AR3102 DESIGN 6: SYSTEMS, COMPREHENSIVENESS, INTEGRATION

Units: 8

This programme aims to develop a high level of competence in comprehensive and integrated building design. The architectural whole is approached as a complex network of systems (of production, technology, infrastructure and so on), and in turn embedded within larger systems (of ecology, economy and so on). Under the guidance of their tutors, students will research and refine a conceptual system of concerns to be fully explored and developed in their architectural proposals. This entails a critical and nuanced understanding of architecture as a synthesis between constituent parts and their whole, resulting in the creation of a cohesive whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Students will sharpen their competence in research, design thinking, operational skills and communication. This semester is intended as a summation—demanding that students take informed design positions incorporating all 18 studio themes they have covered. As the conclusion of this foundational sequence, students are expected to show advanced architectural thinking that will form the basis for embarking on the Masters programme at DOA. They should deploy advanced and mature representational techniques to communicate architectural ideas. Design projects at this stage will also demand a holistic awareness of the issues related to the environment, climate, context, technologies and building.

1. To understand and critically manifest the comprehensive range of considerations that impact design thinking.

2. To understand and take a critical position on integration as a value system in architecture.

3. To understand architecture as a complex of systems and to explore possible future trajectories.

4. To design with conceptual tools to make value and ethical judgments on the respective roles of different systems in architectural design.

5. To fully explore an architectural concept and develop its architectural manifestation at all scales through a critical and rigorous iterative process.

6. To utilise advanced projective drawing and model making to communicate process and architectural iterations.

7. To utilise digital data, visualisations, and contemporary simulations in 2D, 3D, and 4D mediums, to make visible the complexities of architecture.

8. To incorporate research methodologies as part of the design process.

9. To communicate architectural ideas in concise and considered verbal, written, and performative presentations utilising a wide range of mediums, and to engage critically in studio and review discussions.

10. To begin to ask, scope and refine an architectural question beyond answering of a brief.

Units: 4

This course will provide students with an understanding of the concepts of environmental systems and their spatial requirements in an architectural context. The increasing need for the integration of building technologies within multidisciplinary projects in a modern construction environment will be addressed. The course first focuses on understanding how basic environmental systems or building services systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing and drainage) are related to the building program and broader built environments. Codes of practice, such as fire safety, will also be addressed. Furthermore, renewable energy and water systems in architecture in the green building movement will be discussed.

Eddie Lau

Units: 4

The course covers the fundamental concepts of project management, identifying nine broad project management knowledge areas. Students are given an introduction to theories relating to the management of project scope, time, costs, risks, quality, human resources, communications, and procurement. The overall integration of these eight knowledge areas and the management of externalities as the ninth project management knowledge area is also emphasised.

Low Sui Pheng

The Master of Architecture (M Arch) is a two-year programme comprising optional internship programme, two years of design studio, design research report, design thesis, core graduate level courses and graduate level electives. The first year can be concurrently registered with the fourth year of the four-year Bachelor of Arts in Architecture Programme under the concurrent degree track.

The new graduate curriculum was introduced in AY2021/22 as part of formation of College of Design and Engineering (CDE). The first year, students progress through two Options Design Studios where students are introduced to a variety of design themes and issues.

Framing design as a creative practice, the courses aim for a high level of competence in research that leads to skilful and insightful design outcomes. Integrated with the Options Design Studio in the first semester, Advanced Architecture Studio in the second year, provides an opportunity for students to experience a vertical setting, where students from different cohorts are learning from each other.

Architecture Internship Programme (AIP) is an optional course that complements students’ architectural education in the classroom. This provides students with valuable exposure to a range of professional experiences and skills which cannot be taught in a university setting.

Complementing the design studios are the Core Graduate Level Courses and Graduate Level Electives. Conducted in a lecture and seminar-style learning environment, these courses focus on the core knowledge of specific topics. Students will benefit from the application of these basic theories and research methods in their design activities and beyond.

The second year, students embark on architectural design thesis comprising Architectural Design Research Report in Semester 1 and Architectural Design Thesis in Semester 2. Selecting thesis supervisors from a variety of fields, students pursue their own selfdirected thesis themes. Deemed as thesis preparation, the Design Research Report builds and elaborates on a body of ideas that will be further pursued in the Design Thesis. The fundamental purpose of the course is to enable students to develop a rigorous method and deepdived focus in a specific area of design.

