Masters Degrees (Sustainable Design)

As a cultivated form of invention, design shapes, modifies and alters the world around us for better or worse, and the need for modern design to be more sustainable and ethically responsible has never been more important.

Many multinational companies, research centres, governments and individuals acknowledge that a change in attitude to the way we design products, spaces, communications and communities is a positive step and long overdue. Indeed, over the last 10 years, commercial understanding of sustainable design has transformed, shifting from being about risk and compliance to a dynamic leadership issue.

Our Sustainable Design MA helps you to rethink the parameters of good design in an unsustainable age. Working alongside experts in ecology, psychology, design and business, you will gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to focus your practice and become a more effective agent of change.

Why study with us?

• Interdisciplinary approach to sustainable design that incorporates ideas from ecology, psychology and business with a balance of theory and practice
• Campus in one of Europe's most progressive and creative cities
• World-renowned staff, including sustainable design expert Professor Jonathan Chapman
• Guest lecturers from industry including Louis Joseph (head of global strategy at Puma), Richard Gilbert (director of The Agency for Design) and Oliver Heath (founder of OH Designs)
• Diverse student body with backgrounds in graphic design, illustration, architecture, fashion, education, politics and product design (introduce yourself on our Sustainable Design Facebook group)

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Areas of study

Sustainable Design: Present(s)

Semester one, 20 credits

You start with a foundation in sustainable design principles, theories and methodologies. Themes include cradle to cradle, low-carbon building and production, design for recycling, biodegradability, biomimicry, alternative energy, ecological thinking, permaculture, and disassembly.

Research Methods

Semester one, 20 credits

This module gives you an overview of design research methods and how they are used in professional practice. It enables you to construct the kind of research questions, hypotheses and methodologies that underpin innovative design, as you develop a more autonomous position in the process of critical inquiry.

Studio

Semesters one and two, 60 credits

The Studio module spans two projects – ‘Behaviours’ and ’Matters’. The Behaviours project takes place in semester one and provides you with a theoretical context for the studio-based investigation, analysis and generation of essential design criteria that shape patterns of consumption.

In semester two, you undertake the Matters project, a studio-based experience that places emphasis on materiality and the nature of physical experience as mediated through the design, production and physical manifestation of things.

Sustainable Design: Future(s)

Semester two, 20 credits

This module takes the form of a series of seminars, workshops and discussion groups where specialist practitioners, writers, researchers, manufacturers and theorists present their work on sustainability. It covers themes including consumer motivation, behaviour, phenomenology, deep ecology, temporality, consciousness, emotional durability, materiality, defuturing and experience-authoring.

Master

Semester three, 60 credits

The Master project represents the culmination of your work throughout the course. It allows you to apply all of the experiences and skills that you have accumulated, as you choose an area of sustainable design that you want to pursue in detail.

You work is structured by an individually defined 'statement of intent' that provides the framework through which you will be assessed. This process enables you to explore distinctive areas of expertise with a unique approach to the ubiquitous issues of sustainability and design.

The final body of master work must be developed through practices relevant to you and your statement of intent. These might include the development and production of design proposals, a written thesis, a documentary, an ad campaign, an article for a leading publication, a touring exhibition or a combination of the above.

Our studio

From 2016, students will work in the new Masters Centre, which provides studio, seminar and tutorial space for all postgraduate students in the School of Architecture and Design.

Students on MA Sustainable Design will have dedicated studio space with access to workshop and digital model making facilities. More specialised materials and making requirements can be supported on an individual basis with colleagues in engineering, crafts and arts.

Careers and employability

After graduation, many students secure influential positions within major global businesses, charities and NGOs. Previous students include:

• a product designer for Thammasorn in Bangkok, Thailand
• an assistant professor at Suwon Science College in Hwasung, South Korea
• a media designer at AKT II
• a sessional lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts
• a designer at the Graphic Thought Facility
• a media producer at Paper Tiger Television
• a design and technology teacher at Brighton and Hove College
• a lecturer at Petra University in Amman, Jordan
• creative head at Archeng Designers
• a BIM engineer at CC
• a senior sustainability advisor at Forum for the Future.

A number of our students establish independent design agencies, social innovation labs and research centres. Many decide to continue their research in the form of a PhD, and have a particularly strong record of achieving fully funded studentships, both here at Brighton and internationally.

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The session will provide a chance to meet the course leader and some current students who will share their projects and experiences. You will also take part in a design activity that will give you a real taste of what we do on the course in addressing social and sustainability challenges.

Choose Kingston's Sustainable Design MA

This course is aimed at designers, creative workers and other specialists who want to direct their practice towards progressive sustainability and social agendas. It focuses on the value of design as a vehicle for addressing social and ecological concerns in both developed and developing world settings. It will equip you with the knowledge, capabilities and confidence to challenge the status quo by applying design thinking to the generation of design-led interventions for a sustainable future.

Key features
-The overarching course philosophy, based on an emphasis on research, methodology and design thinking, allows individual and personal concerns to be explored through focused study in sustainable design.
-The course takes an inter-disciplinary approach to the study and practice of sustainable design, by recruiting students from all creative and design backgrounds and beyond.

What will you study?

The Sustainable Design MA is directed towards the goal of creating a more sustainable and equitable society. You will explore innovative and practical ways to help realise those visions, emphasising design, creativity, empathy, innovation and activism.

The course encourages critical thinking about the social and ecological agendas it addresses. The course is design-based, but not confined to design practice - it includes a significant amount of theoretical and contextual studies. It is possible to choose a dissertation option for the final major project.

You will be taught by leading academics and practitioners in sustainable design, social design, social innovation, participatory design, strategic design, service design, design-led innovation, and related topics. The course incorporates collaboration with partners such as Design Council, Futerra, Greengaged, Sorrell Foundation, ThinkPublic and Uscreates.

