Course syllabus for Adaptive reuse

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

Overview

  • Swedish nameAnvändning i förändring
  • CodeACE635
  • 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 45135
  • 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 c0 c7.5 c0 c0 c
0224 Written and oral assignments, part A 1.5 c
Grading: UG
0 c0 c0 c1.5 c0 c0 c
0324 Written and oral assignments, part B 1.5 c
Grading: UG
0 c0 c0 c1.5 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

  • Building conversion and adaptation, or equivalent
The course is part of the learning sequence Design and builds on and deepens knowledge of building design with a focus on transformation which was covered in the above course.

Aim

The course is part of a sequence of design courses that give students the knowledge and skills to initiate, implement and present projects on various scales and create long-term and functional solutions of high quality and with good design. The course gives students deepened knowledge on how to reuse the existing building stock with the aim of creating solutions that on the one hand adapt the property to serve the user's requirements better and give the building an extended lifespan and on the other improve the building's performance. The course builds on Building conversion and adaptation, but different from that course, in the course Adaptive reuse, the building's use and the city's needs are more central and will be weighed against the building's historical values, architectural values and reuse values.

The design project begins with a needs analysis based on the user's perspective today and in the future, an analysis of building drawings and the building's qualities, as well as a site analysis including the building's function in the neighbourhood. In the course, students examine the prerequisites of construction technology and materials, where the main focus is on concrete, the world's most common building material. Besides the transformation of the existing building, the design project will involve some form of extension to respond to the changing needs of the user and society. In the course, students work in parallel with a more traditional sketching process, digital drawings and an object-based digital model of the existing building. The course builds on knowledge about efficient resource use that was introduced in previous courses but deepens the knowledge through the quantification of resource use. To weigh the needs of the property owner and the user in the design process, students will use co-creative methods to help to develop a needs picture and involve users in the design process.

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

  1. Carry out a conversion and extension project by analyzing the user's needs and characterizing the existing environment (site and building), investigating the potential for reuse, formulating a concept/supporting idea, drawing up a program, sketching alternative proposals and evaluating them based on both rational and subjective values.
  2. Make trade-offs between the building's use values, historical values, architectural values, reuse values and sustainability values using quantitative methods (for example regarding resource usage).
  3. Describe and use different methods for dialogue with stakeholders (property owners, users) in the design process and reflect on the opportunity for different groups to participate in and influence the design.
  4. Develop a spatial structure that considers requirements to combine or separate functions and flows of different user groups (e.g. customers and employees; residents and guests).
  5. Produce a digital model of the existing building and extension to manage information about the building in a structured and planned way that enables collaboration between different participants in the construction process, facilitates the integration of different systems in projects and improves design coordination.
  6. Discuss how the frame system, indoor climate, climate shell, building details and material selection interact with the building's architectural qualities with a focus on a conversion project and concrete structures.
  7. Reflect and give concrete examples of how the user's needs, economic factors, legal requirements, the construction and sustainability goals have affected the design process and results.

Content

The course consists of three modules

Project
The first module relates to a design project that gives students the knowledge and skills to initiate, implement and present a transformation project of an existing building and a given user. Compared to the conversion course in the first year, the focus shifts from a building with high cultural value to a building with high utility value and from a conversion project to a conversion and extension project.

Written and oral assignments, part A on Sustainable development
In the second module, the student gains an in-depth knowledge of the trade-offs between new construction and renovation with or without extensions linked to sustainability by using quantitative methods.

Written and oral assignments, part B on Design and representation media
In the third module, students gain skills in using different types of drawing tools for design, communication and design coordination by developing a digital model of the existing building and the proposed transformation and extension.

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, the course consists of lectures, design laboratories and seminars. The lectures introduce the students to methods of gathering information about the needs of stakeholders, talking about their project, negotiating and seeing conflicts as well as synergies. Design labs are exploratory and provide students with basic design skills. Focus is placed on the design of the buildings structure in relation to the function of the building and flows in and outside the building based on the skills developed in the course Form space and structure. Seminars aim to give students an opportunity to reflect on both others' and their own work. Students work individually with their design projects in the course, but group work elements may occur.

Literature

Literature will be announced at the start of the course.

Examination including compulsory elements

Examination takes place through
  • Continuous examination of the design project that correspond to 7.5 credits and mainly examine learning objectives 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7
  • Written and oral assignments, part A on Sustainable Development which corresponds to 1.5 ECTS credits and mainly examines learning objectives 2 and 3
  • Written and oral assignments, part B on Design and representation media that corresponds to 1.5 credits and mainly examines learning objective 5
  • Reflection which primarily examines learning objective 7
  • Active participation in the course
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.