The actual Design Thesis, building on the Design Research Report, drives students to adopt a critical stance towards their research and hypothesis. Through a semester-long design exploration, this process will culminate in the manifestation of an architectural proposition. The following pages describe optional internship programme, design studios, design research report, design thesis, core graduate level courses and graduate level electives.

LIST OF PARTNER FIRMS & ORGANISATIONS:

103 EAST Architects

AAMER Architects

A D Lab

AECOM Singapore Pte Ltd

AEDAS Pte ltd

AGA Architects Private Limited

AKDA Architects Pte Ltd

AKTA-RCHITECTS Pte ltd

APDS Architects

ARCHEDEN Architects Llp

ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism Pte Ltd

ARCHITECTS 61 Pte Ltd

ARCHITECTS TEAM 3 Pte Ltd

AWP Architects

CENDES+TENarchitects & Planners

CONSORTIUM 168 Architects Pte Ltd

CPG Consultants Pte Ltd

DP Architects Pte Ltd

East 9 Architects & Planners

ECO-ID Architects

Ernesto Bedmar Architects Pte Ltd

EZRA Architects

FARM Architects Pte Ltd

FDAT Architects LLP

Formwerkz Architects Pte Ltd

Freight Architects LLP

Goy Architects

Hassell Design (Singapore) Pte Ltd

HCF and Associates

Housing & Development Board

HYLA Architects

IX Architects Pte. Ltd.

Jay Chiu Architects & Associates

JPG ARCHITECTURE (S) pte ltd

JTC Corporation

K2LD Architects Pte Ltd

Kaizen Architecture

Kerry Hill Architects Pte Ltd

Kite Studio Architecture Pte

KLAN Architects

KNTA Architects

Kyoob Architects Pte Ltd

KYX Architects LLP

LAUD Architects Pte. Ltd.

Lekker Architects Pte Ltd

Lian Architects

Liu & Wo Architects Pte Ltd

M&Y Design Architects

M.A.N Architects LLP

Meta Architecture

Ming Architects Pte Ltd

MKPL Architects Pte Ltd

Mode Architects Pte Ltd

Morrow Architects & Planners Pte Ltd

ONG&ONG Pte Ltd

OWAA Architects LLP

Paper Plane Architects

Park + Associates Pte Ltd

PI Architects LLP

Plystudio Architects Pte Ltd

Provolk Architects

P&T Consultants pte ltd

Quarters Architects LLP

RichardHO Architects

RSP Architects Planners & Engineers Pte Ltd

RT+Q Architects Pte Ltd

S A Chua Architects Pte Ltd

SAA Architects Pte Ltd

SCDA Architects Pte Ltd

Shing Design Atelier Pte Ltd

Solid Architects LLP

Studio Hatch

Studio Lapis Conservation Pte. Ltd.

Studio Milou Singapore Pte Ltd

Studio Wills + Architects

Studiogoto

Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte. Ltd.

Swan & Maclaren Architects Pte Ltd

Swing Architects

TA.LE Architects

Teh Joo Heng Architects

The Architects Circle Pte Ltd

Tierra Design Studio Pte Ltd

Timur Designs LLP

Topos Architects Pte Ltd

Twosquarefeet Design Studio

Type0 Architects

W Architects Pte Ltd

WASAA Architects & Associates

White Matter Design Studio

WKL Architects

WOHA Architects Pte Ltd

YUME Architects

ZARCH Collaboratives Pte Ltd

ZIVY Architects

Coordinator: Prof Ar.Richard Ho

Units: 8

NUS DOA’s Architecture Internship Programme is an optional course that complements students’ architectural education in the classroom.

The six-month AIP Internship is divided into two 3-month internships - the first 3-month internship must be completed with a registered architecture firm in Singapore while for the subsequent three months, the student may choose to intern with a foreign architecture firm or a firm in a related industry, subject to approval from the AIP Committee.

This provides students with valuable exposure to a range of professional experiences and skills which cannot be taught in a university setting. It also allows them to observe practitioners at work, see how classroom learning translates to the workplace, and experience the rhythms, ebbs and flows of life on a job in architecture and its related fields.

Finally, the internship also helps the student progress in his or her maturity and understanding of the industry, in preparation for entry to the M Arch II programme.