Assessment

Design project work, live projects, research project folders, 5,000-word critical essay, and a major design research project.

Course structure

The Sustainable Design MA course is part of the School of Design's postgraduate programme. The structure – shared with students from Communication Design MA, Product & Furniture Design MA, and Fashion MA – enables you to explore your individual specialist interests in sustainable design within an integrative learning environment that provides a comprehensive understanding of the value and role of interdisciplinary methods and ways of working. The influences and impact of thinking from other related design subjects on your own specialist study is an important aspect of the identity and the community of interdisciplinary practice at masters level in the School of Design.

This structure is designed to help progress and develop your independent learning, encouraging you to construct and explore projects concerned with areas of particular personal interests. The overarching course philosophy, based upon an emphasis on research, methodology and design thinking, allows individual and personal concerns to be explored through focused study in sustainable design.

The two shared modules of the School of Design's Postgraduate Framework both commence with a symposium, in which high-profile external speakers present their work and contribute to a debate on a topic of relevance to all courses in the Framework.

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Programme description

This programme helps you conceive, refine and explain sustainable strategies in the built environment.

The programme is scenario based, delivered in a series of studio projects supplemented with workshops and seminars on aspects of sustainable design. There is an opportunity to study environmental simulation techniques and discover how these can influence wider issues in the built environment.

We address the complex relationship of design to contemporary sustainable agendas and engage in cultural and professional debates that increasingly influence the production of architecture.

This programme is affiliated with the University’s Global Environment & Society Academy:

• Global Environment & Society Academy

Programme structure

You complete your studies in one year.

The first semester is a combination of seminars and workshops on the theoretical underpinnings of sustainable design. Alongside this are a series of design projects at the scales of both settlements and building systems. We set many of the projects in a variety of global contexts that reflects the international nature of our students.

The second semester offers an immersive design project that allows you to form your own building programmes and test them in real contexts. You conclude your studies with a comprehensive dissertation research project that can advance your own interests and can be shaped to your preferred career path.

Learning outcomes

Graduates of this programme will have:

• knowledge of the social, economic and legislative forces that are driving contemporary, sustainable agendas, and understanding of such agendas in relation to architectural cultures
• an ability to critically assess sustainability as a cultural, economic and environmental phenomenon
• the ability to interrogate site, programme and context in relation to the production of sustainable construction, engineering and architectural strategies
• the acquisition of trans-disciplinary skills in articulation of sustainable strategies in related industry sectors

Career opportunities

As the call for a more sustainable built environment increases, architects, designers, engineers and planners who can produce solutions are in demand. With this qualification you’ll be best placed to embrace these opportunities and advance your career.

Even if you follow an unrelated path, the experience and skill development in communication, team work and project management that you’ll gain from the programme will be a valuable addition to your resume.

Our graduates work in specialist sustainable design consultancies, and design practice across a variety of disciplines. Many of our students choose to continue their academic development through PhD study.

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The Specializing Master Sustainable Design for Complexity is a First and Second-level Politecnico di Milano Specializing Master, born as an evolution of the five editions of the Specializing Master Sustainable Environments and Architecture to give designers, architects, and engineers bespoke, specialized training for ecologically and bioclimatically compatible projects in the built environment, integrating energy planning into new and existing architectural spaces. 

For more informations, visit http://www.polidesign.net/en/psc

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This programme is grounded on the belief that architects should be thinking well beyond the constraints of market forces and the traditional disciplinary limits of the profession, towards forms, technology and spaces for a more sustainable future. This is a student-led programme, and you can have very different experiences within it depending on the choices of studios and courses you make.

Why choose this course?

Founded in 1927, the School of Architecture at Oxford Brookes has established an international reputation for the quality of both its research and its teaching. As one of the largest architecture schools in the UK, with around 600 students and 70 staff, it plays a leading role in defining the national, and international, agenda in design education and research. The school enjoys an international reputation in research, in areas ranging from sustainable design to modular buildings and from design for well-being to vernacular architecture.

Staff in the school regularly secure research funding from the UK's research councils and the European Union as well as industry, with an annual research grant income averaging £1m in recent years. This programme provides RIBA/ARB Part 2.

Professional accreditation

Accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Architects Registration Board (ARB).

This course in detail

Year 1 - Research into design
This year has a very strong emphasis on acquiring in-depth knowledge of an architecturally important field of study and utilising that knowledge in design. This is achieved by taking one of the six 'design specialisations'.

You choose which design specialisation is best for you. The specialisations on offer are deliberately highly diverse to cater for the changing nature of the profession in practice. This course produces graduates for the global market and as such requires a high level of commitment from staff and students.

The design specialisations are:
-Advanced Architectural Design
-International Architectural Regeneration and Development
-Development and Emergency Practice
-Sustainable Building: Performance and Design
-Research-led Design
-Urban Design.

Each of the research specialisations offers teaching from experts within that subject area, and links, through teaching focus and staff, to the five research clusters that are an invaluable resource within the School of architecture.

The five research clusters keep the specialisations at the cutting edge in terms of a global agenda. They are, in general terms, environmental design, technology, development and emergency practice, humanities and architectural design.

Each of the design specialisations include a design project or projects, to which you will apply your detailed learning.

In addition to the design specialisation the first year will, through the Research Philosophy for Design module, widen your thinking in terms of what constitutes research, test your critical thinking and improved your analytical abilities. All of these are essential tools and their enhancement will place you in a stronger position to undertake the design studio in the second year.

Your ability to represent your ideas in a coherent and focused manner is the remit for the Representation module. This module will identify your strengths and build up your weaknesses, both in terms of visual and verbal communication methods. You will be able to dedicate time to fine-tuning techniques or building from basics in sketching, model making, 2D and 3D CAD. Your presentation of methods and actual practice will enable you to build confidence in verbal communication skills.

