Via Verde The Green Way, New York Grimshaw

http://grimshaw-architects.com/project/via-verde-the-green-way/

Interdisciplinary Design Studies

Urban Design Project: Making Places
Tutors: Lindsay Purssord (module leader), Alison Davies,
Stefan Kruczkowski, Farida Makki, Richard Pulford
Date of Issue: October 2014
Date of Submission:
Credit value: 40% of 20 credits

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Context
A good city is like a good party- people stay longer than really necessary, because they
are enjoying themselves. Jan Gehl
The city is a palimpsest1 (see figure 1), comprising streets, squares, old buildings, new buildings,
roads, rivers, canals, sewers, cable networks, that are constantly renewed and changed. Each
city has its own character which can endure despite major changes wrought by natural disaster,
war, or the onward march of developing technology and social change. This character will be in
part formed by a citys physical elements: a medieval street pattern or gridiron layout; a
dominant architectural style or collage of many different ones; a relationship to a river, or the
sea; a network of parks or tree-lined boulevards. However cities are more than the sum of their
physical parts. Cities also have characterisations shaped by social, economic and political
influences which develop over time.
This project addresses the design of spatial organization through urban planning, which informs
architectural design (although you will not be proposing architectural design solutions for this
project).

Figure 1: Old Market Square as palimpsest: the layout of many of the plots, streets and the
square itself is much older than the buildings which exist today. Left: map from 1744 (Powell,
2006); Right: current layout (Edina digimap).

Brief requirements

Group work:
You will be working in a group with 9-10 students who achieved a similar overall mark in first
year (where applicable). You cannot change groups.
You are required to record the process of working as a group through a blog (see phase #1
below) and the weekly submission of meeting minutes. The minutes are intended to support

1. a parchment or other surface in which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing; 2. something
bearing traces of an earlier form (www.wordreference.com).

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 2 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

the peer review you will undertake, which will affect your final individual marks (see Assessment
below). Where there is insufficient evidence to support peer reviews, they will be discounted.
Each group should nominate a chair, to lead the group meetings (not necessarily to have the
final say in decision making) and a secretary (to organize meetings and record the minutes).
Each meeting should be minuted using the pro forma on NOW, to record when they take place,
who is present, which tasks are allocated to each member, and when they have been completed.
Record briefly main decisions: DO NOT record discussions; ideas do not need to be attributed to
group members. Minutes must be uploaded onto NOW after each meeting (see Phase #1
submissions below).
For further information about group work, please see the ADBE Group Work Handbook on NOW.

Figure 2: Site map: Edina Digimap

Site
The site (outlined in red) is bounded to the north by Castle Boulevard; to the east by Wilford
Road; to the south by Queens Drive and the railway line, which also bounds the site to the west.
The site includes some residential areas, student accommodation, hotels, business and retail
parks (including a large Sainsburys in Castle Marina Park), pubs, restaurants, tax offices, the
canal and marina. Within the site there are buildings designed by both Michael Hopkins and
Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners (see Harwood in the bibliography).
It is on the edge of a growing city, and needs to be incorporated into the city fabric, providing
places to live, work and play.

Phase #1: Site data and critical evaluation;

Background / Contextual Research
In order to be able to devise a vision/strategy and framework plan, you need to understand why
some places work and others dont and why. You are required to critically evaluate the site to
decide which parts of it work and which dont and why; which only require small changes to
make them work; which should be remodelled completely. You must provide evidence from a

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 3 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

range of sources to support both sides of each argument, such as the benefits to drivers of the
road layout and parking allocation, and the drawbacks for pedestrians. Your conclusions (which
will inform your strategy) must be justified and based on the factors you consider to be most
important, again, informed by research.
Each group should use one shared blog to collect and analyse the site data, background and
contextual research. You can have a section for posts and comments within the groups, which
will evidence the process and individual contributions, but the content should be organized into
clearly navigable sections, and presented in a consistent style.
For each section use a separate, fully annotated plan to communicate your findings, supported
by textual and visual information. Blog sections required:

Site data and critical evaluation (everything outlined in the table below)

Background / Contextual Research (as outlined in the table below)

Bibliography.
Visual information could include plans, contemporary and historical maps, photos, images,
diagrams, drawings.
When using your own photographs, you should identify where it was taken on a plan and
indicate what the photograph is showing eg. Which side of the street has active fronts or the
successful use of street furniture / planting / childrens play etc.
All information textual and visual - must be synthesized (ie. not just cut and
paste/photocopied). All sources must be fully referenced in the text (both when you quote
and when you paraphrase) and listed in a bibliography.

