The Environmental and Technical Studies (ETS) programme enables students at all stages of their architectural education to materialise the ideas, concepts and ambitions that develop in the work of the school’s units and provides them with the knowledge necessary to make reasoned and informed design decisions. ETS invites creative collaboration with the material demands of individual design studio and unit agendas, and centres on a series of detailed discussions with experts in the fields of architecture and engineering. These lectures engage a wide range of disciplines and cultivate a substantial base of knowledge, which students go on to develop through case studies of contemporary fabrication processes, constructed artefacts and building processes. These case studies encourage critical reflection and invite experimentation with different ideas and techniques. Students acquire practical knowledge and develop a set of principles through which they can negotiate the technical requirements of construction in unforeseen futures and unpredictable contexts.

During the First and Second Years, case studies, analyses and material experimentation are undertaken alongside a selection of required courses that ensure each student explores a range of different structures, materials and environments. These courses prepare students for the Third Year, when they synthesise the knowledge they have gained through lecture coursework and workshops to develop a detailed technical Design Project.

Technical Synthesis: Introduction to Integrated Design
Compulsory Course: Term 1
Tutors: Joana Gonçalves, Sho Ito, Nacho Martí, Toni Moll, Danae Polyviou, Alexandra Satvchenko-Belskaia, Antoniya Stoisova, Sal Wilson
In this course, students begin by building a simple physical architectural model to understand integrated structural, material and environmental effects in architecture. These models will then be manipulated to analyse and evaluate their effects in relation to other technical aspects. Through this process, and supplemented by a series of lectures, the course will explore how ETS can inform the design process and how a model can form a testing ground.

First Applications
Compulsory Course: Term 2
Tutors: Giles Bruce, Nacho Martí, Danae Polyviou, Tom Raymont, Antoniya Stoitsova
This course offers students a hands-on, experimental approach to technical design, building on knowledge introduced in Term 1. Students will be divided into three groups – focusing on environment, materials or structures – and these groups will each integrate and host the other two disciplines to understand their interrelationships. Through hands-on technical design, students will explore material systems, structural types and natural lighting studies in relation to the built environment. Although practical in nature, the course will be supplemented by weekly lectures, highlighting best practice in technical design and examples at the forefront of the discipline.