Coursework Brief

2024 / 2025

Module Code: [24ARCH25H]

Module Title: B Sc. Design Project Semester: One & Two
Module Leader: Prof. Husam Bakr
Teaching Assistant: Ta. Aya Said
Key words: Healthcare, Culture, Education
Date of latest revision: August 2024

1. Introduction
The aim of this module brief is to ensure that staff and students know what to expect and what is
expected of them, in time. Therefore, this coursework brief describes BSc. Design Project content,
submission details and marking criteria. This ensures consistent assessment grading in addition to
a standardized submission format.

The Graduation Project represents the culmination of the BSc. education. Students are expected to
demonstrate their acquired knowledge, experience and skill in the graduation project. The
graduation project require students to identify, define and explore design requirements of a selected
building type according to certain criteria leading to a proposal for a specific architectural design
project clearly situated in a fully articulated context.

Students are required to demonstrate their ability to select an architectural project, to determine its
programme, to find a convincing concept, to develop that concept to its fullest potential, to end up
with a completed architectural design. Students are expected to manage the design process to
complete the project on schedule. It is the intention of the Graduation Project to challenge students
to work at their full potential in all stages of the design process.

2. Referencing and Academic Honesty

 The referencing system that must be used is the “Harvard Style”.
 All assessed work must conform to BUE’s Exam and Assessment Regulations.
 Any student suspected of plagiarism, or collusion, will be subject to the procedures set out
in the EAR.
 Coursework Submission and Statement of Academic Honesty Form should accompany all
assignments and where a copy of the form can be obtained.

3. Module Assignment
3.1 Design Brief - (Semester One)
Design Brief (20%)
[Report 15%+ Oral presentation 5%]

Requirements and Instructions for the Report Submission [15%]

The design brief report constitutes the knowledge base for the graduation project, in the form of a
report that incorporate necessary design data, requirements, standards, guidelines, codes, site
analysis, case studies, zoning, project program, and finally project design concept. Such a brief
provides rational bases for design decision making.
Design Brief Title  Individual research work
Submission  Week 2 of semester-2
Date
Mode of  Hard copy
submission  Digital copy (on e-learning)
 PowerPoint Presentation
Word limit The report is up to 3000 to 4000 words
Format  Be word-processed.
 Be submitted on A4 sheets
 Be single spaced.
 Use Times New Roman font (size 12)
Structure  Title page
 Table of contents
 Introduction
o Project background, vision & values.
 Building Type Data
o Activities and users’ needs
o Design standards and guidelines
o Building typologies
o Relevant building codes & regulations
o Environmental and sustainability aspects
o Structural systems
 Site Selection & Analysis
o Location, context, boundaries, accessibility,
natural features, man-made features, climate,
etc.
 Case Studies (analyzed)

 Building Design Brief

o Spatial requirements of building components.
o Metric area of building components.
o Functional relationships, adjacency matrix,
Zoning & bubble diagrams
 Design Concept
 References

Turnitin Hardcopy of the Turnitin report should be submitted

Marking,  The submitted work will be marked two weeks after
return and the submission date.
feedback  A written feedback will be provided on the submitted
arrangements hard copies. Moreover, a detailed feedback forms
will be provided to students.
 Students will receive their feedback from the TAs.
 Briefs that have weak follow-ups (less than 50% of
the submissions or intermediate marks) will be
rejected and awarded a mark of zero.
 Students should attend most follow-up sessions.
Submitting without attending will be considered as
absence, and no mark will be awarded for such
submissions.
 
