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Syllabus:

Synthesis course 2: Architecture and Urban Design Project, Resolution, 20 credits

Swedish name: Synteskurs 2: Arkitektur- och stadsbyggnadsprojekt, fördjupning
This syllabus is valid: 2026-01-05 and until further notice
Course code: 5AR423
Credit points: 20
Education level: Second cycle
Main Field of Study and progress level: Architecture: Second cycle, has second-cycle course/s as entry requirements
Grading scale: Pass, Fail
Responsible department: Umeå School of Architecture
Established by: Faculty Board of Science and Technology, 2017-12-06
Revised by: Faculty Board of Science and Technology, 2025-04-22

Contents

The course is a continuation of the student's work with the architectural and urban research theme as well as the own position and agenda that the student has developed in "Synthesis course 1: Architecture and urban planning projects, positioning". In the course, students will apply and further develop the architectonic and/or urban strategies that were investigated in the previous course through the design of an advanced and technically solved architectural and/or urban planning project. The course is studio based. Specific course information, themes, design requirements, and submission requirements are adjusted and determined for each academic year by the examiner. 

The course is divided into three modules:

  • Part 1 (8 credits) 
  • Part 2 (8 credits)
  • Communication with External Parties (4 credits)

Expected learning outcomes

For a passing grade, the student should be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

  • based on a brief, develop and present an advanced design proposals that demonstrates knowledge and understanding of current architectural issues and shows the student's the ability to take responsibility for ongoing learning.
  • understand the need for and critically be able to review reference projects relevant to the design proposal's function, organization, and technical strategy.

Competence and skills

  • develop an advanced architectural design that integrates social, aesthetic, ethical, and sustainable aspects while meeting technical and material requirements as well as the needs of society and the individual user.
  • present and discuss, evaluate, and apply a variety of visual, oral, and written media and physical models to test, analyse, critically review and explain architectural and urban planning proposals.

Judgement and approach

  • develop a theoretical, conceptual, and critical approach to architectural design and its impact in a complex context.
  • demonstrate originality in the application of subject knowledge and when applicable explore new hypotheses and speculations.
  • investigate, select and critically evaluate the effects of relevant structural, tectonic, environmental, and material strategies, systems, and techniques.

Required Knowledge

Admission to the course requires at least 188 credits, including the courses:
Theory of Architecture 3:2 (10 credits)
Architecture Project 3:2 (5 credits)
Degree Project, First Cycle, Bachelor of fine arts in architecture (15 credits)
Modul 1 Architectural Investigations (8 credit) in the course Synthesis course 1: Architecture and Urban Design Project, Positioning

Form of instruction

The teaching consists of project work, individually and in groups. The forms of teaching include practical exercises, individual tutoring, group discussions, and critical reflection as well as lectures, seminars, workshops, and field studies. 

Throughout the course, the student is expected to engage in a critical reflection on the initial research, the developed strategies, the spatial character, and the consequences of the architectural proposal. 

The student's right to teaching and supervision at the course that they are registered for is only valid from the onset of the course to the end of the course.

Examination modes

The course is examined individually through an oral presentation supported by diagrams, drawings, architectural models and other relevant visual material prepared individually and in groups.

The grades Pass (G) and Fail (U) are used. To pass the course, all examinations and mandatory modules need to be completed and assigned a pass grade. The grade is a summary assessment of the results of the examinations of the different modules.

Examiners may decide to deviate from the modes of assessment in the course syllabus. Individual adaption of modes of assessment must give due consideration to the student's needs. The adaption of modes of assessment must remain within the framework of the intended learning outcomes in the course syllabus. Students who require an adapted examination must submit a request to the department holding the course no later than 10 days before the examination. The examiner decides on the adaption of the examination, after which the student will be notified.

The date of the retake must be notified no later than the date of the regular examination. The first retake will be offered no later than two months after the regular examination session, but no earlier than ten working days after students have been notified of the results of the regular examination. For regular examinations held in May or June, a first retake may be offered within three months of the regular examination session. In addition, at least one second retake (a catch-up) is offered within a year from the regular examination session. Students who have achieved a pass are not permitted to retake an examination. 

A student who has taken a regular examination and retake in a course or a part of a course without obtaining a pass grade is entitled to request the appointment of another examiner or marking teacher, unless there are special reasons to the contrary. Students should address any such request to the director of studies or equivalent.

