MSc Architectural Technology & Sustainable Building Performance

Architectural Design & Technology is a design-led module that challenges students to engage with a comprehensive architectural project, emphasizing conceptual innovation, aesthetic refinement, and the practical integration of technology and sustainability. Students will develop proposals individually or collaboratively (subject to yearly cohort planning), responding to a client’s design brief. Projects will focus on the integration of architectural design with Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), environmental performance, and visual coherence. A key aim is to support the UK’s zero-emission targets by addressing energy efficiency and sustainable design strategies throughout the project.By the end of the module, students will be equipped to contribute meaningfully to a more sustainable built environment through innovative and practical design approaches.

Further information

This module is to educate the architectural technology students on the importance to include acoustic aspects into design. The module covers the room acoustics, including reverberation and absorption, room-to-room sound insulation and isolation, noise break-out and break into the building itself, effect of environmental noise on the proposed design of the future building. This module covers various aspects related to acoustic design, development, on-site errors and completion testing. Different types of constructions (timber, CLT, masonry and steel) are reviewed in detail for flanking and sound insulation. The module also provides the overview of main building standards and guidance’s for domestic and non-domestic buildings (schools, sport centres, hospitals, hotels, cinemas etc). Site visit or building visit as well as auralisation chamber visit at ENU are included into the scope of study.

Further information

Building Energy Performance (BSV11153) covers key aspects of building thermal performance, focusing on heat loss and energy-efficient construction. It explores sustainabledesign strategies, including the use of software tools for designing energy-efficient buildings, SAP/SBEM compliance, energy performance certification, and simulation. The module also examines the integration of low and zero-carbon technologies (LZCT) into buildings and the concept of zero-carbon buildings. Additionally, it covers testing building performance targets through methods such as airtightness testing, thermography, etc.

Further information

The module focus on the significance of digitisation and information management in the built environment. It encompasses a broad spectrum of topics about the creation, extraction and management of digital data throughout various stages of construction, starting from site analysis and extending to modelling design, structural systems, material options, and modern construction processes.Within this module, you gain a comprehensive understanding of how digital technologies and tools can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of architectural projects. You learn about the process of capturing and analysing site data using advanced digital surveying techniques and how digital modelling software can be utilised to develop designs and detail drawings. Additionally, you will become familiar with the integration of digital data across various disciplines involved in the construction process. You learn and evaluate how different professionals, including architects, engineers and contractors can collaborate seamlessly through BIM platforms.

Further information

The Dissertation module constitutes a substantial piece of independent work executed within the traditions of scholarship and research characteristic of a particular discipline. Students will learn various research skills which they will then apply to their own chosen research, including developing a research proposal, conducting literature reviews, research methodology, designing a research strategy, data gathering, data presentation, data analysis, and writing up of the dissertation. The choice of a dissertation topic is left to individual students and as long as the proposal can be developed into a dissertation, students shall be allowed to proceed. Each student is allocated a dedicated supervisor to guide the student in the various stages of the research.

Further information

This module examines the evolution and adaptation of the UK’s historic building stock, beginning with an analysis of archetypes, ages, and characteristic features—flooring, walls, and roof systems—found in traditional domestic and commercial structures. Students will explore the properties, limitations, and long-term behaviour of vernacular materials (such as lime mortar, timber framing, and natural stone) alongside the methods by which they were originally assembled.Building on this foundation, the course then addresses sustainable retrofit: surveying relevant UK standards and performance metrics, introducing best-practice techniques, and reviewing case studies of successful interventions and material innovations. Attention is paid to social factors influencing retrofit decisions, as well as the integration of traditional services—ventilation, heating, and cooling—into upgraded heritage buildings. By marrying historical understanding with contemporary sustainability goals, learners will be equipped to design sensitive, effective retrofit strategies for the UK’s aging built environment.

Further information

In this module, students will learn to understand the fundamental principles, strategies, and real-world applications of sustainable design within the built environment. The module provide you with integrated perspective on sustainability, focusing on its environmental, social, and economic dimensions as they relate to buildings, infrastructure, and urban systems. Through case studies, practical tasks, and critical analysis, students will develop the skills to evaluate and apply sustainable design approaches that address current and future challenges in the construction and development sectors.

Further information