Submissions that have less than acceptable level of
effort will be rejected.
 Rejected submissions will not be considered as part
of the brief.
 All submissions should be entirely done by the
student.
Report The assessment criteria are based on:
Assessment
Criteria  Information completeness, 15%
usefulness, and relevancy.
 Knowledge, understanding. 15%
 Analytical skills. 10%
 Depth of analysis. 10%
 Organization. 10%
 Format, structure, & presentation. 10%
 Ability to formulate a justified brief 15%
 Design concept. 15%
Submission  Included data should be directly relevant to design.
guidelines  Only metric units are to be used.
 Case studies should be professionally analysed and
compared both qualitatively and quantitatively. They
should have adequate drawings, photos, and text.
 Ability to formulate a justified and detailed building
program with areas for all components is the utmost
goal of the brief.
 Consistency of the presentation style and format is
required.
 All graphics should be clear, of suitable size,
resolution, and proportions.
 Design concept should be properly illustrated and
presented.
 Proper referencing should be provided.
 Submitted reports will not be accepted or marked
without oral presentation.

Requirements and Instructions for the Presentation [5%]

The presentation demonstrate student’s grasp of the project information, data and program.
The presentation represents 5% of the total module mark.
Each student presents the most important findings from the report.
Mode of  Hard copy
submission  Digital copy (on eLearning)
Presentation  The presentation should not exceed 20 Slides
limit
Presentation  Title
Structure  Presentation should summarize the report most
important finding, and should cover the main sections
in no more than 20 slides.
 Discussion of final building program & concept (3
slide)
Presentation  5 min. for each student
limit
 Presentation  PowerPoint Presentation of 20 Slide
Type
Presentation Knowledge and understating 20 Marks
Assessment Communication skills 20 Marks
Criteria Persuasion abilities 20 Marks
Answering question 20 Marks
Usefulness and Practicality of the Brief 20 Marks
Marking, return  The submitted presentation will be marked two weeks
and feedback after the submission date.
arrangements  A written feedback will be provided on the submitted
hard copies. Moreover, a detailed feedback forms will
be provided to students.
 Students are to receive their feedback from the TAs.

Submission  Presenters should abide by the given time.

guidelines  Slides should be clear and legible.
 Presentation should be concise.
 Presentation should be well organized.
 Presentation should focus on most important
information.
 A clear project program should be presented.
 A clear design concept should be presented.

3.2 Student Effort (Portfolio) (20%)

Student effort 10% first semester + 10% second semester (20%)

Requirements and Instructions for the Drawing Submission

The aim of the portfolio is to demonstrate students’ abilities and progress at different stages of
the design process. It ensures that the final product is an outcome of continuous and consistent
effort throughout the entire year.
Student effort Title Student effort (Portfolio)
(portfolio) Submission  Several submissions during the project duration.
(20%) Date
Mode of  Report drafts
submission  Hardcopy drawings.
 Physical study models.
 Professionally scanned digital copy on e-learning.
Format  Text should be submitted on A4 sheets.
 Drawings should be submitted on A1 drawing
sheets.
 Physical study models of proper scale.
Marking,  Portfolio consists of all drawing sheets, report
return and drafts, physical models, transparencies prepared
feedback by the student, and annotated or modified by
arrangements tutors. All sheets should all be kept, even if
changed, as they facilitate tracking of student
progress.
 Projects without sound portfolio will not be
accepted.
 Follow-up marks will be awarded for different
stages of the brief and the design development.
 Such marks would determine whether or not a
student have adequate follow-up.
 Projects that have weak follow-ups for both the
project brief and project design phases (less than
50% of the submissions or intermediate marks)
will be rejected and awarded a mark of zero.
 Students should attend (physically or via zoom
depending on pandemic situation) the follow-up
sessions. Submitting without attending will be
considered as absence, and no mark will be
awarded for such submissions.
 Official follow-ups only takes place during
scheduled tutorials. After hour follow-ups or office
hour follow-ups are extras, and are not counted as
attendance, except under circumstances
approved by the module leader.
 Submissions that have less than acceptable level
of effort will be rejected.
 Rejected submissions will not be considered as
part of the portfolio.
 All submissions should be entirely done by the
student.
 Students suspected of committing plagiarism will
be asked to reproduce parts of the submitted work
as a proof that they produced the submitted work.
Failure to produce work of similar quality would be
considered as evidence of plagiarism.
 The submitted course work will be marked within
two weeks of the submission date.
 Oral and graphical feedback shall be provided to
students on the submitted work during the
tutorials.
 Detailed feedback forms will be provided to
students for graded intermediate submissions.
 Students will receive their feedback from the TAs.
Assessment  Each submission will has its own criteria based on
Criteria the stage in the design process.
 Students should demonstrate progress from
submission to the next.
Submission  Late submission is not allowed.
guidelines  Submissions should be digitally scanned and
uploaded to e-learning in time, otherwise they will
not be considered as part of the portfolio.
 Every piece of the coursework should be signed
and dated by one of the tutors as a proof of follow-
up and authenticity of the project.
3.3 Final Project Submission - (Semester Two) (50%)
Pre final (10%) + Final Submission (40%)

