Undergraduate BA (Hons) Architecture

Program Overview

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Course overview

Architects imagine new environments and think about how people want to live in the 21st century. They consider how those environments can be created to achieve a sustainable future. If you have vision, enjoy challenging yourself and are looking to kick-start your career, study architecture at Kent.

Choose our RIBA and ARB-accredited course to explore the relationship between people and spaces on a degree that balances technical skills, design work and professional experience. It’s not just about creating beautiful buildings; you'll lead on projects, solve complex problems and learn to communicate your ideas.

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Accreditation

Riba

Program Outline

What you'll study

This module listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Year abroad

Stage 3

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Stage 1

Our BA in Architecture is the first step towards qualifying as an architect. You study regeneration, sustainability, landscape, community and urban life and develop the practical design skills needed within the profession.

Compulsory modules currently include the following

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This module introduces the student to the 'design project' and how to interpret and analyse a brief. The project will investigate spatial concepts, and will examine various types of spatial enclose, scale and function.

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Building on their experience gained in the autumn term this module deepens students' understanding of the design of interior and exterior space by the investigation and design of environments that confront the senses and where the integration of the sensory range is paramount. The potential of different materials within a design proposition is addressed. The module addresses the further awareness of the integration of function, aesthetics, technology and comfort within a design proposal. It also addresses the incorporation of vertical movement within a design proposal.

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Aspects of the Technology & Environment curriculum covered in this module include the fundamentals of the external envelope, the thermal environment, human comfort, artificial light, and natural ventilation. An important aspect includes the weathering of materials, and an introduction to building services-plumbing, electrical, etc.

Students will explore these technical and environmental aspects in the context of a design project, providing students with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience with the complexity of technical integration in architecture at a small scale. Moreover, students will experience the relationship between theory and practice and technical/environmental design

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The concept of building type is crucial in developing an understanding of the built environment as a coherent endeavour. Recurrent plan types are important in establishing order in architecture and interiors. Equally, divergence from the norm is important in rethinking established spatial types. The most ubiquitous building type is the house, and its analysis comprises the essence of this module. We shall be studying the house as an example of vernacular design, as a response to the particular environment of a region, as well as analysing key examples of the modern house. By this means, the key periods and events in the development of modernism may be charted. Students will gain an understanding of the modern house by reading relevant literature and architectural drawings and photographs, in addition to making scale models of particular houses, and writing illustrated essays.

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This module introduces the principles and skills needed to communicate design aspirations throughout the design process. Developing the use of freehand drawing, modelmaking, draughting, digital representation and presentation skills, this module provides a communications foundation upon which subsequent design and theory modules rest.

Through the encouragement of experimentation and investigation, the acquisition of skills in recording, and engaging with, the observed environment through appropriate drawing, modelling, and a whole range of graphic systems will be tested. Emphasis is placed on the use of the sketch book and reflection in the learning process.

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This course provides stage one students with an introduction into ancient and medieval architecture, predominantly Western. It will include a series of weekly lectures based on different key episodes in architectural history, supplying the students with both the historical information that will form the foundation for their future studies, as well as with a grasp of basic architectural concepts and ways of discussing and presenting them. Typical forms of historic building technologies will be discussed, together with their relevance to current technologies.

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The key concepts of sustainable design are introduced. An awareness of the distinction between structural and non-structural elements in buildings is taught. Lectures and workshops on structures and basic constructional techniques are also introduced along with the study of the environmental factors of natural light, with reference to their impact upon building interiors. The palette of building materials is outlined, conveying both their sensory impact as well as their physical properties. An awareness of the prime means of placing and fixing different materials in addition to the aesthetic and technical aspects of joining materials.

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Lecturers are really approachable. I wouldn’t hesitate to email them or ask if I could meet them.

Colleen Laurent, Architecture BA

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Stage 2

Explore the breadth of architecture and design within its historical, cultural and social context. You'll develop your ability to create and use physical models, computer and 3D drawings and gain an understanding of the influence of environmental design technology on the modern built environment.

Compulsory modules currently include the following

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This module introduces students to urban design, focussing on housing as a building type. It takes place in two stages, the first being to plan a group of buildings, possibly in an urban context, and the second to develop the design of one of the individual housing blocks comprising multiple units. Students will examine the various typologies of collective dwellings and investigate alternative ways in which these can be combined to form urban blocks. In preparation for this module students will explore some of the principles and theories of urban design and apply some of these in their projects. The principles of sustainability will be examined in the context of energy and environmental assessment methods, and the use of appropriate construction techniques will be explored. Students will develop both digital and hand-drawn presentation and communication techniques.

