Module Overview

Module Overview

The Technology Studio II module introduces the learner to principles of building construction techniques with a technical design studio and a lecture series. The studio focuses on the applied principles and techniques by representing building materials and construction systems. Students learn to document the design process through iterative drawing and model making exercises based on individual design studio projects and the study of exemplars. The aim of the module is to provide the student with the critical tools to understand, debate, research and explore structural and tectonic solutions which underpin the development of an architectural proposition. It develops the learners skills to accurately represent the materials, tectonic solutions, structures and their proposed building designs.

Component 1

Building Technology Lectures 

The Building Technology lecture series exposes the students to the history of tectonics, materials and techniques to broaden their understanding of the culture, contexts and environments within which their work as architects will reside - ‘architecture is made in and of the world’. In this compoment , we explore the history of tectonics through the lens of individual materials their properties and behaviour. We will explore the origins of each material, their tectonic birth and evolution, the tools used to advance its use together with techniques and key exemplars from antiquity to its modern iterations. The 12 lectures in this module/component are continued in the Technical Studio Module in semester 2 of 2nd year architecture. They are designed as a thematically group of 24 lectures with 12 delivered in each semester of 2nd year architecture.

Component 2

Technical Studio

The Design Technology studio is the vehicle for the application and synthesis of the lessons learned in first year and those topics being explored in the 2nd year Building Technology lectures delivered across the BTS and TS modules in second year. This module is designed to directly support individual student exploration, research and learning and the outcomes of the ADS studio module. Students will study, research and document exemplars analysing their structure and building fabric. Drawings and models are the primary vehicles for this study. The same techniques are then used, model making and drawings, to develop the structure tectonics and building fabric of one of their ADS project. The teaching method in the technical studio is based on interactive group tutorials with circa 20 students in each tutorial group led by experienced architect. Students work in pairs or small groups on exemplars for the first half of the semester. In the second half of the semester students will work on their own ADS projects. Each week students will present their work to the group for discussion. This collaborative platform is intended to formally expose students to the work of their colleagues inviting them to question and contribute to the work of the other members of the unit and year group. The work of the unit and year group is presented and displayed within the studio environment as a year group learning resource. The nature, scale and type of projects being researched and documented within this unit will reflect the projects set in the ADS Design Studio. This module is intended as a parallel and integrated module with ADS to support and progress the architectural propositions of each student and support the group learning and research of the whole student cohort.