Module Breakdown: 2nd Year
Welcome back to one of the last posts of this academic year! In this post we have gathered the modules that we were assessed in throughout our 2nd year of studying Architecture BA and Architecture & Environmental Design BSc at the University of Westminster. Of course modules can change or be adjusted (especially during COVID-19) so make sure to go over your own course handbook you're provided as this is to just show what modules we had.
Design and The Environment (DES2A)
Design and The Environment is the first design module which is compulsory for all BA students and it includes an architectural proposal & design statement (80%) and an environmental design study, EDS, (20%). This module is worth 40 credits.
Design studio was once again the main part of DES2A and unlike the first year where we had multiple briefs, semester one was just one detailed brief that was specific and different to each studio group. The structure of teaching for this module was 2 studio days a week, one with both tutors and the second with one tutor, and 2 crits per term: an interim and final crit. With our university specifically, we were able to attend our first tutorial of the week on campus to see both tutors but our second tutorial took place online. This only applied for the first semester as later on in the year we returned to complete online teaching in the second semester. For second year, your tutorials will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, this could change so if you are a UoW architecture student reading this, make sure to stay alert for further information provided by the second year leader.
Before the academic year begins, you will be informed about second year design studio introductions set up by the year leader. At the University of Westminster you have the chance to list your top 3 design studios you would like to join for the academic year. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of since you can get a good grasp of the brief, the tutors and the work ethic that is put across in the design studio. You will also have a chance to ask questions for the tutors so maybe make a list of things you want to ask about.
EDS is a separately submitted portfolio looking at an environmental focus for your design project. The module encourages you to tackle an aspect of your project with the aims of making it more eco-friendly. This could suggest looking at mitigating issues which your proposal faces due to your site, using local materials to lower embodied carbon in the process of building your proposal or experimenting with new envelopes for your buildings in the hopes of providing optimum environmentally friendly conditions. The module leader expects you to show your research and experimentations which provoke environmental thinking. The more you branch out into materials, production processes and effective systems, the more solid your EDS will be. Throughout the project, you can submit multiple drafts to blackboard for questions and feedback or you could book a 1v1 tutorial slot where you can talk through your ideas with the module leader. The EDS deliverables were submitted at the end of the first semester in a portfolio format.
Design and Detail (DES2B)
Design and Detail is the second design module which is compulsory to be taken by all BA students and includes an architectural proposal & design statement (75%) and a detail design study, DDS, (25%). This module is worth 40 credits.
Design studio for semester two followed the same structure of teaching of DES2A with 2 studio days a week, one with both tutors and the second with one tutor, and 2 crits per term: an interim and final crit. This time round both studio days were online due to COVID-19. The type of brief however is different depending on each studio, some studios had a similar brief continuing on the semester one site, whilst other studios had different briefs between both semesters but essentially the same theme continues throughout the whole year. Like the first semester you present your project at an interim crit which usually happens midway through the semester and then a final crit before the Easter break. This project is submitted twice near the end of the academic year. One of which is a formative submission for final feedback by your tutors without a mark. The second one is your final submission. Other than that, it follows the same structure as the first semester design project.
Moving onto DDS, our detailed design study is more or less a modified version of EDS. The main highlighted focus is the race towards net zero carbon in architecture. This module asks you to hone into different aspects of your project with the aim of reducing carbon emissions, operational energy and embodied carbon. You will find yourself interrogating your design through research into sun exposure, wind, materials, orientation, thermal mass, ventilation and much more. Rather than just being a creative process, you start to come up with more logical reasons for your final spatial organisation by designing truly comfortable environments for your occupants.
Due to COVID-19, the deliverables for this year were reviewed by the module leader since we were not able to access the fabrication lab properly. This could all change for the upcoming year group. The original submission asked for less drawings and more hands on model work which we were not able to do. This module is another portfolio submission and is submitted a couple of weeks before your final DES2B submission.
Site Diary (TS2)
Site Diary is compulsory for BA students only and it is made up of a proforma (10%) and a site diary (90%). This module is worth 20 credits.
The proforma is an introductory risk assessment that you submit prior to beginning the site diary. The site diary is essentially a compilation of your research, understandings and own gatherings about an ongoing real-life project that is being constructed. In the summer after first year you are expected to find a project that is being built so that in the first semester you can visit the site for multiple follow up sessions. The purpose of the site diary is for you to see the progression of a construction site, understand building regulations and to be aware and acknowledge the health and safety issues on site.
Alongside visiting the construction, there are a series of live online lectures that inform you about the design team, the roles on site and also about the RIBA plan of work stages. When submitting the site diary you can opt for a normal portfolio format. However, one part of the marking criteria does focus on the way you have presented your work. This doesn’t necessarily refer to visuals on a page but also the medium it is presented in; mini film, leaflet, magazine, etc.
Architectural History and Urbanism (CC2)
Cultural context is the only module shared by both BA and BSc students. It is assessed through a presentation (20%), a group workbook (30%) and an essay (50%). The module is worth 20 credits.
CC2 was taught through pre-recorded lectures, live online lectures and group tutorials, which took place on Monday afternoons for three hours. These live lectures were more about teaching us skills rather than content on the history of architecture, for example some of the lecture topics were ‘Archival Research’ and an ‘Essay workshop’. Using these lectures we had to create a presentation on a chosen building and show how we read it in an urban context, looking at how people use the building, how it has been constructed, what materials are used, how it occupies its footprint etc…
Alongside these live lectures, we had pre-recorded lectures released once a week where we had to write a summary on the content. The summary would be formed from a combination of the lecture, independent research and extra reading materials. These summaries would eventually make up the workbook that you submit in December, so what most groups did was split the lectures so each person has 2-3 reviews to write. Unlike the live lectures, the pre-recorded lectures are called ‘critical issues lectures’. Some examples of the topics covered are: the approaches to ‘Contested Heritage’ in the built environment; the role of architecture in a post-conflict environment and designing healthy cities. So by the end of semester one you would have completed your presentation and the majority of your group workbook which accounts for half of your CC2 module.