The Management, Practice and Law module in year one looks at the landscapes within which these issues are being informed. This module is taught by practising architects who have first-hand experience of the issues under discussion. Through a series of workshops you will work on topics that are essential to the practice of architecture. Management, practice and law is part of the design delivery of the programme and you will be expected to approach the coursework from a design position. This module asks that you approach this subject with a very different mind-set than the traditional position.

Due to the diverse and preparative basis of this year it is compulsory for all students to pass all compulsory components of the Research into Design year in order to be progress to the Design and Technology year.

Year 2 - Design and technology
This year is structured to enable you to synthesise a broad range of complex cultural, aesthetic, research and technical factors, and design-specialisation learning, into your major design project and portfolio.

The year is spent participating in one of six design studios. All studios have control over their own programme of projects, and each has a different view of architectural culture and promotes different design methods. The design studios are taught by some of the brightest designers and tutors in the country and consequently their programmes demand high levels of creative and intellectual endeavour from you, as well as high levels of productivity. Their aim is to raise your design thinking, skills and production to the highest possible standard.

All six units present their projects for the year in the induction session and you are asked to select all six in order of preference. This system is to allow for an even distribution of students across all six units. Most students are allocated to their first choice of studio although there is no guarantee of a particular design unit - normally at worst you are allocated your second choice.

During the design and technology year, your design work must develop into technically ambitious architecture and be the subject of your compulsory Advanced Technology for Design module. This module designs through technology and fully complements and parallels your work in the design studio. There is a very strong emphasis here upon the creative possibilities for architectural technology. We ask for an open and experimental approach to technology, but also a clear understanding of its context and aims.

The staff delivering the teaching in the design studio unit and the Advanced Technology for Design module are made up from academics and practitioners. This energetic mix will challenge you to think about design and technology in a new manner, building confidence in ability, enabling deep thinking, and aiding you to define a personal design spirit.

Sitting alongside the design and technology is the second Management, Practice and Law module. This module builds on the learning and skills from the first year module and prepares you for stepping back into practice. As in the first year module this is learning is delivered by practicing architects. Through focus groups with architectural practices, this module figures in the skills that are seen as highly desirable for the ARB part 2 graduate to have when seeking employment.

Throughout the two years of the programme there will be interim reviews. This offers an opportunity to receive feedback from outside of your design studio or design specialisation. We have strong links with practice and architectural institutions and can attract the most able people to sit on our reviews.

This is a programme that aims to give you the skills for international practice.

As our courses are reviewed regularly, modules may vary from those listed here.

Teaching and learning

The unique nature of the Applied Design in Architecture offers you the opportunity to select an individual pathway that will create a distinctive graduate profile that is unique to you alone.

The ability to choose modules from within design specialisations offers you the prospect of defining your own position. You will find that you are being taught with, in most cases, direct entry master's students from countries around the world.

This aspect is complemented by the Year 2 design studio where you will engage with a distinctive agenda and experience a diversity of design specialisation thinking from students within your unit.

Self-directed learning is highly supported by staff in the School of Architecture. Personal choice engenders motivation and a high level of commitment, and the programme has been designed to embrace this aspect whilst clearly building on skills, thinking, application and design production to achieve a final portfolio of the highest standard.

Careers and professional development

The modules Management Practice, and Law 1 and 2, include guidance on the necessary professional skills that are required both for ARB Part 2 and for preparation in commencing ARB Part 3. The design studio generates a portfolio of work that not only demonstrates the learning for ARB Part 2 but also written, research and visual skills. The design portfolio is intended as the vehicle for students to synthesise all facets of their learning in order to seek practice employment.

In addition the school maintains a jobs wall that advertises vacancies locally, nationally and internationally.

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The MSc in Architecture and Sustainable Environment (MASE) is a taught course aimed at professionals and academics world-wide with an interest in sustainability in the built environment, including architects, engineers, geographers, surveyors, historians and urban designers.

The MSc is offered by Centre for Architecture and Sustainable Environment, a new research centre in the Kent School of Architecture that promotes a cross-disciplinary approach to research in the field of sustainability in the built environment, bridging the traditional boundaries between the arts and the sciences, research and practice. The course content ranges from the development of the design skills and the technical and scientific understanding required to develop sustainable solutions for new and existing buildings, the analysis of historic buildings and past environment technologies, to a critical exploration of the historical and cultural context of sustainability and environmental design.

The course, which can be studied full-time or part-time, offers an academically rigorous and intellectually challenging learning environment, which aims to enhance career development within the field for professionals and academics. The over-arching aim of the programme is to provide participants with a systematic understanding of core and advanced areas of sustainable design through a combination of taught courses, research assignments and project work. Students will be asked to conduct rigorous technical and historical research and to explore the practical application of their findings in the context of design and technology.

Visit the website https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/182/architecture-and-the-sustainable-environment

Course structure

The programme is aimed at professionals and academics with an interest in sustainability in the built environment, including architects, engineers, geographers, surveyors, historians and urban designers. The MSc promotes a cross-disciplinary approach to research in the field of sustainability in the built environment, bridging the traditional boundaries between architecture and the sciences, research and practice.

The course content ranges from the development of the technical and scientific understanding required to develop sustainable design solutions for new and existing buildings, the analysis of past environment technologies, to a critical exploration of the context of sustainability and environmental design.

The programme may lead to a postgraduate diploma, if taken without the dissertation.

Modules

The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take modules from other programmes so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.