Other regulations

In the event of a course syllabus being withdrawn or undergoing major changes, students are guaranteed at least three examination opportunities (including the regular examination session) in accordance with the previous course syllabus during a maximum of two years from the expiry of the course syllabus or the discontinuation of the course.

Literature

Mandatory course literature refers to the main and recommended literature for assimilating the course content and achieving the expected study results.

Course literature for Studio 11

Housing design : a manual
Leupen Bernard, Mooij Harald, Uytenhaak Rudy, Jürgenhake Birgit, Nottrot Robert, Zondag John, Sedighi Mohamad Ali, Zweeden Alexander van, Bouvier Pierre, Vroomen Laura
2. rev. English language ed. : Rotterdam : NAi publ. : 2011 : 447 s. :
ISBN: 9789056628260
LIBRIS ID: 12682166
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue
Reading instructions: Course literature for Studio 11

MAB 2025 Manual för analys av bostadskvaliteter
Granath Kaj, Nylander Ola
CBA: Göteborg : 2025 : 52 :
Available online
Mandatory

The Life and Death of Residential Room Types: A Study of Swedish Building Plans, 1750–2010
Kärrholm Mattias
Included in:
Architectural histories
2013- :
Available online
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 1-18

Course literature for Studio 11

Mandatory course literature refers to the main and recommended literature for assimilating the course content and achieving the expected study results.

Housing design : a manual
Leupen Bernard, Mooij Harald, Uytenhaak Rudy, Jürgenhake Birgit, Nottrot Robert, Zondag John, Sedighi Mohamad Ali, Zweeden Alexander van, Bouvier Pierre, Vroomen Laura
2. rev. English language ed. : Rotterdam : NAi publ. : 2011 : 447 s. :
ISBN: 9789056628260
LIBRIS ID: 12682166
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

MAB 2025 Manual för analys av bostadskvaliteter
Granath Kaj, Nylander Ola
CBA: Göteborg : 2025 : 52 :
Available online
Mandatory

The Life and Death of Residential Room Types: A Study of Swedish Building Plans, 1750–2010
Kärrholm Mattias
Included in:
Architectural histories
2013- :
Available online
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 1-18

Course literature for Studio 12

Mandatory course literature refers to the main and recommended literature for assimilating the course content and achieving the expected study results.

Building Intelligence and Situated Building Cultures

Architecture without architects : a short introduction to non-pedigreed architecture
Rudofsky Bernard
Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press : 1987 : 156 s. :
ISBN: 9780826310040
LIBRIS ID: 10875628
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Outdoor Domesticity : On the Relationships between Trees, Architecture, and Inhabitants / Ricardo Devesa
Devesa Ricardo.
uuuu-uuuu :

LIBRIS ID: 5px90jqw3k7c4xjz
ISBN: 9781638408345
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Graphic anatomy Atelier Bow-Wow
Tsukamoto Yoshiharu, Kaijima Momoyo
Tokyo : TOTO Shuppan : cop. 2007 : 153 s. :
LIBRIS ID: 10625415
ISBN: 9784887062788
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Sami Manifesto
Hakovirta Jenni (Sápmi/FIN), Halonen Vilja (Sápmi/FIN), Hansen Trine (Sápmi/NOR), Minde Johanna (Sápmi/SWE), Nango Joar (Sápmi/NOR), Sarapää Eveliina (Sápmi/FIN), Tuolja Magnus Antaris (Sápmi/SWE), Wilstrand Karin (Sápmi/SWE)
Verdde : 2026 :
Tillhandhålls av institutionen
Mandatory

Dwellings : the vernacular house world wide
Oliver Paul
London : Phaidon : 2003 : 288 s. :
LIBRIS ID: 8868561
ISBN: 0714842028
ISBN: 9780714847931
Search the University Library catalogue

Tectonics, Structure and Joinery

Studies in tectonic culture : the poetics of construction in nineteenth and twentieth century architecture
Frampton Kenneth, Cava John
Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press : cop. 1995 : xi, 430 s. :
LIBRIS ID: 4738458
ISBN: 0262061732
ISBN: 9780262061735
Search the University Library catalogue

Constructing architecture : materials, processes, structures : a handbook
Deplazes Andrea
Fifth, extended edition : Basel : Birkhäuser : 2022 : 607 sidor :
LIBRIS ID: 3n2m35hg1m13tqvz
ISBN: 9783035626650
ISBN: 9783035626667
Search the University Library catalogue

