Tutors: Christopher Maloney; James Thomson: Alex Maxwell; Holly Doron

ARC5012 Design Process

Act 2; Scene 2
Project 4: Townhouse
2015-16 SESSION

The story so far

In the beginning you used established models of the act of creativity to speculate on how to it could be
enhanced through the design of your ideal workspace. You then examined examples of design
processes in contemporary practice and used them as a staring point to interrogate and refine your
own through experimentation and reflection. Most recently you explored various approaches to site
and context analysis, and used these experiences to inform your decision-making as you began to
define the starting point of your design process.

Aim
This project has been devised to allow you to synthesise the skills you have developed in the previous
projects and exercises into the resolution and communication of an architectural design.
Project 4 relates to the Module theme by requiring you to continue the practice of reflecting on and
documenting your design process. Whereas Project 2 was concerned largely with issues of form
finding, the brief for this project will require you to work within specific spatial parameters, resulting is
a focus on the internal configuration of the proposed spaces.
This project extends the scope of your investigation into design process by requiring integration of
relevant building regulations and legislation into the proposed scheme.

Brief
For Project 4 you required to design a town house as part of a group designed master plan on the site
analysed as part of Project 3.
Town houses are defined as a terraced residential building in an urban location, and are typically 2 to
4 storeys tall.
Before commencing design you should make consideration of the users of the building: Whom are
you designing for? How will they use the building? What spaces will they require?
As the project is domestic use issues of access, privacy, and security will need to be balanced with
provisions for natural lighting, ventilation, and views.

Assessment
Assessment of the work will be in a pin-up discussion with your tutor and tutor group.
The focus of the discussion will be on:

The documentation of design process including decision-making.

(The quality of documentation, and the relevance of problem solving methodology employed to the
line of enquiry)

The integration of relevant legislation, regulations, and design standards into the design
process.

(The relevance of the information reviewed, range of information reviewed, quality of the proposal in
relation to relevant requirements)

ARC5012 Design Process 2015_16

Birmingham School of Architecture and Design

BA [HONS] ARCHITECTURE Level 5

The integration of social and contextual analysis into the design process.

(The relevance of the analysis to the proposed use and design process, the range of information
reviewed, and the quality of the proposal in relation to the analysis)

The application of appropriate design standards in the scheme communication.

(The quality of the communication material including orthographic drawings and models, and the
relevance of communicated material)

Resources
On Tuesday 10th November there will be a group design exercise as part of Studio tutorials to define
the master plan for the site.
Make use of the extensive site and context analysis from Project 3, and supplement this with further
targeted research from sources such as the approved documents, local planning framework, and the
metric handbook.

Assessment Requirements
A2 presentation sheets
General arrangement drawings at 1:100 scale:

Ground floor plan including occupation and context;

Plans of all floors including occupation;

Roof plan including context;

Section(s) including occupation and context;

All visible elevations including context.

Site section including context 1:500 scale.

Site plan including context 1:1250.
Facade model.
Key interior perspectives.
Design development.
Exercise 5 required output.
Sketchbook / workbook / models: The source material generated must support your work.
A 10-minute presentation.

Assessment date
The work must be pinned up before 9:45 on Tuesday the 1st December 2015.

Project timetable and assessment date

Tuesday 10th November:
Introduction to brief + Exercise 5 - Group design work to define master plan for site
Tuesday 17th November:
Studio tutorials
Tuesday 24th November:
Studio tutorials
Friday 27th November:
Studio surgery
Tuesday 1st December:

ARC5012 Design Process 2015_16

Project review

Site
Fazerly Street Car Park

Passport to Practice

Andover
Street /
Fazaley

Parkside

Part of the output from this Project has been identified as applicable to Passport to Practice.
Production of 1:100 general arrangement drawings form the core of any architectural portfolio and will
help employers assess your ability to communicate a scheme in a legible and controlled way.
PLEASE NOTE:

ALL INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

ANY CHANGES WILL BE NOTIFIED TO YOU IN ADVANCE WHERE POSSIBLE

ARC5012 Design Process 2015_16