Site data and critical evaluation

Figure ground:
- street patterns
- open spaces
- perimeter blocks
- building densities
and heights

Connectivity:

Access
-

to and through:
pedestrian;
disabled;
cyclists;
public transport;
vehicular (including
deliveries, refuse
collection and

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

How has the site changed over time? When do the street
patterns date from? Look at historic maps (see source list
below).
How does the relationship between street width and building
height, in relation to human scale, create different experiences
(intimate, intimidating etc)?
How does the block size impact on pedestrian movement? Are
there clear front and backs to all perimeter blocks?
Where are there open spaces? How many have planting/trees?
How well are they connected?
How does the bounded site connect / relate to the rest of the
city, visually and physically? Consider the railway station, bus
station, canal and canal paths/bridges, River Trent,
Attenborough Nature Reserve, Nottingham University Campus,
the Castle etc.
Where are people moving from and to and by what means?
Does this change at different times of day/week/year?
When and where does the site get busy?
Is movement easy, safe for everyone?
Are routes legible?
Is the journey pleasant?

Page 4 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Usage
-

emergency
vehicles);
parking;
boats
patterns:
buildings and
external spaces;

Existing character, quality

and condition:
- buildings (periods,
architectural styles,
materials)
- structures (bridges,
canal etc)
- external spaces
(hard landscaped,
green, water)
Topography / geology /
orientation

History:

Context:
Meaning:

Linking the data sets:

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Which activities take place - retail, leisure, commercial,

education, civic spaces, government, residential, sacred etc?
Within buildings, does use differ between storeys, for example
retail at ground floor level and offices at first floor level?
Where are there mixed use zones and where are there single
use zones?
Which formal/informal activities take place in the external
spaces?
Does use change during the day/night and at different times of
the year?
Are there areas of one predominant architectural/design style,
or mixed styles?
Which buildings / structures are landmarks? Which views
should be protected/exploited?
Are any parts of the site preservation areas? Are there listed
buildings on the site?
Which areas appear prosperous and well maintained and which
appear poorer and run down?
How does character and quality affect experience?
You must include a contour map and sections of site to show
topology. How does the topology affect the site in terms of the
views it affords, slopes to be navigated etc?
Which bodies of water are present? Is the site on a flood
plain?
What is the orientation of the site: how will this affect sun /
shadow patterns throughout the year?
This will inform various sections above. Get an overview of the
history of the site and the city, how it has changed over time
and why eg. Industry, social change, different approaches to
urban planning and design etc. Look at historic street maps as
well as other sources.
Look at what is currently happening/proposed for the city. For
example, how will the new tram line, to the south, impact the
site?
What are the values/ judgements associated with the site:
which places within in it are pleasant and inviting; which are
not? Which stories or urban myths are linked to the site and
city as a whole? What do the area / road names tell us are
they linked to the sites history? What is the current
identity/sense of place? How can the existing identity be used
to develop a better place?
The data sets outlined above should be considered in relation
to each other, to understand how they might be connected,
and/or impact on each other. For example pedestrian
movement will be linked to usage patterns; usage patterns will
correlate to figure-ground etc.

Page 5 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Background / Contextual Research

Theories of and historical
approaches to urban design

Current
policies/guidelines/strategies
Relevant precedents

Learn from the mistakes as well as the successes of the past.

