Architects Training | Architectural Design in Practice

Lesson 1 – Introduction, Context and analysis (9:47). A brief introduction to the course, followed by an explanation of what to look for when analysing the site and it’s context to inform the design process.

Lesson 2 – Planning Policy Guidelines (14:49). Before jumping into the design, you need to check local planning guidelines, in addition to any vision documents that set further aspirations for new buildings in the area. With this in mind, you can set yourself a list of targets that you want to achieve for the project and call back on them when summarising your scheme to the planners.

Lesson 3 – Space Planning (26:37). With the context, analysis and guidelines in mind, we move into basic space planning of apartments, commercial units, lift & stair cores, and associated ancillary spaces at ground floor such as plant rooms, sprinkler tanks, bin & bike stores.

Lesson 4 – Massing (22:29). Initial massing of your layouts is crucial in establishing whether or not the design is headed in the right direction. This lesson shows how to find efficiencies in your design, to add detail more quickly later down the line and teaches how to self-critique before looking for precedents and adding detail.

Lesson 5 – Precedents (8:19). Prior to breaking down the mass established in lesson 4, we must find at least 2 precedents to give us some inspiration and direction. We land on a primary and secondary precedent at the conclusion of this lesson, informing the more detailed elements of the proposal.

Lesson 6 – Initial Design Moves (36:06). Now the fun begins! We have our project targets, analysis and a driving precedent so it’s time to add detail to the elevations and break down the mass of the proposal to establish an overall design aesthetic.

Lesson 7 – Visual Testing (20:32). At this point we introduce a rendering software, Twinmotion, to realise our initial ideas and give us the perfect platform to assess where the design is at and establish what’s needed to maximise its potential.

Lesson 8 – Finessing the Design (53:40). This lesson lifts the detailing within the facades of the building by adding horizontal banding, deep window reveals, a more characterful window design and more to create a sense of depth and layering, avoiding the potential of a boring brick box!

Lesson 9 – Interior Testing (28:50). To avoid any silly mistakes like beds pushed up against windows and kitchen ends being seen from outside, in addition to testing the size and feel of interior spaces, we move inside the building and quickly mock up a few spaces to see what they look like and assess if there’s any need for changes in the floor plan and 3d model.

Lesson 10 – Showing off the Design (11:30). The course is rounded off by producing a series of interesting renders, using different lighting setups, to give the design one final round of ‘tests’ to see if there’s any room for further improvement, finished with some closing remarks and advice.