Course syllabus for Building and structure

Course syllabus adopted 2021-02-26 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameByggnad och struktur
  • CodeARK218
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTKATK
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyArchitecture and Engineering
  • ThemeArchitectural design project 7.5 c
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingUG - Pass, Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 46131
  • Maximum participants50
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0118 Project, part A 6 c
Grading: UG
1.5 c4.5 c
0218 Project, part B 1.5 c
Grading: UG
1.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

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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

ARK096 Space and man, ARK103 Space and geometry, and TME275 Mechanics or corresponding courses.

Aim

The course aims are to:
- Explore the interaction between building design and load-bearing structure in the design of a building with varying span.
- Provide practically useful architectural knowledge on functions in a small public building based on different human measures and needs.
- In sketch work meet and take into account the society's regulations and governing processes.
- Practice design methods and tools.
- Formulate specific ecological, social and cultural sustainability goals and evaluate goal fulfillment in an architectural design project.

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

- Discuss the design of load-bearing systems in relation to materials, structure and architectural values
- Apply a professional vocabulary for structural systems of buildings.
- Describe guiding principles in the design of building parts of different kinds and be able to discuss how the design of the building parts interact with the function and expression of the building.
- Describe the function of a climate shell and give examples of how a climate shell in a wooden building can be constructed.
- Show a principle section and a selection of critical details for the building's function and expression in drawings and a physical model.
- Based on contextual investigations, describe and explain a site-specific context.
- Formulate and motivate specific values that are sought for a building based on a building program, artistic surveys, and own considered choices.
- Present a proposal for a building with rooms of different sizes and where spaces and load-bearing structure are organized into an artistic whole and communicated in both physical and digital form.
- Present, motivate and discuss own and others' projects in a final critique.
- Summarize and communicate the outcome of the course including self-reflection in a portfolio with accompanying portfolio dialogue.

Content

The course trains the ability to explore the interaction between a building's design and its supporting structure by the task to design a building with spaces of different sizes and different spans and where spaces and supporting structure are organized into an artistic whole. The course starts with artistic investigations of the current design task and its contexts. The course includes a series of lectures. They are of two kinds: Introductory lectures provide inputs to the course, partly by treating the actual type of building, partly to develop the theme of the course. The following lectures are general but with relevance to the task. They treat building components and building technology. The purpose of these lectures is to not only provide support to the processing of the task but also provide input to the individual collectiong of a repertoire of both architectural principles and approaches, and of building design solutions. The course also includes training of detailing in order to develop a building's character and to do this with regard to the properties of materials, external loadings and building technology. The course has every year a material theme, eg architecture in wood.

Organisation

Exploratory trials are conducted individually and in groups, while the architectural design is carried out individually. Support for the development and analysis of the building's load-bearing structure is given in the parallel course BMT016 Structures.

Literature

Literature will be announced.

Examination including compulsory elements

The course is built around a design project and examined, partly by an active process, partly through a presented, communicated and reflected result. The process includes active and full participation at lectures, seminars, group work, tutorials and critics, and a reported and approved documentation of the work process. To the results belongs a proposal delivered in time and with the requested format, a well performed reading and criticism of a fellow students' proposal, a well performed presentation and reflective defense of the own proposal, and a Portfolio presentation with a reflected summary of proposal and process.

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.