Architecture and Urbanism Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Architecture and Urban Space

Distinguishes architecture from urbanism and clarifies their interdependence. Sets the conceptual baseline for all subsequent analytical work in the course.

Lesson 2 • Historical Evolution of Cities

Traces urban form from ancient settlements to industrial cities. Reveals how social, economic, and technological forces shape built environments over time.

Lesson 3 • Architectural Styles and Movements

Surveys major architectural movements and their ideological underpinnings. Connects aesthetic choices to cultural and political contexts across history.

Lesson 4 • Core Principles of Urban Form

Introduces density, connectivity, land use, and grain as primary urban design variables. Provides analytical tools for reading and evaluating city structure.

Lesson 1 • Light, Material, and Texture

Analyses how natural and artificial light, material selection, and surface texture define architectural character. Connects sensory experience to design intent.

Lesson 2 • Proportion, Scale, and Composition

Examines classical and contemporary systems of proportion and their effect on spatial quality. Trains learners to make deliberate compositional decisions.

Lesson 3 • Spatial Organisation and Planning

Covers organisational diagrams, circulation logic, and programmatic relationships in building design. Directly informs how learners structure their own design proposals.

Lesson 4 • Structural Systems and Form

Introduces primary structural typologies and their influence on architectural form and space. Enables learners to integrate structural logic into early design decisions.

Lesson 1 • Site Survey and Documentation

Covers field measurement, photographic documentation, and data collection for urban sites. Establishes the empirical foundation for all subsequent site analysis work.

Lesson 2 • Synthesis and Site Strategy

Integrates all analytical layers into a coherent site strategy and design brief. Bridges the gap between analysis and the start of the design process.

Lesson 3 • Social and Cultural Context

Examines demographic data, cultural identity, and community patterns as inputs to urban design. Ensures design proposals respond to the lived realities of site users.

Lesson 4 • Urban Morphology Analysis

Applies morphological tools to decode street patterns, block structures, and plot subdivisions. Reveals the historical logic embedded in existing urban fabric.

Lesson 1 • Urban Density and Housing Typologies

Compares low-, medium-, and high-density housing typologies and their urban implications. Equips learners to select appropriate typologies for specific urban contexts.

Lesson 2 • Public Space Design

Covers the design of plazas, parks, streets, and waterfronts as active public realms. Connects spatial configuration to social activation and civic identity.

Lesson 3 • Foundational Urban Design Theories

Reviews seminal theories from key urban thinkers on city form, perception, and social life. Provides the theoretical vocabulary used throughout the rest of the chapter.

Lesson 4 • Mixed-Use and Transit-Oriented Development

Analyses mixed-use programming and transit-oriented development as tools for urban vitality. Demonstrates how land use and mobility integration reduce car dependence.

Lesson 1 • Urban Heat Island and Biophilic Design

Addresses urban heat island mitigation through green roofs, tree canopy, and reflective surfaces. Integrates biophilic design principles to enhance occupant well-being.

Lesson 2 • Passive Design Strategies

Covers orientation, natural ventilation, thermal mass, and shading as primary passive design tools. Reduces reliance on mechanical systems through climate-responsive building design.

Lesson 3 • Green Building Rating Systems

Surveys internationally recognised green building certification frameworks and their design criteria. Enables learners to align design decisions with measurable sustainability benchmarks.

Lesson 4 • Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Examines design responses to flooding, extreme heat, and sea-level rise at building and city scales. Prepares learners to embed long-term resilience into design proposals.

Lesson 1 • Neighbourhood Structure and Amenities

Designs the relationship between housing clusters, shared open space, and local services. Connects residential design to broader neighbourhood vitality and social cohesion.

Lesson 2 • Interior Layout and Habitability

Covers unit planning, room adjacency, natural light access, and minimum space standards. Ensures housing designs meet functional and qualitative habitability requirements.

Lesson 3 • Affordable and Social Housing Design

Addresses design strategies for affordable housing that maintain quality without sacrificing dignity. Examines tenure mix, management models, and community engagement in social housing.

Lesson 4 • Residential Building Typologies

Compares single-family, terraced, courtyard, and apartment typologies across density ranges. Enables informed typology selection based on site, context, and programme.

Lesson 1 • Regeneration Strategies and Models

Surveys area-based, property-led, and community-driven regeneration models and their outcomes. Equips learners to select and justify appropriate regeneration approaches for specific contexts.

Lesson 2 • Brownfield and Post-Industrial Sites

Addresses the remediation, planning, and design of contaminated and post-industrial urban land. Transforms liabilities into assets through creative programming and phased development.

Lesson 3 • Heritage Conservation and Adaptive Reuse

Covers conservation principles, significance assessment, and design strategies for reusing historic buildings. Balances preservation values with contemporary functional and programmatic requirements.

Lesson 4 • Diagnosing Urban Decline

Identifies physical, economic, and social indicators of urban decline and their root causes. Establishes the diagnostic foundation for targeted regeneration intervention strategies.

Lesson 1 • Planning Approval and Regulatory Process

Explains the planning application process, design review, and regulatory approval pathways. Prepares learners to navigate institutional processes that govern built environment delivery.

Lesson 2 • Project Management for Urban Projects

Covers procurement, programme management, and stakeholder coordination for complex urban projects. Bridges the gap between design completion and successful on-site delivery.

Lesson 3 • Development Economics and Viability

Introduces land value, development appraisal, and viability testing as tools for realistic planning. Enables learners to assess whether design proposals are economically deliverable.

Lesson 4 • Infrastructure and Mobility Planning

Integrates transport networks, utility systems, and green infrastructure into urban design proposals. Ensures that spatial plans are technically feasible and infrastructure-ready.