Postgraduate Course: Culture and performance in the history of construction (ARCH11195)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course makes broad queries about the technology and performance of historic construction systems, which give insight into the culture of building and its agents, not just technical strategies. These aspects are reviewed as the 'highly interconnected process between craft and science', framed by the balance of 'ars' (art) and 'scientia' (science), and the transition to modern construction practices in 20th century. Histories and theories of architecture are critically appraised within the building processes that created design- the manifestation of technological advancement of increasingly organised societies and the role of the builders rather than designers and patrons. |
| Course description |
The course attempts an alternative reading of architectural forms through the technical processes and culture that produced them. It is of primary use to students with an interest in the technology of historic forms and their conservation, but also to all those who want to reflect on the complex array of conditions and their interaction in the historic development of building forms.
The model making experience is quite central to the learning environment, aiming to a working knowledge of the original type, but also engagement with the art of Making and the interrogation of existing, functional construction systems.
The lectures review themes like:
The quest for 'ars'- building and making
Example of building technology origins: the Iron-age Scottish Brochs
'Scientia': development of design theories and professional practice
Manipulating gravity: bonded masonry
Modularity and refinements in Georgian construction
Assembly: frames
Assembly: roofs
Prominence of the structure
Vaults as an optimal geometric design process
Construction and stability in stone vaults
Guidance by (original) knowledge
A range of areas in the field of building culture are selected like the creation of fire-proof long spans, original (prehistoric) or systematic learning (treatises, regulations, disasters), processes of assembly (frame structures), optimisation (vaulted structures). Each area is examined in a weekly seminar through recurring themes like builders and patronage, efficiency and performance, regional variations, immediate cultural context, workshop or site practice, tectonics of fabric. Students have the opportunity to practice some of these processes and engage directly with specific techniques firstly through workshops in the classroom, which follow the thematic lecture, and then at a model scale for their coursework.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This Course requires additional costs to be met by the Student.
Travel and Accommodation: There are no travel costs associated with this course.
Equipment and software: Most equipment and software required will be provided by the School, but student will be expected to provide some specialist equipment including [e.g. laptop, headphones, USB drives].
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general stationary materials, such as sketchbooks, paper and pens. Course Organisers will support you in meeting intended learning outcomes while keeping material costs to a minimum, encouraging sustainable, responsible sourcing through Free Use Hub.
Printing: Students are expected to fund occasional printing of A4/A3 printing and booklet binding. This will be optional as all submissions are online.
To fully participate in this course students are recommended to budget a minimum of £50. |
| Additional Costs | This Course requires additional costs to be met by the Student.
Travel and Accommodation: There are no travel costs associated with this course.
Equipment and software: Most equipment and software required will be provided by the School, but student will be expected to provide some specialist equipment including [e.g. laptop, headphones, USB drives].
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general stationary materials, such as sketchbooks, paper and pens. Course Organisers will support you in meeting intended learning outcomes while keeping material costs to a minimum, encouraging sustainable, responsible sourcing through Free Use Hub.
Printing: Students are expected to fund occasional printing of A4/A3 printing and booklet binding. This will be optional as all submissions are online.
To fully participate in this course students are recommended to budget a minimum of £50. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 30,
Fieldwork Hours 20,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
122 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
You will create a model of a particular historic construction technique working in small groups and the topics vary every year (roof trusses, broch sections, stone vaulting etc). Your performance at the course will be assessed by a reflective illustrated essay (max 3,000 words) on the process of reproducing the use of materials, control on the geometry, design choices and solutions the builders developed originally. You can work in groups of 3 for the models but the essay submissions will be individual. The course is assessed 100% by this essay, according to the following weighting for the Learning Outcomes:¿
Learning Outcomes (LOs) are assessed according to the following weighting:
LO1 - 20%
LO2 - 30%
LO3 - 30%
LO4 - 20%
|
| Feedback |
Feedback is given during in tutorials during the construction of your model and the final review at the Model Workshop (orally) and by means of a form at the submission, mapped on the learning Outcomes. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Identify and document a historic construction system in terms of materials procurement and properties, key elements and their assembly, and performance (structural, environmental)
- Apply any of these technical aspects directly by making a scale model and choosing simulation techniques accordingly
- Appraise the experience of fabricating construction details by reflecting on their own model making process and demonstrating what they learnt subsequently on the assembly and performance of the prototype they simulated.
- Communicate a Making learning experience and engagement with a historic construction type, by means of an analytical portfolio that uses appropriate illustrations and technical expression.
|
Reading List
Acland J. H., 1972. Medieval structure: the gothic vault. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Addis W (Bill) 2007. 3,000 years of design, engineering and construction. Phaidon
Construction History, journal of the Construction History Society, indexed in https://www.jstor.org/journal/consthistory and http://www.constructionhistory.co.uk/publications/construction-history-journal/
Engineering History and Heritage journal https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/toc/jenhh/current
Theodossopoulos D. 2012. Structural design in building conservation. Routledge
Yeomans D 1999. The development of timber as a structural material / Aldershot : Ashgate/Variorum |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Curiosity: Through the workshops and coursework, you will practice observing something existing in detail, interrogate why it has been functioning and research relevant information on its design through original literature or historical documentation. That will help you understand building culture beyond technical solutions.
Critical thinking: You will be able to make direct appraisals of the assembly and function of something existing by simulation into a model; this is also your opportunity to make something functional and structurally sound by exploring materials or simulation techniques.
Reflection: As you work on your models, you can take decisions about the extent and focus of an exploration through a physical construct. In broader terms, this engagement with a particular technique will support you in recognising the importance of technological values in a building during a conservation appraisal.
Communication: The coursework will be valuable practice how to represent an inquiry through a working model; and subsequently how record and reflect such an inquiry in a portfolio format that can be communicated to tutors but also conservation professionals. The more focused engagement with technical strategies and details, will support you in describing an existing building in specific and appropriate technical terms. |
| Keywords | Construction history conservation construction masonry structural form |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Dimitrios Theodossopoulos
Tel: (0131 6)50 2300
Email: d.theodossopoulos@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Aidan Cole
Tel: (0131 6)50 2306
Email: acole33@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage