Organization

The program spans a period of 7 weeks, in which a concept and preliminary design are completed with mid-term and end presentations.

Week 1 consists of a lecture series on different aspects of high-rise buildings, and involves a team training session on the effectiveness of teams.

Week 2 and 3 are the concept design phase. There is a clear client design brief, which outlines the objectives of the client, including program and design deliverables. In this phase two or three alternative concepts are developed based on the design brief that are significantly different. At the end of this phase the mid-term presentation involves the presentation of three concepts to university staff, industry specialists and workshop sponsors, after which one concept is chosen.

After the mid-term presentation there will be public lecture by two internationally recognized architects or specialists.

Week 4, 5 and 6 is the preliminary design phase, in which the chosen concept is further developed. Each discipline goes into more detail and informs their design by study, design calculations and comparison. The teams take integral design decisions based on the brief, their initial concept and design criteria they developed. The focus is to take multidisciplinary design decisions with the total team.

At the end of the phase a scale model is built and presentation material prepared for the end presentation to university staff, industry specialists and workshop sponsors. After the presentations the designs are graded and sponsors give prizes for the specific interest issues like commercial attractiveness, integration or sustainability. Last years presentations can be viewed under this link.

During the course the teams are facilitated by faculty tutors who assist the design teams in their specific discipline or aspects.