Building Engineering Studios

The program of the BES course deals with present and future challenges in the field of architectural engineering, guiding students to evolve into environmentally conscious architects in this era of transitions and climate change.

Each Building Engineering Studio (BES) is integrated with the chosen MSc1 Architectural Design Studio. The design theme set by the Architectural Studio also guides the content of the BES.

The BES studios run parallel to the architectural design studios, which each studio have their own assignment; each technical design project is specific and tailor-made to each studio.

The main topic of the BES is the sustainable design of the technical aspects of a building through its different scales and domains (construction, climate and structure). Each design addresses specific sustainability topics through the conceptual integration of engineering into the architecture and its circularity.

Through research on circularity, students move towards an elaborated position in their assignment that will guide the overall technical design process.

The assessment of the technical building design project will be based on different presentation means. On the one hand, the presentation is dependent on the theme and method of the studio. On the other hand, the presentation products have to show the content as formulated in the study goals and course content.

The information regarding presentation and assessment is more specifically formulated in the course manual per each particular studio.

In general, every BES studio is assessed as follows:

Process: Incorporation of in-class individual guidance and feedback. Attendance (in presence or online) to weekly lectures.

Products:

Research in group and presentation with Q and A of the CiDeA report.

Weight of the assessment for the CiDeA research group work: pass / fail.

Design of a building through plans, sections, diagrams, details, models, and explanatory text, as presented at mid-term, pre-final and final presentations through posters, models, and final report/logbook/reflection on the project including a report referencing to the CiDeA, reflecting on the design under the aspects of circularity.

Quality of the presentation and coherent verbalisation demonstrating the correctness and the integration of the building engineering (sustainable, circular) design within the architectural design.

Weight of the design assessment: 100% at the final presentation.

Students are requested to clearly inform on the use of Artificial Intelligence in each part of the design and research products.

Examiners: each student is assessed at the mid-term, pre-final and final presentations by the BES mentor and the Architecture design mentor. After the final presentation and before grading, all products are examined by, at least, two BES mentors from the same studio.

The maximum period for publishing the grades is 10 working days. Feedback is given after the final presentation.

One repair possibility is given, to be performed within 2 weeks, for grades of 5.5 and lower.

The repair is a revision to the existing assignment and will be assessed with grades taking into account the advantage resulting from the extended time.

For the assessment, the BES studio makes use of rubrics that will be delivered to the students via Brightspace.