Housing Design: from Concept to Fabrication (Canvas net)

Housing Design: from Concept to Fabrication (Canvas net)
Building a house has evolved over centuries from providing rudimentary shelter, through increasing personalisation, to the sophisticated multifunctional buildings of today. These building can be designed to minimise visual impact on the environment and on global resources, in both their construction and day-to-day running. In the dark days of the early 20th century, mass housing provisioned many of the niceties. Design considerations were given less attention, but now design processes have evolved to more actively consider the needs of the users, to provide housing spaces which are both functional and pleasant spaces to be.

Using a simplified model of a house, this course leads you through the house design process from initial design considerations to the final fabrication methods that are possible using digital technologies. It provides you with the background knowledge to explore key parameters in the design of a building through integrating five main topics and asks you to practice using design skills and some of the associated software tools. The five topics are:

- Participatory Process

- Energy Efficiency

- Sustainable Materials

- Parametric Design

- Digital Fabrication

Week by week, the course builds your knowledge and sets your targets, leading you through the stages to produce your own design in the final week.