AR827 - Principles of Environmental Design (30 credits)
AR828 - Rediscovery - Understanding Historic Buildings and Past Environmental T (30 credits)
AR829 - Monitoring and Modelling of Environmental Performance (30 credits)
AR830 - Sustainable Design Project (30 credits)
AR899 - Dissertation: Architecture and the Sustainable Environment (60 credits)

Assessment

Assessment is mostly based on coursework, with presentations, case-study analyses, design proposals, essays and the dissertation.

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

- enable students to develop systematic understanding of the effect of the built environment on the environmental performance and energy consumption of buildings, while optimising comfortable conditions for the occupants

- develop your understanding of the sustainability drivers for the built environment

- develop your in-depth knowledge of the theoretical principles of low carbon design

- develop the ability to analyse the environmental behaviour of historic structures and the efficiency of past environmental technologies, using modern scientific methods

- promote creativity in the integration of sustainable solutions in the built environment at different scales

- enable you to develop skills for physical monitoring and digital modelling of the environmental and energy performance of buildings

- provide you with the ability to work in multidisciplinary design teams

- promote and support independent research skills.

- enable you to develop the skills required for both autonomous practice and team-working.

- support you, so that you can fulfil your full potential in the programme.

Research areas

- Research centres

KSA incorporates the Centre for Research in European Architecture (CREAte), which focuses on research in architectural humanities and design, and Centre for Architecture and Sustainable Environment (CASE), which promotes research in the field of sustainable architecture.

- CREAte

The Centre provides a focus for research in architecture in the European context. Its emphasis is on the role and contribution of humanities to architecture and urban design in the context of urban and regional regeneration, nationally and internationally.

CREAte provides a platform for evening lectures by contemporary architects and scholars; hosting debates and events that are in the heart of architectural agenda of today.

The Centre builds upon its staff specialisms, interests and skills in the following areas: regional studies, contemporary architectural and urban theory and design, architectural history and theory (ranging from antiquity to contemporary European cities), sustainability, European topographies (landscape, urban, suburban and metropolitan) etc. Staff participate in the activities of AHRA – Architecture Humanities Research Association and are internationally published authors.

- CASE

The Centre promotes research in the field of sustainable environment regionally, nationally and internationally.

Its research focus encompasses different aspects and scales of the sustainable built environment from the individual building to the urban block, promoting the wider environmental agenda and keeping the School at the forefront of research and development in the field. CASE also pursues research into the historical and cultural dimension of environmental design to foster links between the sciences, arts and humanities. There is a strong interest in understanding the environmental behaviour of historic buildings and the strategies originally deployed to manage the internal environment.

The Centre has already secured funding from various sources. This includes three EPSRC projects on climate change weather data for a sustainable built environment, sustainability of airport terminal buildings and design interventions in the public realm for affecting human behaviour, and two TSB-funded projects on Building Performance Evaluation. CASE is also involved with the recent EPSRC large-scale network on Digital Economy Communities and Culture.

Find out how to apply here - https://www.kent.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/apply/

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This unique multi-disciplinary course is taught by architects, engineers and physicists involved in practice and research. It focuses on the theory and practice of developing low carbon and sustainable buildings.

The course includes a number of interlinked modules that simulate the design and development of a sustainable project. This enables students from different disciplines to develop skills and understanding relevant to their own discipline, be it design or consultancy, and in relation to a national and international context.

Why choose this course?

The course is run by the School of Architecture, which is recognised as one of the country's leading schools of architecture and is consistently ranked by The Architect's Journals one of the five best schools in the UK. You will gain an advanced understanding of the key sustainability issues related to buildings enabling them to strategically influence feasibility and design processes within the built environment. The course attracts some of the best students in the field from a diverse range of ages, backgrounds, gender and nationalities. This offers opportunities for interdisciplinary, globally aware teaching and learning.

The range of subjects draws on the research strengths of the teaching staff and enables research to inform the teaching modules. You are encouraged where possible to take part in staff research projects. You will have the opportunity to go on an annual field trip. This is an opportunity to directly experience some of the very best of sustainable design projects in another culture. Previous field trips have been to Germany, Scotland and Denmark. Students from this course have gone on to work in a wide range of occupations from architectural and engineering practices and research consultancies to development work, furniture design, owning and operating electricity utilities, and even carbon trading.

This course in detail

The course is organised on a modular credit system, 60 credits for postgraduate certificate, 120 credits for the postgraduate diploma (9 months full-time, 20 months part-time) and 180 credits for the master's degree (12 months full-time, 24 months part-time).

Modules combine a ratio of taught to self-led study. For example, a module of 20 credits approximates to 200 hours of student effort, up to 36 hours of which will normally be devoted to lectures, seminars, individual tutorials or other staff contact. The remainder of the time is devoted to student-led study and assessment.

Please note: as courses are reviewed regularly, the module list you choose from may vary from that shown below.

The core modules for the MSc and PGDip are:
-Building Physics (20 credits)
-The Sustainable Built Environment (20 credits)
-Post-occupancy Building Evaluation (20 credits)
-Advanced Low Carbon Building Technologies (20 credits)
-Modelling and Passive Strategies (20 credits)
-Sustainable Design in Context (20 credits)

The compulsory modules for the MSc are:
-Research Methods and Design (10 credits)
-MSc Dissertation (50 credits)

Teaching and learning

The teaching and learning methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with sustainability, low-carbon and resource efficient design.

Staff-led lectures provide the framework, background and knowledge base, and you are encouraged to probe deeper into the topics by further reading and review. Analysis, synthesis and application of material introduced in the lectures are achieved through professional and staff-led workshops, group and one-to-one tutorials, student-led seminars, case studies, and practical work that anticipates the design project.

The course attracts students from a diverse range of ages, backgrounds, gender and nationalities. This offers opportunities for interdisciplinary, globally aware teaching and learning. You are exposed to a variety of cultural perspectives and issues through the use of international case studies and draw on their diverse strengths through peer learning and group work.

