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This module enables students to start formulating their own understanding of the key materials used in modern construction, in the context of the delivery of simple building projects and their major elements (foundations, frames, walls, etc).

This module deals with the most common materials and the construction methods utilised to bring these materials together to form a building. It covers bricks, steel, timber, concrete, glass – as well as more innovative and sustainable materials, as well as minor coverage of traditional and vernacular materials to ensure that students appreciate the wide range of options available and the pros and cons of selecting materials. Importantly the module presents materials in a broad-based way, discussing primary material characteristics as well as environmental profiles, healthy materials, and recyclability. It explores the role of onsite and offsite activities and how materials are used separately and in combination in modern construction practice, from foundations to facades. This approach gives students a broad appreciation of how and why particular construction materials are used in different applications – and begins to build the technical vocabulary and analytical skills that will help them to improve construction projects’ buildability, safety and performance in the future. With this in mind, there is also an introduction to the ‘design for manufacture and assembly’ concept to make sure students appreciate the need for more integrated processes for the whole project delivery process as well as the implications this can have on material and product choices and configurations.

Lectures, discussions and presentations in class are informed by selected reading tasks and site visits.

Students are required to submit a 20-page portfolio at the end of the module, which focuses on suitable material options for the various elements of a given brief for a new multi-storey building. The module leader provides formative feedback on a small group presentation on their site observation study.

Aims:

To provide students with a basic working understanding of:
1. the most common construction materials (e.g., bricks, steel, timber, concrete, glass);
2. the most common construction methods, i.e. how the main structural materials can be formedÌýinto elements/frames;
3. how onsite and offsite activities contribute to the construction of a building and its ‘buildability’;
4. a range of material characteristics, attributes and concerns/problems;
5. the current debates around ‘design for manufacture and assembly’ and how the projectÌýdelivery process is becoming more integrated.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
• Describe the characteristics of the key materials used in modern construction, noting theirÌýadvantages and disadvantages as well as their major applications.
• Discuss the principal construction methods available for each of the key structural materialsÌý(i.e. concrete, steel and timber).
• Appreciate in broad terms how onsite and offsite activities operate and how they are broughtÌýtogether to influence ‘buildability’.
• Explain the concept of ‘design for manufacture and assembly, and how ideas around ModernÌýMethods of Construction are influencing industry practice – and materials choices.
• Outline the breadth of materials available to the specifier, noting how environmental and otherÌýconcerns are influencing choices and challenging conventional wisdom and practices.
• Apply this knowledge to deliver a comparative materials portfolio for a given brief for a simple,Ìýframed building project.

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