Landscape Architecture with Urban Design with a Foundation Year - BA (Hons)

Looking at the sources of inspiration within the international subject of Landscape Architecture, the module provides a broad introduction for you to begin to engage with the dynamics of a structured design process. Focus on each of the core principles will allow you to develop overall structural understanding of the subject, as well as the fundamental academic and design skill sets that will be required through the course and your future career, be that in Landscape Architecture, or a related field.

Developing a core transferable graphical skill set for Landscape Architecture and aligned, wider designed-environment industries. The module introduces industry standard methods and building on these to promote exploration of innovation and self-derived techniques in representing architectural space and site characteristics. Approaches introduced, will consider the benefits of physical and digital production methods, two dimensional and three dimensional representation, and frameworks for self-guided, work allocation, and time management in production.

Exploring the contextual framework within which the contemporary Landscape Architect practices: students will research and explore the scale, scope, and timeline of human impact on the Earth’s landscape and the impact of environmental factors on human development and systems.

Setting out a fundamental understanding of the broad design palette available to the Landscape Architect, including the key considerations for specifying and sourcing materials, systems and ecologies. Focus will be on curating the design fabric, aiming to emphasise character and function: through explorations in visual composition, colour, texture and form; to uncover deeper understandings on the emotive effects, cultural-historical references of association and the fundamental practical requirements and benefits of various design applications.

Moving up through scale, from the human perspective of 1:1, up to the common Landscape Architecture scales of 1:1000/1:1250, you will look at composition of increasingly large landscape components. As the scale range widens you observe the increasing considerations coming into play: physical and psychological interactions between the human and physical environment; a study of mass and void, of textural, sound, smell and colour qualities.

Entering level 5 we build from your developing understanding of the experience and function of places. In this module we will look with increased depth into strategies that guide design decisions around the character of urban areas.

This module has a focus on developing a refined and deeper understanding of key socio-cultural/historical and artistic influences on contemporary Landscape Architecture theory and practice. You will look at major themes and their key proponents through specialised study areas and group debate. You will be encouraged to develop critical thinking in the review of a variety of theoretical positions, cultural beliefs and physical processes and historical context. The aim is to explore and debate on the common preconceptions and design practices of contemporary practice whilst developing an understanding of multiple approaches to research.

The purpose of this module is to enable you to develop professional attributes and subject skills through experience in the work place or a live case study, and to critically reflect upon your learning and future options in that context. You will normally be expected to arrange your own placement, with support from academic staff and BCU Careers. Typically, the placement duration is 1 or 2 weeks. This should be achieved in one block where possible. It is also possible to fulfil this module through a case study, via physical interview of a current practise if placement becomes unattainable.

The Urban Design module consists of a design project for redevelopment of a pivotal civic space network, with a focus on making dynamic, lively places for people. You will develop proposals for a layered vision to reinvigorate and enliven a ‘sense of place’ across a broad area. This will be supported with a strategy for the area and a masterplan design/redesign of one key area, with multiple designed interventions for improving local identity and use of the place.

With an eye to the future, the aim of this urban design focused module is to develop new models for urban living that respond to contemporary challenges. Building from previously explored Urban Design themes, we will explore and analyse models of urban design (frameworks, strategic designs) and resulting built projects; looking critically at their social, economic and environmental sustainability to define future design objectives.

This module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines, or with academic staff.

This module provides an opportunity for you to apply your knowledge and skills to an external, professional brief. The brief will be set by an external client/agency, in consultation with your supervisor, and it could be a ‘real life’ problem to be solved, or a simulation.

This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a credit bearing, 40- week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Undergraduate Degree.    The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.  Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace. 

The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practice-based portfolio. 

This module will be about reflecting, questioning and developing industry aligned thinking, skills and approaches. The module is intended to prepare you for entry into competitive professional contexts after study, whether industry, academia or a combination of the two.

You will start by defining a project site at strategic scale, which aligns to a sophisticated set of aims and identified contextual and/or theoretical issues (such as that explored in the Major Project module) and design potentials.

Students will refine a set of complex physical and cultural site specific issues, to define creative and sophisticated solutions.