An annual field trip is an opportunity to directly experience some of the very best of sustainable design projects in another culture. Previous field trips have been to Germany, Scotland and Denmark.

The range of subjects draws on the research strengths of the teaching staff and enables research to inform the teaching modules. You are encouraged where possible to take part in staff research projects.

We attract some of the best students in the field, drawn by the integrating basis of the programme and its solid theoretical foundation on expertise within the University.

Careers and professional development

Graduates will possess an advanced understanding of the key sustainability issues related to buildings enabling them to strategically influence feasibility and design processes within the built environment. They will be familiar with a range of models, tools and methods with which to quantify, predict, evaluate and manage building performance, and will be able to use them and switch to other tools based on an understanding from first principles.

Drawing on a working knowledge of how to minimise energy, carbon emissions and resource consumption in buildings through the various stages of their life cycles, they will be able to take account of changing, incomplete and uncertain information related to the environment. They will also have well developed skills in auditing, analysis, reporting and presentation and a thorough understanding of the interdisciplinary subject area.

Students from this course have gone on to work in a wide range of occupations from architectural and engineering practices and research consultancies to development work, furniture design, owning and operating electricity utilities, and even carbon trading.

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About the course

The MSc in Integrated Product Design course focuses on the design of innovative products, emphasising the balance between the interest of users, industry and society. It covers the whole design process, integrating all aspects relevant to product development, in particular global new product design.

It meets industrial demand by integrating technology, management, aesthetics, environmental sustainability, ergonomics, marketing, business and design methods – to produce highly qualified and sought after designers able to cope with the challenges the global economy presents.

Specifically, the course aims to:

Provide an integrated programme of study across a broad range of knowledge and skills in product/industrial design
Develop design and technology research skills related to the design process through practicing applied research
Develop advanced design skills, enabling graduates to practice as an independent design professional and to further develop design and professional skills in product/industrial design engineering
Nurture scientific rigour as well as creativity to enable graduates to follow a successful career in product/industrial design and assume leadership roles in national and international companies and institutions.

Aims

Students master all aspects of integrated product design advancing their design skills and knowledge by applying systematic state-of-the-art theories and methodologies, and by integrating user, technology and business aspects. This not only opens up dynamic career options, but equips students with a comprehensive skillset to take into the commercial world.

The primary aim of this programme is to provide students with the practical knowledge and transferable skills required to be at the forefront of global product and services design research and development, in either an industrial or academic environment.
Graduates of this MSc will also have the independent learning ability required for both continual professional development and the acquisition of new skills at the highest level.

The course provides an integrated approach and promotes advanced studies in design theory, creativity and aesthetics, innovation methods, advanced design techniques, human factors and applied ergonomics, engineering, material and production science, sustainability and research methods.

Course Content

The first term includes three taught modules worth a total of 45 credits plus one double module of 30 credits which continues into the second term alongside three further modules. The thick module, Professional Design Studio, will include guest lectures, research seminars and group or individual project. The projects can be based on design research or product/industrial design.

The ‘Design Futures’ module will introduce the importance and potential value of future foresight techniques and develop a vision of the future and critically evaluate its implications for design, innovation and enabling technology.

The ‘Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing Techniques’ module will introduce CAD and graphics based design modelling, rendering techniques and tools, product design simulation techniques and tools, rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques.

For the final four months of the programme (June to September), students can either continue their projects to greater depth as their dissertation project, or undertake a new subject. Students are encouraged to form industrial links as part of this project.

Typical Modules

Sustainable Design
Design Creativity and Aesthetic Awareness
Human Factors in Design
Professional Design Studio
Design and Innovation Futures: Seminar & Workshop
Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing Techniques
Strategic Design Management and Research
Dissertation Project

Assessment

Work in each module is predominantly assessed through practical project assignments including both individual and group work. The dissertation makes up a third of the overall degree and may include a substantial practical design element, but in all cases will be assessed through a final 20,000 word submission.

Special Features

High league table standings: Our courses are among the highest-ranking for Product and Industrial Design in the UK. In all the most recent university guides, as well as in the National Student Survey, Brunel Design is placed in the top four out of all UK Art and Design courses.

High employability: Design graduates enjoy excellent career prospects – see student graduate articles.

Accreditation

Brunel's Integrated Product Design course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED).

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Course description

Develop a portfolio of advanced skills and knowledge across several architectural disciplines, with a focus on sustainable architectural design.

Core modules

• Building Environmental Simulation and Analysis
• Renewable Energy
• Sustainable Design Project 1
• Sustainable Design Project 2
• Principles of Building Physics for Sustainable Design
• Sustainable Design Thesis Project

Examples of optional modules

You can choose to specialise in low impact materials or in advanced computing.

Teaching and assessment

Your work in the design studio is supported through lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical computer work. Assessment is by course-based assignments, examinations and a dissertation.

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Why take this course?

In response to today’s climate change, this course aims to satisfy the demand for new skills in the areas of environmental sustainability and low carbon building design.

It will enable you to engage in current debates on the generation of sustainable architecture within our cities. You will examine the complexities inherent in creating well-designed sustainable settlements and get the opportunity to produce your own sustainable designs.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Get involved with some of our regional regeneration projects to test and develop your ideas
Undertake studio-based design projects and engage with our other collaborative projects with academic institutions in a range of countries including Turkey, Spain and Australia
Have the opportunity to ‘earn and learn’ by working on real-life contracts through our Projects Office

What opportunities might it lead to?

If you are already working in architecture, environment or planning professions, or are a recent graduate, this course aims to train you to further develop your skills and knowledge in environmentally responsive design.

It will provide opportunities for you to pursue specialist career routes within the architecture field or in other areas such as governments and professional bodies where sustainability is of high priority. Alternatively, you can apply this new thinking to your own practice.