Timber construction manual
Herzog Thomas
Basel : Birkhäuser : cop. 2004 : 375 s. :
LIBRIS ID: 9366945
ISBN: 3764370254
ISBN: 9783764370251
Search the University Library catalogue

Material, Labour and Territory

Making : anthropology, archaeology, art and architecture
Ingold Tim
London : Routledge : 2013 : xii, 163 s. :

LIBRIS ID: 11646473
ISBN: 9780415567237
ISBN: 041556722X
ISBN: 9780415567220
ISBN: 041556722X
ISBN: 0415567238
Search the University Library catalogue

The craftsman
Sennett Richard
New Haven : Yale University Press : cop. 2008 : 326 s. :

LIBRIS ID: 10894661
ISBN: 9780300119091
ISBN: 0300119097
ISBN: 9780300151190
ISBN: 0300151195
Search the University Library catalogue

Reciprocal landscapes : stories of material movements
Hutton Jane
Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge : 2020 : 232 sidor :
LIBRIS ID: v73rmk16sbgkz87s
ISBN: 9781138830684
Search the University Library catalogue

Climate, Performance and Building Afterlives

The whole building handbook : how to design healthy, efficient and sustainable buildings
Bokalders Varis, Block Maria
1. ed. : London : Earthscan : 2010 : xii, 689 s. :
LIBRIS ID: 11728287
ISBN: 9781844078332
ISBN: 9781844075232
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Design with climate : bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism
Olgyay Victor, Olgyay Aladar, Lyndon Donlyn, Olgyay Victor W., Reynolds John, Yeang Ken
New and expanded edition. : Princeton : Princeton University Press : [2015] : xx, 190 sidor :

LIBRIS ID: l5nvxsdfjhcfh5np
ISBN: 9780691169736
ISBN: 069116973X
Search the University Library catalogue

Maintenance architecture
Sample Hilary
Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press : 2016 : xi, 192 pages :
LIBRIS ID: 20053725
ISBN: 9780262034975
Search the University Library catalogue

Manual of biogenic house sections
Lewis Paul, Tsurumaki Marc, Lewis David J.
First edition. : [Novato, California] : ORO Editions : [2022] : 351 pages :
LIBRIS ID: sbj2jg2vqqcrqhw8
ISBN: 9781957183091
ISBN: 1957183098
Search the University Library catalogue

The great repair : Praktiken der Reparatur = a catalog of practices
Ngo Anh-Linh, Dünser Nora, Gatti Mirko, Hiller Christian, Hofmann Felix, Krieger Markus, Nehmer Alex, Hertweck Florian, Topalović Milica, Hierro Santiago del, Marić Marija, Tümerdem Nazlı
Erstauflage. : Berlin : ARCH+ Verlag GmbH : 2023 : 216 Seiten :
LIBRIS ID: cwdxtkmm97fn83fr
ISBN: 9783931435806
ISBN: 3931435806
ISBN: 9783959057882
ISBN: 3959057881
Search the University Library catalogue

Experimental Methods and Fabrication

Fabricate 2024: Creating Resourceful Futures
uuuu-uuuu :

LIBRIS ID: 5pbv7hpj3jpn3nd7
ISBN: 9781800086357
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Frei Otto : thinking by modeling
1. edition. : Leipzig : Spector Books : [2017] : 408 pages :
LIBRIS ID: 21347062
ISBN: 9783959050890
ISBN: 3959050895
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

The robotic touch : how robots change architecture : Gramazio & Kohler, Research ETH Zurich 2005-2013
Gramazio Fabio, Kohler Matthias, Willmann Jan, Jaeger Ralf
Zurich : Park Books : c2014. : 488 p. :
LIBRIS ID: 16923501
ISBN: 9783906027371
ISBN: 3906027376
Search the University Library catalogue

Mandatory course literature refers to the main and recommended literature for assimilating the course content and achieving the expected study results.

Course literature for Studio 11

Housing design : a manual
Leupen Bernard, Mooij Harald, Uytenhaak Rudy, Jürgenhake Birgit, Nottrot Robert, Zondag John, Sedighi Mohamad Ali, Zweeden Alexander van, Bouvier Pierre, Vroomen Laura
2. rev. English language ed. : Rotterdam : NAi publ. : 2011 : 447 s. :
ISBN: 9789056628260
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue
Reading instructions: Course literature for Studio 11