Historic Building Conservation

Course Structure

1. Practice: In this unit you will focus mainly on the practical aspects of the conservation, with an emphasis on raising awareness in conservation skills. It is delivered in collaboration with regional, national and internationals bodies specialising in conservation and is mainly fieldwork based, enabling you to analyse practical aspects and skills in different situations. Assessment is by means of submission of a number of different projects and reports related to practice.
2. Theory: You will learn the theoretical aspects of historic building conservation, such as historical aspects related to built heritage and relevant legislative frameworks to ensure their protection for future generations. You will look at the international historic preservation principles based on UNESCO/ICOMOS criteria. It is mainly classroom based with occasional field visits, and the assessment is by means of coursework.
3. Research Methods and Research Proposal: In this unit you will develop research skills, which will aid you throughout your course and particularly in producing your thesis. You will be asked to establish a critical position within an Outline Research Proposal. You will develop techniques, which will allow you to engage proactively within your area of study. You will be encouraged to explore methods of investigation that are responsive to, as well as inquisitive of, the conditions presented and which therefore speculate around possible critical scenarios. Implicit within these explorations is the need to investigate diverse means of representation and depiction through a variety of possible media and discourse.
4. Integration: This unit allows you to work in a multi-disciplinary context through groups within your own subject area and across the areas of interior design, urban design, sustainable architecture and historic building conservation, as well as explore the interrelationships of all disciplines. You will need to work collectively on given projects or problems related to staff run studios, which explore a range of given themes. You will be introduced to these themes at the start of the course and connect to research areas within the School. There will be a group-based activity that is either subject specific or spans different areas of the disciplines as agreed by tutors.
5. Work-Based Learning: This unit gives you the opportunity to replace a 30-credit core unit with a work-based version of that unit. Not all units can be replaced and you will need to discuss the appropriateness of a unit with tutors. Work-based learning requires you to engage in critical and reflective learning in the workplace. This will be developed through a learning contract, negotiated by you, your employer and School. The work undertaken in practice will be appraised through critical reflective writing that engages with the practice of the particular subject discipline and this will form the assessment artefacts.
6. Thesis: Your thesis is a substantial research-based project that enables you to carry out an in-depth investigation into a subject area of personal interest, which is related to or developed from a theme studied during the course. The proposed research theme should have a clearly defined focus to allow for in-depth theoretical, contextual and visual research. An initial seminar programme will help you develop your research proposal, define a research question and locate suitable primary and secondary sources. You will be allocated an appropriate supervisor on the basis of this proposal, who will work with you toward the final submission. This part of the project is self-managed, with tutorial guidance provided by the allocated supervisor and additional referencing and research support provided by the faculty librarian.