BEng(Hons) Architecture and Environmental Engineering (with Foundation Year)

This module will provide a supportive introduction to higher education through architecture, design and the built environment. You'll explore contemporary and historical influences on buildings, places and environments, which may include environmental, cultural, technological, social and economic contexts. Structured activities will develop your confidence, curiosity and independence while strengthening research, information literacy, referencing, critical reading and academic writing. You'll also practise reflective learning, visual communication, discussion and presentation. Along the way, you'll become familiar with university learning expectations, digital platforms and the academic and wellbeing support available to you.

Using practical problems from architecture and the built environment, this module will build your confidence in applied mathematics and engineering. You'll develop skills in measurement, estimation, scale, area, volume, density, ratio and percentages before progressing to geometry, algebra, graphs, trigonometry and mathematical modelling. You'll investigate how forces, load paths, equilibrium, stress, strain and material behaviour help explain how buildings stand up. Through increasingly complex tasks, you'll also use spreadsheets and data handling to interpret built environment scenarios and understand how analytical methods inform design, environmental performance and technical decision-making.

Through a sequence of studio-based projects, this module will introduce you to the foundations of design practice. You'll learn how to conceive, test and refine simple design concepts using design thinking, observational and design drawing, and physical model-making. Hands-on, iterative work will help you explore space, form, proportion and materiality while developing practical problem-solving and communication skills. Working alongside others in a collaborative studio, you'll receive and respond to critique, reflect on your decisions and document the development of your ideas through sketchbooks, process records and a carefully curated body of work.

Through a series of short, playful projects, this module will introduce you to fundamental principles of visual design communication. You'll develop observational drawing, design concept sketching and rendering skills, while exploring graphic design, layout and typography. Three-dimensional modelling in a range of materials will help you investigate form, composition, scale and materiality, supported by workshop techniques and safe working practices. Within a collaborative studio and workshop environment, you'll learn through making, discussion and critique, developing confidence in presenting, evaluating and refining visual and spatial design work.

This studio module will introduce you to foundational principles of architectural design through hand-drawing, physical model-making and material exploration. You'll develop spatial awareness and craftsmanship while using iterative processes, experimentation and feedback to refine your design thinking. Architectural precedents and conceptual frameworks will help you consider relationships between form, function and environment. You'll also explore how cultural, historical, theoretical and environmental contexts can shape design decisions. Through project-based learning, you'll begin to understand architectural design as both a creative and critical practice, building skills for later studios.

In this studio module, you'll develop architectural design through a focus on people and the environment. You'll explore how human needs, activities and experiences can inform spatial decisions, while considering the environmental context of a design. Project-based learning will help you develop and test ideas through an iterative process, using drawing, modelling and critical reflection to communicate and refine your work. Alongside practical design skills, you'll build your awareness of how architecture responds to users, place and wider contextual factors, supporting your progression into later design studios.

This module will introduce you to architectural history, theory and the relationships between cities, buildings and society. You'll explore how architecture is shaped by cultural, social, political and historical contexts, using buildings, urban spaces and ideas as sources of enquiry. Through critical reading, discussion and analysis, you'll develop the vocabulary and interpretive skills needed to examine architectural precedents and understand their significance. The module will help you connect architectural design with wider societal change and build a contextual foundation for your studio work and future study.

This module will introduce you to professional architectural practice and digital representation. Content may include the role of built environment professionals, collaborative workflows and the RIBA Plan of Work, particularly briefing and concept design. You'll examine responsibilities to clients, society and the environment, with emphasis on inclusivity, sustainability and ethical decision-making. Practical training will cover two-dimensional drafting, basic three-dimensional modelling and rendering, helping you produce accurate plans, sections and elevations to professional conventions and communicate spatial relationships and architectural forms effectively.

Through lectures, tutorials and practical experiments, this module will explore construction materials and the physics of internal building environments. You'll investigate the properties and uses of timber, masonry, steel, concrete, glass, plastics and emerging materials. Experimental work will examine light and lighting, noise and acoustics, air quality and ventilation, thermal comfort and heat flow. By connecting material science with environmental performance, you'll develop an understanding of how design choices influence comfort, health, energy use, climate change, and both operational and embodied carbon in buildings.

In this design studio module, you'll explore architecture for living and examine how homes and residential environments respond to people, place and changing needs. You'll develop a design proposal through research, site and context analysis, brief development, precedent study and iterative testing. Themes may include domestic space, community, wellbeing, accessibility, sustainability, materiality and environmental performance. Studio tutorials and reviews will help you communicate ideas through drawings, models and other media while integrating spatial, social and technical considerations into a coherent architectural response.

This studio module will focus on passive design strategies that improve environmental performance and occupant comfort. You'll investigate how orientation, form, fabric, daylight, shading, natural ventilation and thermal mass can reduce energy demand and respond to climate. Using site and environmental analysis, you'll integrate passive principles into an architectural proposal and evaluate design options. Iterative studio development will strengthen your ability to connect climate, material choices, spatial quality and technical performance, communicating a coherent and sustainable response through drawings, models and environmental evidence.