Module Details

The course uses the experience and skills of teaching staff with research interest in environmental sustainability, building simulation modelling, and sustainable development of historic sites and contemporary settlements. It takes place in an exciting inter-disciplinary environment, running in conjunction with programmes on historic building conservation, interior and urban design.

Here are the units you will study:

Practice: This unit enables you to develop your knowledge of the various and multi-faceted theories relating to sustainable architecture and environments. It also covers the principles that govern an appropriate and sustainable response to such designed environments, as well as the technologies that may be adopted and incorporated. You will address these issues and evaluate both the design theory and practice-based applied methodologies, along with the analysis, evaluation and reflection of this practice in sustainable design solutions.

Theory: This unit gives you an opportunity to engage with the current debate on environmental sustainability, climate change and the value of traditional buildings which inspire a more sustainable practice. It introduces the principles of low carbon passive design strategies, as well as advanced daylight and thermal modelling techniques to assess their effectiveness in achieving an environmentally responsive design.

Research Methods and Research Proposal: In this unit you will develop research skills, which will aid you throughout your course and particularly in producing your thesis. You will be asked to establish a critical position within an Outline Research Proposal. You will develop techniques, which will allow you to engage proactively within your area of study. You will be encouraged to explore methods of investigation that are responsive to, as well as inquisitive of, the conditions presented and which therefore speculate around possible critical scenarios. Implicit within these explorations is the need to investigate diverse means of representation and depiction through a variety of possible media and discourse.

Integration: This unit allows you to work in a multi-disciplinary context through groups within your own subject area and across the areas of interior design, urban design, sustainable architecture and historic building conservation, as well as explore the interrelationships of all disciplines. You will need to work collectively on given projects or problems related to staff run studios, which explore a range of given themes. This unit will introduce you to these themes at the start of the course and connect you to research areas within the School.

Work-Based Learning: This unit gives you the opportunity to replace a 30-credit core unit with a work-based version of that unit. Not all units can be replaced and you will need to discuss the appropriateness of a unit with tutors. Work-based learning requires you to engage in critical and reflective learning in the workplace. This will be developed through a learning contract, negotiated by you, your employer and School. The work undertaken in practice will be appraised through critical reflective writing that engages with the practice of the particular subject discipline and this will form the assessment artefacts.

Thesis: Your thesis is a substantial research-based project that enables you to carry out an in-depth investigation into a subject area of personal interest, which is related to or developed from a theme studied during the course. The proposed research theme should have a clearly defined focus to allow for in-depth theoretical, contextual and visual research. An initial seminar programme will help you develop your research proposal, define a research question and locate suitable primary and secondary sources. You will be allocated an appropriate supervisor on the basis of this proposal, who will work with you toward the final submission.

Programme Assessment

This course is lecture and studio-based, culminating in a written or design-led thesis project. It will involve case study investigations, group work, discussion and planning of sustainable environments, as well as independent study to develop design or research-based responses to sustainable problems.

Design assessment is through studio review and taught courses are assessed by various forms of evidence-based sustainable design decisions and proposals. You will also carry out an in-depth research project into an area of your choice.

Student Destinations

This course enables you to specialise in sustainable architecture and build upon your passion for the design of the twenty-first century urban environment.

On graduating, you will be adept in spatial practice and able to work within design practices, architectural firms and cross-disciplinary environments, engaging in issues from the design of details to the exploration of the urban environment.

The creative skills, professional competencies and expansive learning environment that we provide could also lead to a range of careers in disciplines such as marketing, advertising, journalism, virtual design and modelling, through to people-centred careers such as project management.

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Our Masters in Sustainable Building Design (MSc SBD) programme is aimed at graduates of architecture, design or planning subjects who wish to further develop their design skills to combine sustainability and low carbon technologies in building design and renovation. Participants in this programme will enhance their design skills with specialist technical knowledge, and develop multidisciplinary understanding, via a curriculum of applied, engaged and contemporary courses. You will learn to harness technology to deliver optimal solutions, balancing the individual competing needs for environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability.

A culturally-adaptable approach to design places our graduates in a strong position to compete in local and international markets. This is a truly cross-disciplinary course providing unique grounding for a collaborative industry.

The programme will enhance students’ future career prospects in the area of sustainable design, in a competitive, growing market. It is also suitable for those looking to develop specialist knowledge and skills to allow them to change or further their careers.

Programme Content

• Low Carbon Building
• Climate Change, Sustainability & Adaptation
• Ventilation & Air Conditioning
• Water Conservation
• Human Factors of the Built Environment
• Building and Energy Systems
• Environmental Design
• Modelling for Sustainable Building Design

Career Opportunities

Graduates with skills in sustainable design are sought after by large and small employers, designers, consultants, contractors and clients, for their ability to integrate sustainable and low-carbon approaches within building design. Our graduates are well-equipped to make design decisions, which meet the needs of building users today, but also preserve resources for future generation.

Flexible study options

This programme can be studied full-time, part-time or via Independent Distance Learning (IDL), ideal for those in employment or with other commitments, providing flexible study options that fit around work or family. As an IDL student you will not be required to attend any lectures, tutorials or other events at any of Heriot-Watt University’s campuses, and you can also arrange to sit examinations in a location close to you.

Those who are close to our Dubai Campus will, in addition, benefit from our local support in the form of dissertation supervision and access to licensed software programmes and subscribed literatures, depending on availability.

Professional recognition

Heriot-Watt's Sustainable Building Design MSc has been accredited as a further learning programme at the postgraduate level to meet the academic requirement for Chartered Engineers (CEng, UK) by both the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Energy Institute (EI) and also for Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv UK) by the Energy Institute.

