Course syllabus

Course-PM

ACE425 - Master's thesis preparation: Design approaches and narratives, 2024

Course is offered by the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, autumn semester 2023,  lp1 HT24 (10 hp)

The course is structured into 6 profiles. Each profile has its own contact person, examiner, CoursePM and schedule (please refer only to each profile’s individual PDF schedule). You can find all the profile specific information under modules or in the links below. As the course coordinates several profiles, make sure that you are checking the profile specific schedule and assignments, under the profile-specific hand-ins.  

In order to attend the course you need to choose a profile before the course starts. Contact Maja Kovács to be added to a profile or if you have general questions about the course. Under the module “General information” you can find a list of students' choices for the profile and you should also be added to a group within the profile. 

The course ACE425 is connected to the course ACE370 Master's thesis preparation: Academic approaches and general structure and has a connected introduction, see below. If you are only taking one of the courses you only have to attend the introduction for your specific course. Within the course ACE370 you develop your project plan and within ACE425 you develop design investigations in connections to your idea for the masters thesis. 

ACE370: 2nd Sep, 09.00-10.45 Introduction, room FB

ACE425: 2nd Sep, 13.15-17:00 Introduction within profile, see rooms below

• SB3-L112 Urban Design and Urban and Rural Design and Planning
• SB1-582 Society, Justice, Space
• SB-L227 Building Design and Transformation for Sustainability
• SB1-584 Healthcare and Housing Architecture
• SB3-L110 Architectural Experimentation ​
• SB-L408 Building Design and Transformation​

Contact information  

Examiner: Joaquim Tarrasó, joaquim.tarraso@chalmers.se 

Contact person: Maja Kovács, maja.kovacs@chalmers.se 

 

Modules and contact person within the module 

MPARC 

Healthcare and housing architecture: Anna Braide, anna.braide@chalmers.se  

Architectural experimentation: Daniel Norell, norelld@chalmers.se  

Building design and transformation: Mikael Ekegren, mikael.ekegren@chalmers.se  

Urban design: Joaquim Tarrasó, joaquim.tarraso@chalmers.se 

 

MPDSD 

Building design and transformation for sustainability: Walter Unterrainer, walteru@chalmers.se  

Society, justice, space: Marco Adelfio, adelfio@chalmers.se  

Urban and rural design and planning: Nils Björling, nils.bjorling@chalmers.se

 

Purpose and aim  

The aim of the course is to prepare the students for their master's thesis and to train their ability to use theories, analysis, and design methods as a basis for formulating a design problem and a research query. Within the course, the students explore theories and methods for spatial analysis and architectural and/or urban design approaches associated with a particular trajectory of architecture and/or urban design. 
 
The course focuses on conducting spatial analysis and developing design processes that include testing design scenarios and evaluating them to be able to reach conclusions about the process as a research method for the master thesis. The students develop their capacity to use analytically architectural references by breaking them down to grasp the relationship between design elements, their articulation and the main ideas and concepts of the project 
 
The interplay between theoretical studies, spatial analysis and design interventions is emphasized, for the student to establish how research and design are related, how the thesis question is developed to start defining the overall narrative of the thesis through such interplay. 

 

Learning outcomes  

• Knowledge and understanding, demonstrate knowledge and understanding about specific design methodologies relevant for the student's master thesis process. 
• Competence and skills, formulate a design problem and a research query based on theory, spatial analysis, design methods and design interventions.  
• Test and apply design media (i.e. specific types of drawings, models, diagrams, software, etc.) related to a specific design narrative relevant for the students master thesis process.  

• Communicate by using a wide repertoire of architectural media and methods connected to the student's design narrative and present the reasoning and the conclusions. 
• Judgement and approach, relate the own design work to scientific knowledge and other architectural and/or urban reference projects, to value-based arguments and to sustainability development.  
• Constructively evaluate the students own work as well as other students work and give constructive feedback. 

 

Course Design  

See under each profile module (Modules)

 

Course Schedule  

See each profile's individual schedule under the profile module.

 

Course literature 

See under the profile module.  

 

Integrated learning 

The course is connected to the masters thesis course and to course studios.