This module will introduce the principles of architectural acoustics and their application to building design. You'll explore how sound behaves within spaces, considering reflection, absorption, transmission, reverberation and noise control. Topics may include room acoustics, sound insulation, material performance and the relationship between acoustic quality, building form and user experience. Through calculations, analysis and applied design examples, you'll learn how to evaluate acoustic conditions and develop appropriate strategies for different building types, supporting healthier, more comfortable and functional environments.

This module will develop your understanding of collaboration and coordination within architectural and construction projects. You'll explore how information, responsibilities and design decisions are shared across multidisciplinary teams and project stages. Topics may include professional roles, communication, digital coordination, common data environments, BIM workflows and the management of interfaces between design disciplines. Through collaborative activities and project-based examples, you'll learn to coordinate information, identify conflicts and communicate effectively, building professional skills that support accurate, integrated and responsible project delivery.

This module will extend your understanding of architectural history and theory by examining how cultural, political, social and technological forces shape buildings and places. You'll analyse historical and contemporary examples, considering the global exchange of architectural ideas and their influence on practice. Themes may include identity, place, postcolonial perspectives and feminist theory. Through critical reading, visual analysis and discussion, you'll develop the vocabulary and research skills needed to interpret architectural precedents and evaluate how architecture both reflects and influences cultural identities.

This module will develop your ability to design, analyse and size mechanical and electrical building services. You'll establish design criteria based on weather, climate and user needs, then create layouts and schematics to support calculations and equipment selection. Systems will include heating and cooling, ventilation, hot and cold water, drainage, lighting and electrical distribution. Mathematical topics such as algebra, matrices, vectors and basic calculus will be applied to engineering problems. Practical learning will help you connect energy efficiency, health, comfort and wider design implications.

This advanced Architecture and Environmental Engineering studio module will bring design and building performance together within a substantial project. You'll investigate context, users and environmental challenges before developing a coherent architectural and engineering response. The studio will encourage iterative design, analytical testing and the integration of structural, environmental and technical strategies from an early stage. Through collaborative discussion, modelling and critical review, you'll strengthen your ability to communicate complex ideas, justify decisions and balance spatial quality, performance, sustainability and practical resolution.

Building on earlier Architecture and Environmental Engineering studio work, this module will support the detailed development and resolution of an integrated design proposal. You'll refine architectural, structural and environmental strategies through analysis, testing and iteration, considering how systems work together across the building lifecycle. The module will develop your ability to evaluate alternatives, respond to performance evidence and communicate design intent clearly. Within the studio, critique and reflection will help you demonstrate increasingly independent judgement and create a coherent response to complex technical, environmental and user requirements.

This module will explore how buildings can be designed and operated to support zero-carbon goals. You'll examine energy demand, building fabric, services, renewable technologies and the influence of design decisions across a building's lifecycle. Environmental analysis will help you compare strategies, understand performance and identify opportunities for reducing operational and embodied carbon. By bringing technical evidence together with user needs, comfort and architectural quality, you'll develop the ability to evaluate options and propose integrated, practical responses for low-carbon and resilient buildings.

This module will place architecture within wider critical contexts, helping you examine how cultural, social, political, economic and environmental forces influence the built environment. You'll engage with theories, debates and case studies that question how architecture is produced, represented and experienced. Through research and critical reading, you'll compare perspectives, recognise assumptions and consider whose interests are served by design decisions. The module will strengthen your ability to construct informed arguments, connect contextual understanding with architectural practice and communicate a well-supported critical position.

Focusing on existing buildings, this module will examine how energy performance can be assessed and improved through retrofit. You'll explore building fabric, services, energy demand, occupant needs and the practical constraints that affect intervention choices. Analytical approaches will help you identify performance gaps, compare retrofit measures and consider relationships between carbon reduction, comfort, cost and building character. By evaluating evidence and developing integrated recommendations, you'll build the technical judgement needed to support responsible improvement of the existing building stock.

This module will prepare you to navigate professional practice by connecting employability, ethical responsibility and enterprise. You'll reflect on your skills, values and career direction while exploring professional expectations, workplace communication and the development of opportunities. Ethical questions will help you consider the social and environmental consequences of practice, including responsibilities to clients, users, communities and wider society. Alongside this, you'll develop an enterprising mindset and strengthen your ability to present your capabilities, make informed professional decisions and plan your continuing development.

You'll focus on how we interact with buildings, exploring design principles - including the cognitive and physical aspects of user movement - that improve a building's functionality and its user experience.

By integrating architectural design and environmental engineering, you'll respond to a thematic brief, addressing global and local issues. This final project fosters and showcases creativity, innovative design and technical expertise.

You'll explore advanced concepts in building services engineering, with a practical focus on innovative heating, cooling and refrigeration systems, applying mathematical techniques for energy-efficient design and performance analysis.