English language requirements

If English is not the applicant’s first language a minimum of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent is required with all elements passed at 6.0 or above.

Applicants who have previously successfully completed programmes delivered in the medium of English language may be considered and will be required to provide documentary evidence of this. Examples would be secondary school education or undergraduate degree programme. A minimum of at least one year of full time study (or equivalent) in the medium of English language will be required.

We offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement prior to starting your masters programme, for more information see http://www.hw.ac.uk/study/english.htm

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About this course

This course aims to build on your sustainable architecture knowledge and skills by encouraging you to consider the environmental and potential health impact of design decisions, and research how to undertake holistic sustainable design analysis within the building information modelling (BIM). It has an innovative blend of established scientific theories and design principles in relation to low energy healthy buildings and environments, and aims to raise your awareness and practising principles.

You will critically analyse current sustainable architecture and low energy design principles and technologies, government legislation, codes for sustainable design and other professional industrial and commerce drivers. You’ll also research issues that could adversely affect the health of the building users in a people centred, proactive and preventive way.

Sustainability is not just an environment concern; you’ll research its relationship with aspects of a broader contextual framework, such as socio-cultural, economic, governance and advancements in scientific and technological research.

You’ll study modules such as:

Research Methods: Application and Evaluation
Health in Buildings: Comparative Approaches
Sustainable Architecture and Low Energy Design
CPD and Strategic Management
Sustainable Design Simulation and Analysis
Sustainable Construction Methods and Materials
Environmental Risk and Responsibility
Designing Environments
Negotiated Module
Independent Scholarship

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We welcome enquiries from anyone who would like to carry out research in any aspect of design or in technology in education.

Current studies include:

• eco-design and forecasting trends
• the design of multi-sensory retail environments
• curriculum development in design
• the role of awkward space in cities
• pupil assessment in design and technology education
• reflexive drawing and the connection between representation and creativity
• social theory in a world of designed objects
• harnessing memes to disseminate design ideas

Find out more about research degrees at Goldsmiths. 

Practice-based MPhil

A practice-based MPhil explores new approaches to, or applications of, existing knowledge by means of practice.

Your final presentation will include both an original, creative practice component and a thesis that will contextualise this practice.

Since the practice component of your research constitutes a significant part of the final examination, the thesis requirement is reduced.

Assessment is by thesis and viva voce.

Design Star Centre for Doctoral Training

Goldsmiths is a member of the Design Star Centre for Doctoral Training, which brings the Department of Design together with other leading design departments at the University of Brighton; Loughborough University; The Open University; and the University of Reading.

It aims to develop future intellectual leadership in design: research leaders of the future who are equipped to make a difference to contemporary social concerns, knowledge production and creative practices. This requires an approach to research training that places diversity and interdisciplinarity at its core.

Design Star brings together world-class research in:

• design for industry
• interaction design
• design process
• communication design
• sustainable design
• design history
• curation
• creative practice.

Its spread of design disciplines is linked by a common approach to design that encourages the integration of history, theory and engagement.

Postgraduate Seminar Series

Design Matters is the Department of Design's postgraduate research seminar series that both compliments the Goldsmiths-wide research training programme and delivers design-specific support to postgraduate design students.

The seminars take place on a regular basis over the academic year and are designed to support the requirements of students studying for written and practice-based doctorates. As such, the seminar series includes a rich and relevant mix of sessions including the practical demands that student’s face, such as the craft of writing, presentation skills and examination expectations and procedures, as well as scholarly issues, such as the strategies for undertaking a literature review, the methodological assumptions and the theoretical challenges of design research.

The seminar series also includes invited speakers, ranging from recently minted doctors to eminent design scholars who are asked to reflect on their academic biographies and provide guidance and insights on careers with a doctorate in design.

Design Matters seminars have, in the past, been complimented by The Design and Social Seminar Series, namely the Data Practices seminars. Here, students were given the opportunity to engage with scholars and practitioners involved in various data related interests, from citizen science projects to new forms of coding.

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The design of low and medium-rise buildings has, for some time, taken climatic variations and sustainability into account. However, despite the increase in the number of large-scale buildings worldwide during the last few decades, high-rise buildings are still seen as mega-scale energy consumers with little regard for sustainable design and performance. The current environmental agenda and interest in sustainability across the globe raises the significance of mega-buildings.

On this interdisciplinary course, we focus on the principles of sustainable planning and design of mega-buildings and prepare students to specialise professionally in this field.

You will be based in the School of Architecture’s new studio for graduate students at Friary House, in Cardiff city centre. This is within 5-10 minutes’ walk of our other site, Bute Building.

Distinctive features

• Accredited by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), meeting the academic requirements for CEng professional registration.

• Available on a 1 year full-time or 2 year part-time basis.

• See sustainable mega-building design in practice on a variety of national and international field trips.

• Study in one of the top schools of architecture in the UK, and benefit from exceptional facilities, such as the School’s artificial sky dome.

Structure

You can study this course on a one year full-time or two year part-time basis.

There are two stages to the course; stage one comprises taught and specialist modules totalling 120 credits, stage two will be your dissertation (60 credits).

The taught modules on this course will provide a grounding in architectural science within the context of sustainable mega-buildings. On several of these modules, you will be taught alongside students on our other architectural science master’s courses, which is a good opportunity to exchange ideas from different perspectives and broaden your group of friends and contacts.

Our taught modules will help you to explore the interdependence and relationship between social, technological and environmental issues. You will also learn how to relate these issues to the economic, political and legal contexts of planning and designing mega-buildings. We will introduce and review the latest design methods for sustainable mega-buildings in architectural, engineering and building contractor fields.

On the course, we encourage you to articulate your perspectives on sustainable design, which should enable you to become well-versed and experienced in promoting the benefits of sustainable mega-buildings.

