Arch Science

1
Arch Science

• Department of Architecture Design Management and
  Practice module
• Compulsory class for students in their 5th year
  of Architecture study
• 40 students divided into groups of 4,
  alphabetically

2
What did we do?

• Scenario involved acting as a team of architects
  for a new office block Bullgate House in
  Ardcalloch
• Simulated events covering a contract period of 18
  months
• The actions decided upon by students were to be
  in line with good practice and were to conform
  to the Conditions of Contract, terms of
  engagement SCA/2000 and the ARB Code of
  Professional Conduct

3
What was the format?

• Group Project
• Consecutive activities scheduled 4 per week over
  a period of 4 weeks
• 16 consecutive scenarios,each of which built on
  the last. Students could not proceed to the next
  scenario before completing the previous one.

4
How did we do this?

• Scenario developed by Dr Andrew Agapiou in 40
  man hours
• Weekly meetings with members of SIMPLE Core Team
  to test scenarios
• Introductory session for students in tutorials
• 1 tutor (Andrew), ran all scenarios

5
How did it go?

• Student engagement with scenarios high.
• Liked remote aspect as meeting as a group not
  always easy.
• Liked building on work theyd done in previous
  scenarios and using knowledge from one to inform
  later interaction.
• Negative feedback related to waiting for
  responses and also to the first scenario ,which
  involved a heavier workload than subsequent
  scenarios.
• Excellent in introducing contracts, which many
  students had seen in practice but had never been
  allowed to handle themselves before.
• A chance to gain experience of a far bigger
  project than students would encounter as a
  project architect or technician.
• Could now see contract and clauses from a
  contractors viewpoint
• Many realised they had learned bad habits while
  in practice
• From tutors point of view, an easy and
  effective way of communicating with students.

6
Plans for next year

• Use more graphics, still images and video to
  make more realistic.
• Run over a longer period with fewer scenarios -
  remove duplication.
• Perhaps employ research assistant to handle
  responses
• Investigate possibility of interdisciplinary
  simulation on contractual issues eg law students
  interacting with architecture students.

7
Key lesson learned

• The importance of careful scheduling both pre and
  during simulation.
• The need to give students a clear idea of what to
  expect before they begin, particularly where
  responses are concerned ie when and how often.