Requirements and Instructions for the Drawing Submission

Individual Title  Final Graduation Project
Final Design Submission  After Semester two final exams
Drawings Date
Mode of  Hard copy
submission  Digital copy
Format  For the semi-final, A0 sheets.
 For the final submission, four 1.20 x 0.80 m
height foam boards. With a total area of 2.40
horizontal x1.60 vertical.
 One A3 sheet.
 One high-quality digital PDF file of the entire
project to be submitted on e-learning.
 All drawings should be of a suitable scale that
shows details of your work.
Marking,  External and internal Jury members will mark
return and the submitted work.
feedback  A written feedback forms will be provided to
arrangements students by the TAs.
Drawings Pre-final Submission 10 Marks
Assessment Final Submission 40 Mark
Criteria  Site & context. 5 Marks
 Concept 5 Marks
 Environmental aspects 5 Marks
 Function 10 Marks
 Form & aesthetics 5 Marks
 Structural system 5 Marks
 Presentation 5 Marks
Submission Portfolio
guidelines  A portfolio consisting of A3 photocopy of all
sketches, models, and drawings that were
prepared during the tutorials, as well as sheets
that include instructors’ comments, sketches,
and corrections should be submitted with the
pre-final submission.
 The portfolio should be professionally
photocopied and uploaded to e-learning.
Drawings should be clear and not distorted.
 Student name and staff signature should be on
every sheet.
 The portfolio should reflect the design progress
and follow-up during the entire duration of the
project design.

Design Project
 Submitting and presenting the design brief is a
prerequisite to submitting the design project.
 Project not accompanied by the portfolio
would be rejected.
 Project should be entirely done by the student.
 Students suspected of committing plagiarism
will be asked to prove that they produced the
submitted work, by reproducing a part of the
work. Failure to produce work of similar quality
would be considered as evidence of
plagiarism.
 Architectural drawings i.e. layout, plans,
elevations, and sections should be properly
drafted, scaled, furnished, labeled, and
presented on a light background.
 Drawings should follow the architectural
graphic standards.
 Perspectives should be used sparingly, and
their scale should not be overly large. They
should not be the main focus of the sheet.
 All drawings should be properly coordinated.
 Presentation and printing should be of high
quality, emphasizing the design idea. Poor
presentation or unclear drawings would
negatively affect students mark.
3.4 VIVA - (Semester Two) (10%)
VIVA (10%)

Requirements and Instructions of the Viva

Individual Title  Graduation Project VIVA
Final Design Submission  After Semester two final exams
Drawings Date
Mode of  Hard copy
submission  Digital copy
Format  Oral presentation of the graduation project
Marking,  The Jury members award Viva Mark.
return and  A written feedback forms will be provided to
feedback students by the TAs.
arrangements
Assessment Knowledge and Understating 3 Marks
criteria Communication skills 2 Marks
Persuasion abilities 2 Marks
Answering Question 3 Marks
Guidelines  Students should abide by the given time.
 Presentation should be in English.
 Presentation should be concise & well
organized.
 Presentation should focus on most important
aspects of the design.
 A clear project program should be presented.
 Students should answer jury member questions.