Industrial Architecture Course

Lesson 1 • Stakeholders and Project Delivery Models

Maps the roles of owners, operators, engineers, and contractors in industrial projects. Explains how delivery models such as design-build affect architectural scope.

Lesson 2 • Core Typologies and Building Categories

Surveys factories, warehouses, logistics hubs, energy facilities, and processing plants as distinct design categories. Connects typology to program requirements and site constraints.

Lesson 3 • Regulatory and Safety Frameworks

Introduces occupancy classifications, fire safety zoning, and hazardous-use regulations that govern industrial design. Grounds students in compliance thinking from the outset.

Lesson 4 • Historical Evolution of Industrial Buildings

Traces industrial architecture from early mills through post-industrial adaptive reuse. Reveals how production technology has continuously reshaped building form.

Lesson 1 • Environmental Site Assessment

Covers contamination screening, brownfield evaluation, and ecological impact analysis. Prepares students to identify site liabilities before design commitment.

Lesson 2 • Site Layout and Master Planning

Applies site data to organise building footprints, circulation, parking, and utility corridors. Demonstrates how master planning decisions lock in long-term operational efficiency.

Lesson 3 • Site Selection Criteria

Establishes quantitative and qualitative factors for evaluating candidate industrial sites. Integrates logistics access, utility capacity, and labour proximity into a scoring framework.

Lesson 4 • Industrial Land Use and Zoning Principles

Explains how zoning ordinances separate industrial uses from residential and commercial zones. Connects land-use policy to site selection and design constraints.

Lesson 1 • Structural System Selection Criteria

Frames the decision matrix for choosing structural systems based on span, load type, and construction speed. Connects structural choice to cost and operational flexibility.

Lesson 2 • Steel Frame and Portal Frame Systems

Examines rigid frames, portal frames, and braced bays as the dominant industrial structural vocabulary. Covers connection types, column spacing, and crane beam integration.

Lesson 3 • Seismic and Wind Load Design

Applies lateral load principles to industrial buildings with large roof areas and heavy equipment. Integrates bracing strategies with process equipment anchorage.

Lesson 4 • Industrial Floor Slab Design

Covers slab-on-grade design for forklift loads, racking systems, and chemical resistance. Addresses joint layout, flatness tolerances, and surface hardening.

Lesson 1 • Thermal Insulation and Energy Performance

Applies insulation strategies to minimise heating and cooling loads in large-volume industrial spaces. Connects envelope performance to energy cost and process temperature control.

Lesson 2 • Industrial Roofing Systems

Covers low-slope membrane, standing-seam metal, and green roof systems for industrial applications. Addresses drainage, penetrations, and load capacity for rooftop equipment.

Lesson 3 • Cladding Systems and Material Selection

Compares metal panel, masonry, precast, and composite cladding for durability, maintenance, and thermal performance. Links material choice to process environment and aesthetic intent.

Lesson 4 • Daylighting and Glazing Strategies

Integrates skylights, clerestories, and translucent panels to reduce artificial lighting loads. Balances glare control, solar heat gain, and structural integration.

Lesson 1 • Industrial HVAC and Ventilation

Covers make-up air units, exhaust systems, and process cooling for manufacturing environments. Connects ventilation design to air quality standards and process heat loads.

Lesson 2 • Lighting Design for Industrial Spaces

Applies illuminance standards to assembly, warehouse, and hazardous-area lighting design. Integrates LED high-bay fixtures, controls, and emergency egress lighting.

Lesson 3 • Process Piping and Plumbing Systems

Covers compressed air, process water, chemical supply, and industrial drainage networks. Links pipe material selection to fluid type, pressure, and corrosion resistance.

Lesson 4 • Fire Protection and Suppression Systems

Designs sprinkler, foam, and gaseous suppression systems for varied industrial occupancy hazards. Integrates fire detection, alarm, and suppression into a coordinated life-safety strategy.

Lesson 1 • Lean Manufacturing Principles in Layout

Applies value stream mapping and 5S principles to eliminate waste in industrial floor plan design. Connects lean thinking to reduced travel distance and improved cycle time.

Lesson 2 • Loading Docks and Receiving Areas

Designs dock configurations, levelers, and staging areas for efficient truck loading and unloading. Integrates dock placement with internal material flow and security requirements.

Lesson 3 • Production Process Analysis

Maps manufacturing sequences, material inputs, and output flows to identify spatial requirements. Translates process data into adjacency diagrams and area programmes.

Lesson 4 • Equipment Layout and Clearance Planning

Positions machinery, conveyors, and storage systems within structural grids while meeting safety clearances. Addresses maintenance access, aisle widths, and overhead crane envelopes.

Lesson 1 • Hazardous Material Storage and Containment

Designs segregated storage rooms, secondary containment, and spill response infrastructure. Addresses ventilation, fire separation, and incompatible material isolation.

Lesson 2 • Occupational Health and Hazard Mitigation

Identifies chemical, physical, and ergonomic hazards and translates them into architectural controls. Connects hazard analysis to ventilation, containment, and material selection.

Lesson 3 • Safety Signage and Visual Management

Establishes a facility-wide system of floor markings, hazard labels, and directional signage. Connects visual management to lean principles and emergency response effectiveness.

Lesson 4 • Accessibility in Industrial Environments

Adapts universal design principles to industrial contexts including ramps, accessible restrooms, and workstation adjustability. Balances accessibility compliance with process safety requirements.

Lesson 1 • Renewable Energy Integration

Designs rooftop photovoltaic arrays, wind turbine siting, and combined heat-and-power systems for industrial facilities. Addresses structural loading, grid interconnection, and storage.

Lesson 2 • Water Conservation and Reuse

Implements rainwater harvesting, process water recycling, and greywater reuse to reduce industrial water consumption. Links water strategy to site drainage and treatment systems.

Lesson 3 • Adaptive Reuse of Industrial Buildings

Evaluates structural, environmental, and programmatic feasibility of converting obsolete industrial buildings. Covers heritage assessment, structural upgrades, and new programme insertion.

Lesson 4 • Energy Efficiency Strategies

Applies passive design, high-efficiency equipment, and energy management systems to reduce industrial energy intensity. Connects energy modelling outputs to design decisions.