Architectural Design Technology

Appreciate how legal, political and social issues shape our sector and its role in the economy. Understand the project lifecycle and the RIBA Plan of Work. Identify the industry’s stakeholders and professions and your chosen profession’s key responsibilities in meeting client objectives.

Explore the causes of climate change and the challenges of sustainable development, with particular focus on the construction and property sector. Examine the relationship between property and the environment along with the criteria used to measure sustainability in relation to finished construction projects.

Gain an understanding of the organisational structures within the sector. Appreciate the role of business planning and the accounting concepts that support decision making. Consider the importance and benefits of client management, professionalism, ethical practice and diversity in the workforce.

Establish a foundation knowledge of buildings, the environment and technology, also considering them from a sustainability perspective. Develop your communication skills and construction literacy with real-world examples of construction projects, including traditional masonry and roof construction.

Dive into the legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the construction and property sector, along with the legal environment in the context of planning, design and occupation and health and safety as it relates to both design and construction activity.

Develop a holistic understanding of the architectural design process against the backdrop of compliance with industry standards for effective coordination and communication. Combine your manual and digital skills through the use of software, media and information technology.

The relationship between a building’s design, environment and occupants is complex. With the overarching theme of human comfort, break down the individual factors – heat, air moisture sound and light within these aspects of a building, and how each of these factors affect one another, in the context of domestic or office environments.

Retrofit is a crucial function for keeping existing buildings in use and fit for purpose. Explore the range of different retrofitting project types and associated issues while developing the knowledge and skills required to appraise and develop retrofit and refurbishment solutions.

Explore the core competencies of building control you’ll need to become a member of relevant professional bodies. Examine requirements for site inspections of building work, with reference to legislation like the Building Safety Act 2022, and apply these standards to different scenarios.

Build an understanding of building pathology – the study of building decay, defects and performance failure. Develop your ability to effectively diagnose and evaluate a range of common building defects through inspection, testing, survey and analysis.

The relationship between a building’s design, environment and occupants is complex. With the overarching theme of human comfort, break down the individual factors – heat, air moisture sound and light within these aspects of a building, and how each of these factors affect one another, in the context of domestic or office environments.

Use sustainable and environmental design strategies to create holistic and technically designed solutions that are responsive to client’s needs. Generate design solutions to the level of detail in Stage 4 of RIBA Plan of Works using architectural modelling software.

Learn the theory and practical application of information management standards, protocols and responsibilities, and showcase your expertise by operating in a common data environment and applying information exchange protocols to support collaborative working.

Create a holistic, responsive solution to client and design brief requirements that is predicated on data. Through the use of digital design tools, this will culminate in a final design proposal evolving from 3D computer-generated concepts informed by energy performance simulation and analysis.

Consolidate your knowledge and skills by working in multi-disciplinary groups in a project scenario. This project will help you identify the procedures required for the adaptation and refurbishment of a building based on a client’s brief.

Utilise 2D and 3D design tools to prepare a proposal for manufacture and assembly. By selecting either a building component or a volumetric element and using modelling, further develop your understanding of the design and manufacturing process and knowledge of logistics, planning and quality.

Gain an understanding of the project management services provided by a building surveyor, including management, procurement, planning and programming, risk management and conflict avoidance.

Develop independent design-based research skills and demonstrate your ability to apply theoretical concepts to propose a holistic or localised design solution against the backdrop of a defined physical, cultural, social or economic project context.