In semester two, you have to complete a 2500 word essay to submit in February. We were given a list of essay titles that had relevance to the pre-recorded lectures so we could use them as part of our bibliography. The live lectures being based on architectural research methods also helped when it came round to researching for your essay question. At this point there were no more lectures and we only had three group tutorials to help with the essay.
Technical Environmental Studies (TES2)
TES2 is compulsory for BSc students only. The module consists of replies on an online discussion forum (30%) and a laboratory report (70%). The module is worth 20 credits.
Technical Environment Studies focuses on the relationship between climate, energy and architecture. Weekly lectures on topics ranging from human comfort and mental well-being in architecture, to net-zero carbon designs take place and set the context for environmental design with literature and theory. You are expected to review every lecture on an online discussion forum and reflect on what you took away from each talk in a post between 150-300 words every week. In addition, you are expected to reply to other students’ reflections in smaller posts of at least 50 words, as well as include one expanded topic for a chosen lecture of interest that should be between 300 and 500 words. Each post can also contain 2-5 supporting sketches and images to support your argument or discussion. Your contribution to the discussion board forms part of your grade for the module.
The laboratory report consists of documenting a detailed site analysis with scientific data to back up your observations and perceptions of the studied sites for the design studio modules. You are expected to analyse both current climate data and future climate data (extreme weather data predicting conditions in 2050) to set the context for the site. Essentially, this analysis will inform design strategies that you will eventually implement into your design modules. The second semester specifically requires you to analyse an existing building in terms of its environmental performance (thermal, ventilation, acoustic, daylight qualities) in detail. These analyses are completed for representative periods of the year (typically the winter solstice, summer solstice and equinox seasons) to give you an understanding of the requirements of environmental buildings over the changing seasons. Building and site performance simulations, literature (theory and lecture material), first hand data and secondary data are all examples of methods used to analyse the sites in the report.
Design in Cities (DS2A)
DS2A is compulsory for BSc AED students only and is assessed through a portfolio submission. The module is worth 20 credits.
The first design studio module of second year, for BSc students, consists of undertaking a detailed site analysis of a chosen site in relation to contextual and environmental parameters. Eventually, this will inform the design of an urban schematic massing proposal on site that responds to a chosen theme. This year, the chosen site was Paddington Gardens in Marylebone, London. The site analysis part of this module is group work, and each group focuses on a different contextual and environmental parameter for the site, before settling on a theme for the narrative of the urban proposal at the park which responds to the analysis. The urban proposal is individual work.
Similar to BA, we have tutorials twice a week and a crit which took place halfway through semester 1.
Environmental Design and Technology (DS2B)
DS2B is compulsory for BSc AED students only and is assessed through a portfolio submission. The module is worth 20 credits.
Using the same site as DS2A, this module asks you to design a Climate Change Hub - a temporary pavilion that allows users to learn about climate change. The users consisted of primary school children who would use the space to learn about climate change through the architectural design of the pavilion, as well as the general public who would be able to visit the pavilion and learn of these issues through an exhibition. The project is informed by research into how children learn; precedent studies on architectural technology, temporary structures and learning spaces; and the site analysis from semester 1. This module is the only completely individual module for Year 2 of AED BSc.
Tutorials took place twice a week for this module with a final crit at the end of semester 1.
Designing in Extreme Climatic Conditions (DS2C)
DS2C is compulsory for BSc AED students only and is assessed through a portfolio submission. The module is worth 20 credits.
DS2C requires you to design a second skin and in-between space on an existing high-rise building in groups of three to four. This year the site was the Marylebone Halls of Residence on campus. After conducting fieldwork of the building and analysing the existing building organisation and structure, we designed a skin that would respond to the changing microclimate, basing the analysis on 2020 and 2050 climatic data, which would also allow the control of daylight and natural ventilation. We had freedom to design the space created between the second skin and existing building however we wanted.
Tutorials took place twice a week for this module with a final crit halfway through semester 2.
Zero-Plus Energy Buildings (DS2D)
DS2D is compulsory for BSc AED students only and is assessed through both a portfolio submission (90%) and a design statement (10%). The module is worth 20 credits.
With respect to the skin designed in DS2C, the existing building structure and the site analysis, the final module of second year required us to redesign the interior of the same accommodation building to improve the experience of the students who lived there, as well as work towards the challenge of making the building operate as an NZEB (nearly-zero energy building). We had to consider how we could use the environmental analysis as well as the surrounding site to contribute to energy savings, whilst improving the wellbeing of the residents. The project followed on from the last, so we remained in the same groups for the brief as for DS2C.
Tutorials took place twice a week for this module with a final crit at the end of semester 2.
And that brings us to the end of the rundown of all second year modules at the University of Westminster for both the Architecture BA course and the Architecture & Environmental Design BSc course. Same place, same time next week we will be posting a blog post on our thoughts, experiences and advice for those of you moving onto second year! Make sure to join our mailing list to be notified when that is up :)
Next week will be the release of our last blog post for ArchiDabble until the next academic year however, we will be active on our Instagram throughout the summer break so make sure to follow us @archidabble
