Course syllabus for Design for the workplace

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

Overview

  • Swedish nameArbetets rum
  • CodeARK505
  • Credits15 Credits
  • OwnerTKARK
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyArchitecture
  • ThemeArchitectural design project 13.5 c
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingUG - Pass, Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 45114
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0115 Project, part A 10.5 c
Grading: UG		0 c0 c10.5 c0 c0 c0 c
0215 Project, part B 3 c
Grading: UG		0 c0 c3 c0 c0 c0 c
0315 Laboratory, part C 1.5 c
Grading: UG		0 c0 c1.5 c0 c0 c0 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

At least 60 university credits in Years 1 and 2 of the Architecture program, or equivalent work from comparable architecture or design education. Swedish.

Aim

This course is designed to give students knowledge, insight, and skills by exploring the relationships between the functional requirements of activities in a building, working environment factors, and the spatial, functional, and aesthetic design of buildings and their interiors. An underlying point of view for the course is to regard buildings and interior spaces as resources for business activity. The relationships among building, space, and activity are viewed from the perspective of the world around them: changing conditions in society, economy, and business activity influence the conditions for architectural design. The course should give students knowledge and trained skills in the theories and methods of architectural practice in the early stages of building and interior design for the workplace. Students will further develop the knowledge and insight gained in prior courses on the factors that influence people's physical, psychological, and sensory experiences of buildings and spaces.

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

DESIGN STUDIO PROJECT
- Define and give examples of the workplace environment aspects that are relevant to the project.
- Apply the working methods and approaches used in design processes and building programming in the early stages of a design project.
- Identify and illustrate the relationships between business development and spatial configurations (spatial connections and relationships).
- Develop and visualize concise concepts for business development and the architectural design of spaces and buildings.
- Evaluate and compare various concepts related to the conditions for a business and its buildings.
- Put together a report with well thought-out graphic form and layout.

Unit 1: BUSINESS, BUILDING, SPACE
- Describe and analyze the spatial conditions for business development.
- Describe and analyze the conditions of a building's construction and mechanical systems for a business's development.
- Describe and analyze a business and its required spatial conditions and building qualities.
- Describe the qualities and problems of a given building.
- Evaluate a building's potential to accommodate change from technical, spatial, and sustainability perspectives.

Unit 2: ART EXPERIMENTS
- Develop an artistic approach to the search for solutions to problems.
- Evaluate and explain the inherent value of artistic work and its relation to a deeper understanding of architecture.

Organisation

This course is planned and led by a teaching team. The primary design studio project and secondary units are integrated around the course topic. The course is structures around studies of given workplaces and close collaboration with building users and stakeholders. Students work in groups, from surveying and analyzing to presentation of the results. The design studio and secondary unit assignments are integrated and work together by illuminating the main themes from different perspectives and through different methods. The course is made up of lectures, reading, seminars, field trips, and exercises. During the Business, Building, Space unit, students apply their experiences from prior courses such as Renovation and urban revitalization (A2 LP 1) and complete an analysis of a business and an existing building's spatial organization, construction, load-bearing structure, supply systems, material uses, and architectural character. In the Art Experiments unit, students develop insights into art as a method for studying and developing architectural design projects.

Literature

A reading list and information about the literature seminar will be provided at the start of the course.

Examination including compulsory elements

A passing grade for this course requires the following: - Complete and approved primary design studio project and secondary unit assignments. - Attendance at lectures. - Participation in literature seminar and completion of a synopsis. - Attendance at periodic design studio reviews throughout the term. - Active participation in critiques.

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.