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Students will explore passive means of environmental control to achieve comfort in different climates. Vernacular precedents of passive design will be examined and distinguished from the cultural influences on design in different cultures. The concept of exterior and interior climates will be critically investigated and students will develop a good understanding of the microclimate created by cities, landscapes, groups of building and individual structures. The influence of materials, form and construction on environmental performance will be examined with reference to precedents and benchmarks. Specific techniques and methodologies for climate analysis and environmental design will be learned and applied.

The assignment concerns the development of environmental design strategies that are to be integrated appropriately into the design work of the concurrent module Architecture and Landscape. Students will demonstrate how they have provided for fresh air to move through the main building of Architecture and Landscape, as well as how they have exploited passive resources for cooling, temperature control, solar gain and the control of solar gain, both in the summer and winter and for the daytime and night-time. The integration of these into the main building of Architecture and Landscape will take heed of the functions of the spaces and their disposition and be arranged for good efficacy. Students will concisely describe the rationale of the environmental strategies and explain the operation of any technology used in realizing these strategies and illustrate this with appropriate plans and cross-sections.

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This module addresses the developments in architecture from the early fifteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century. The cultural context of the time will be studied by outlining the socio-economic conditions, the new attitudes to knowledge, arts, history and architecture. Architectural treatises of the early Renaissance and the related developments in the practices of painting and sculpture will be brought into the consideration in order to highlight specific innovation and dynamics of architecture. The underlying conditions of the movements known as Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Rococo and Neo-classicism will be addressed and relevant buildings, objects of art, architectural texts and dominant narratives will be studied. Landscape design will be discussed through the comparative analysis between the formal landscape design and the phenomenon of the picturesque. The architecture of symbolism and utopianism is also considered. The eighteenth-century organization of life and labour, the emerging spaces of production, as well as the establishment of the academies, museums, and other institutions will be addressed, in order to highlight the way in which these phenomena contributed to the rise of the architectural profession and the building guilds. Typical forms of historic building technologies will be discussed, together with their relevance to current technologies.

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This design module integrates concerns for structure, construction and form in the process of architectural design. The objective is to help and to encourage students to design with each of these subject areas simultaneously informing the others.

A series of lectures and seminar group exercises will introduce students to the principles of structural design including structural typologies; loads and forces; simple beam bending theory; mechanics of materials; and structural geometry. Students will be presented with strategies and qualitative methods of structural analysis which will support the activities of the module. Basic structural theory and the study of form and construction will be consistently related to real buildings, structures and materials.

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This course will enable the student to learn through a series of detailed thematic and historical investigations how a number of specific important aspects and events in architectural history have changed the way in which we experience the built environment and, also, to appreciate the responsibility of all architects and designers towards the societies in which they live. Its focus is the nineteenth century. Students will be assessed in the form of an examination which will draw on material researched through guided casework study. Typical forms of historic building technologies will be discussed, together with their relevance to current technologies.

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This course focuses upon the relationship of landscape and architectural, particularly through the siting of a building, site planning, and elementary planting design and landscape detailing. The design project is treated as a totality, with architecture and landscape fully integrated both spatially and conceptually. The building brief is of moderate complexity, following sustainable principles relating to the Climate module. The history and theory of landscape architecture is covered in a series of accompanying lectures. Lectures and workshops with landscape architects and others introduce students to the contemporary profession of landscape architecture, techniques of landscape representation, and to the dynamics of professional team work with related disciplines. Computer drawing, 2D and 3D, is also taught in this module, and students present aspects of their design scheme using these methods.

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Year abroad

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Enhance your practical skills and intercultural awareness with a year abroad.

Our partner university choices are subject to change year to year in response to student feedback and innovation.

The year abroad is a fantastic opportunity for architecture students. Studying abroad can help to expand your perspective on design and enhance your employability. In previous years, students have studied at Virginia Tech in the US and École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et de Paysage de Lille.

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Year in Computing

The Year in Computing is a free-standing, self-contained year and can be taken after stage two or three (that is, between your second and final year), or after your final year. You can take a Year in Computing if you are a current undergraduate student at the University of Kent, studying another non-computing degree programme.

You can only apply for the Year in Computing once you are a student at Kent.

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Stage 3

In your final year, you bring together your knowledge and experience in a final major design project, exploring your architectural interests through a dissertation or artefact project.