Core modules:

Earth and Society
Low Carbon Footprint
Climate Comfort & Energy
Investigation of the Built Environment
Architectural Science Research
Sustainable Mega-Buildings Overview (Climate, Context and Culture)
Sustainable Service Systems for Mega- Buildings
Sustainable Mega-Buildings Design (Project Module)
Dissertation

Teaching

The methods of teaching we employ will vary from module to module, as appropriate depending on the subject matter and the method of assessment. We teach using a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, study visits, project work, and group tutorials.

In lectures and workshops we aim to make appropriate use of audio-visual support to aid learning and development of subject-specific skills. You will be given access to relevant teaching materials through the University’s virtual learning environment, Learning Central.

The specialist modules on the course include project work, where you will use mega-building case studies to build 3D physical models in the School’s workshop and Digital Fabrication Lab and can test them in the School’s artificial sky dome.

You will also be taught to use various environmental simulation software programmes, some of which have been developed in the Welsh School of Architecture.

Finally, you will research an area of sustainable mega-building design and planning of interest to you and submit a dissertation based on this research. Your dissertation will be conducted independently with supervision by a member of staff.

Assessment

Taught and project-based modules are assessed in a variety of different ways depending on the module content and learning outcomes (found in the module descriptions). We use class tests, course work (both written assignments and oral presentations or critical assessments/crits), and project work, or a combination of these to assess your progress on the module.

In the dissertation stage, your dissertation is the sole object of assessment. The dissertation is a written report on a piece of research which you have carried out in an agreed subject area under supervision.

Career Prospects

There is currently a worldwide shortage of architects and built environment professionals specialising in the field of planning and designing mega-buildings which perform sustainably. Therefore there is a rising demand for graduates from this type of course.

Typically, graduates from this course will gain employment in large-scale building design or planning companies and practices, environmental design consultancies, research and development centres, or may even set up their own companies/ practices.

Given the current intense public, governmental and professional interest in this area, employment opportunities for graduates who specialise in this field are only likely to grow and become even more attractive both in the UK and globally.

Fieldwork

During the course we go on a range of study trips in the UK, Europe, or further afield. On these trips we will organise guided visits to buildings that demonstrate how principles taught in the programme are applied in revolutionary large-scale eco-buildings. You will also have the opportunity to meet architects and built environment professionals who collaborate with the School.

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The Liverpool School of Art and Design offers you the space to explore your creative potential and understand how its application in design can interact with, adapt and change the landscape of cities and urban spaces and our experience within them.

•Course available to study full time (1 year) and part time (2 years)
•A new programme open to applicants from a wide range of first degree disciplines such as architecture, spatial design, landscape design, environmental art, geography and planning
•Join a strong research-focused academic community
•Prestigious Susan Cotton Travel bursary and the Michael Pugh Thomas and Julia Carter Preston Legacy postgraduate study awards available
•Develop your work in state-of-the-art workspaces and facilities within the RIBA award-winning John Lennon Art and Design Building

In a world of rapidly rising and migrating urban populations, there is a palpable need for smarter, more inclusive approaches to city planning, adaptation and spatial design.

Liverpool is a creative hub with a heritage of high quality civic design and creative urban engagement. The study of Urban Design is perfectly suited to the rich infrastructure of this truly global city. Read more about the outputs from the programme by visiting the Urban Design blog.

This programme has strong links with the RIBA North and the Liverpool Biennial which, every two years, delivers an international programme of exhibitions and projects that lead to a rediscovery of the city.

Based within the School’s Architecture and Urban Design subject area, this studio-based programme is nourished by the School’s burgeoning research in Urbanism and close association with the University's European Institute for Urban Affairs.

The curriculum has creative place-making at its core and we welcome applicants from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds such as architecture, planning, landscape architecture, art and spatial design.

What you will study on this degree

Please see guidance below on core and option modules for further information on what you will study.

Research & Practice 1

An introduction to some of the common principles of research in Art and Design, tailored to help you develop the skills required to become an effective independent researcher / practitioner.

Studio Practice (Urban Design)

Upon successful completion of an urban design project, you will acquire skills to analyse contemporary urban design themes through in-depth research and the intelligent development of a critical argument. You will also be able to evaluate innovative and visionary urban design theories and precedents in the context of the project work and synthesize knowledge and skills in the production of an urban design strategy for the redevelopment of a substantial piece of cityscape.

Research & Practice 2 (Urban Design)

You will be presented with an overview of urban scale sustainable design principles and objectives. You will then explore a range of contemporary sustainable best practice case studies. These principles will then be applied in practical project work, exploring urban design sustainability benchmarks and audit methodologies. You will thereby be provided with a range of theoretical tools to support independent conceptual and critical evaluation of sustainable urban design. Tools will be explored such as to enable students to understand and evaluate the environmental impact and ecology of urban design proposals

Collaborative Practice

Here you will be given the opportunity to think through, re-situate and re-imagine how the term ‘collaboration’ can affect and develop your own developing art and design practice in the broadest sense. A framework of teaching, study and assessment that will allow the student to develop a realizable collaborative project proposal that has the capacity to be developed into a fundable/sustainable project/collaboration.

Final Major Project (Urban Design)

Through a major project you will explore and apply a contemporary urban design theme through in-depth research and intelligent development of a critical argument or creative piece of work.

Further guidance on modules

The information listed in the section entitled ‘What you will study’ is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal Academic Framework review, so may be subject to change. Students will be required to undertake modules that the University designates as core and will have a choice of designated option modules. Additionally, option modules may be offered subject to meeting minimum student numbers.

Academic Framework reviews are conducted by LJMU from time to time to ensure that academic standards continue to be maintained.

Please email [email protected] if you require further guidance or clarification.

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