Design project (Projekt, 7,5 p) includes exercises and a design project. The design work is introduced through several exercises, and in the subsequent design project the student practices the skill to design an apartment building.

Sustainable development (Written and oral assignments, part A, 1,5 p) includes exercises and seminars, displaying two focuses. One is on the design of the home from a power perspective, and the other is on energy balance and stormwater management.

Design and representation media (Written and oral assignments, part B, 1,5 p) includes practice of digital tools in design work, as well as practice to develop a relevant basis (both oral, as text, drawing and image) for communication to various stakeholders (public, authorities, users, clients).

The three modules (Design project, Sustainable development, and Design and representation and media) are carried out as parallel moments. The work with the design project with introductory exercises runs throughout the course, where digital tools and representation are practiced and used in the design work and the final project presentation. The seminars on the power perspective and the exercises on energy balance and stormwater management are done as supplementary moments to the design work.

Organisation

The course uses project-based teaching where students learn from and with each other in the studio in combination with tutoring by teachers. In addition to project work that trains the design work, the course consists of lectures, exercises and seminars. The lectures introduce the development of the apartment building from a historical perspective, give examples of housing, apartment types, highlighting aesthetic, functional and sustainable design solutions for apartment buildings. The lectures also introduce technical issues such as fire protection, construction and installation shafts. The exercises train the design work with housing as well as practice energy balance calculation and management of stormwater. The seminars provide knowledge of and skills in reflecting on housing from the power perspective. In the design work, spatial functions and qualities are investigated using 3D representation, which becomes a basis for the final presentation. The courses ends with a final review where the design project is submitted, presented, discussed and reflected on.

Literature

  • ­Braide, A. (2023). Anpassbara lägenheter. (Upplaga 1). Lund: Studentlitteratur.
  • ­Minoura, E. (2019). Bostadsgården – Territoriell arkitektur. (Upplaga 1). Lund: Studentlitteratur.
(The book: Nylander, O. (2019). Svensk bostadsarkitektur, utveckling från 1800-tal till 2000-tal. Johanneshov: MTM, That is course literature in Housing design: Space for living (A1) is relevant also in this course.)

Examination including compulsory elements

  • Continuous examination of the design project that correspond to 7.5 credits mainly examining learning objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, 6.
  • Written and oral assignments, part A on sustainable development that correspond to 1.5 credits mainly examining learning objectives 5, 8.
  • Written and oral assignments, part B on design and representation media that correspond to 1.5 credits mainly examining learning objectives 6, 7.
  • Reflection on ethical aspects in housing design and planning examining mainly learning objectives 7, 8.
  • Active participation in briefings, seminars and final criticism.
Continuous examination means that examination takes place through several presentation sessions with clear submission requirements that are announced at the start of the course. Also, compulsory moments are announced at the start of the course.

A student who is not approved in the course after the regular examination must be given the opportunity to be examined through supplementation after the end of the course if the examiner considers it feasible. If, after two attempts at completion, the student still cannot be approved, the student must retake the course. Assessment of completions takes place during Chalmers' re-examination periods. It is the student's responsibility to check reported study results in Ladok after each study period and to contact the course examiner for instructions on supplementation if an approved result is missing.

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.