Compulsory modules currently include the following

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This module engages students with the professional practice of architecture. Assignments will review and analyse a design project from the perspective of professional practice. A series of lecture and seminars introduce students to the subjects of professional ethics, planning and building law, practice management, and building information modelling (BIM).

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This module focusses upon key buildings, sites, and urban designs beginning chronologically in the 1890s, and concluding at the end of the twentieth century. Students will be introduced to these key projects, their designers, and the relevant cultural and theoretical contexts through lectures and readings, primarily following a chronological order. The geographic scope will be international. There is one required textbook for the course, which will be used to structure the lectures and the final exam. Discussion sessions with students will aim to prepare them for the final exam, which will consist of short essay answers.

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This module explores the application of sustainability theory to the practice of urban design. Engaging students in the redesign of an existing urban locality, the module provides an opportunity to investigate sustainable design strategies that address today's environmental, social, and economic challenges. The project starts with a critical analysis of the structure, organisation, and function of the chosen locality, as well as the current design of its streets, squares and urban blocks. This analysis serves as a basis for urban design proposals for the redevelopment of the chosen locality. Explore the potential of adaptive, mixed-use developments, urban infill, and the creation of new urban spaces, these proposals will tackle sustainability goals including the mitigation of the effects of climate change, the reduction of energy use through the promotion of walkability, the optimisation of the urban microclimate, the enhancement of social equity, the economic use of land, the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, and the respect of existing cultural heritage. Relevant models and strategies will be explored through a series of lectures, seminars, and tutorials, which will provide an overview of place-making theories, introducing distinctive contemporary urban plans, analysing their historical provenance, regulatory, historical, theoretical, ergonomic, and aesthetic principles. Workshops and tutorials will also cover the technical and environmental specification of sustainable urban design at various scales, focusing on detailed landscaping proposals with an emphasis on sustainable urban drainage, planting and greenery, material specifications, vehicular and traffic management and public space and pedestrian use. Linking sustainability theory to urban design practice, this module cultivates a holistic understanding of the role of contemporary sustainability agendas in reshaping modern cities.

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This module focuses on the detailed design of a significant new piece of architecture that responds to the existing urban fabric and aligns with sustainable urban development goals. The module assesses a student's capabilities, skills, knowledge and understanding of the relationships and intersections between new building work and a broader urban and cultural context. Three key design skills will be demonstrated: the integration of the conflicting demands surrounding a proposal that successfully balances the requirements of client, user and the public with the social and environmental pressures encountered; a sensitive integration of a new building within an existing urban fabric, and the successful integration of technical and environmental design aspects with formal and functional propositions. This architectural design project addresses sustainability, regulatory, historical, theoretical, ergonomic, spatial, formal and aesthetic principles of architectural design.

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This module offers students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of a particular aspect of architecture. The topic to be studied is agreed with the Module Convenor and an appropriate supervisor is nominated from the teaching staff. Moreover the dissertation will provide students with the opportunity to develop more advanced academic research and writing skills. It forms part of the research strand within the architectural curriculum, which complements the design strand of the studio.

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How you'll study

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Teaching and assessment

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

85% Coursework 15% Exams 85% Coursework 15% Exams 100% Coursework

We use a variety of learning and teaching methods, including lectures, workshops, studio-based work and field study trips. You also attend tutorials, seminars, small group discussions and one-to-one design sessions, giving you a range of feedback opportunities to improve their skills.

Our dedicated student workshop is run by experienced model makers and is equipped with a CNC router as well as a comprehensive collection of workshop equipment, laser-cutting facilities and access to an electronics workshop.

You also have the exclusive use of our digital workshop which enables you to explore aspects of 3D scanning, printing and modelling; using cutting-edge technology; from point-cloud 3D capture to fused deposition modelling 3D prototypes. We hold seven hobbyist 3D printers and three high-end 3D scanners, to enhance our experimental approach throughout the process and development of an architectural design brief.

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Overall workload

You spend approximately 1,200 hours each academic year studying for your degree. On average, 60% of your time is spent in an activity led by an academic. The rest of your time is for independent study. Typically, this will involve design project work, reading, essay writing, technology and environment coursework.

Your independent study is supported by excellent facilities including the library, architecture studios, architecture workshop, digital workshop and digital crit space.

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Academic support

We offer a mentoring scheme in collaboration with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), as well as practical involvement with local architects and projects. You also have access to academic advisors, academic peer mentoring, drop-in sessions, skills workshops and software specific workshops and training.

The University’s learning advisory service offers support and guidance to enhance your study skills.  Our student support service helps students with additional needs resulting from disabi