Some approaches hailed in the past as viable solutions have
proved problematic: for example, ring roads which cut through
city centres, high rise housing, pedestrian underpasses. Why
are mixed use developments now preferred over single use
zones? What has been the impact of the out of town mall on
the local high street?
Green Infrastructure, Urban/vertical farming, Lifetime
Homes/Neighbourhoods, Homezones, Sustainable
Development etc.
Relevant in terms of similar scale, intentions, context etc.
These might be examples by well-known designers, or
examples that you are familiar with.
Dont just collect images of case studies, analyse why they
do/dont work.

Phase #1 submissions
Every week during term 1, from week 2:
Group meeting minutes submitted to the NOW dropbox weekly by the
group secretary. Please state your group number in the submission
message, so tutors can see at a glance which submission is for which
group.
Once the group blog is set up, please put a link to it in the dropbox, with
login details to enable staff access to and comment on your blog, as
appropriate.
Update group blog (see below).
Blog completed by Monday 5 January 2015.

Phase #2: Vision & Strategy

Whats your Vision of what the area could be like, not in isolation but in the context of the
wider city, the region, the country and the world? How can your proposal help to make
Nottingham (more) unique? Consider the identity of the site: (re)name the site as a singular
place and/or with nested places within it. You cannot clear the whole site to create a blank
canvas; some areas within the site will need little or no intervention.
Develop a Strategy for the development of the site over the next 20 years. The strategy
should list issues to address (identified in the site evaluation and vision), presented as 5 10
bullet points, each with additional explanation if required. Each point should be supported by
precedents and a graphic representation of the point. Strategies might include improving
connectivity across the canal, activating the perimeter of the supermarket building etc. They
can be quite detailed in terms of outlining what should be provided, but should NOT be design
proposals.
You need to be able to justify the decisions you make by applying information from your
research, site evaluation, material from lectures, precedents etc. For example, how does the
desire to improve access along the canal bank work with existing uses along it? Another
example: if you want to include a cinema or market, you need to find out if Nottingham already

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 6 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

has such facilities, and if so, where are they and would it be economically viable to create
another one on this site?
The presentation of the vision/strategy and framework plan (see below) must be planned as
a group, in terms of content and style, to ensure consistency. It must communicate all stages
of the project clearly, as you will not present the work verbally. All work must be labelled with
your group number and list of students within the group.

Vision/Strategy: it is suggested that you present on A1/A2 sheets, but the format should
relate to the presentation of the framework plan; submitted as a hard (drawn/printed) copy and
pdf files via the NOW dropbox.

Phase #2 submission
Monday 19 January 2015.
NOW submission
One member of each group should take responsibility for the submission of all work as pdf files
via the dropbox on NOW. Please state your group number in the submission message, so tutors
can see at a glance which submission is for which group.
Group meeting minutes should be submitted to the dropbox after each meeting.

Phase #3: Framework plan

The framework plan should be developed as a group. The site must NOT be divided into
subsections to be developed by individuals / smaller groups: such an approach completely
defeats the point of planning, which takes a holistic and connective overview. A good way to
approach this task would be to design framework plans individually, which you then evaluate as
a group and combine the successful elements into one.
You should work at 1:1500 from the outset.
The framework plan should identify roads, paths, perimeter blocks, bridges, open spaces etc;
both what is currently there and will be retained, and what you are proposing. It should identify
uses residential, retail, leisure, commercial etc.
The framework plan should NOT show design solutions. For example, if including a green space,
do not try to indicate where planting, grass, trees, paths, water feature etc might be. Just
indicate an open space on the plan and list the desired attributes in the brief.
Each framework plan idea should correspond to a strategy point. It must take into account how
the site connects to the areas beyond it.
Rather than showing everything on one plan (which could be confusing), the framework plan
should be presented as a series of plans, each showing different things. The plan(s) must be
annotated and include a key so they communicate your intentions clearly.
The framework plan should indicate:

What will be demolished and what retained.

Perimeter blocks

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 7 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Roads, streets, paths, parking

Access
Open spaces & water
Usage - residential, retail, leisure, recreation, culture, history etc. If perimeters blocks
are more than one storey and the use varies between storeys, level plans might be
required (ground, first floor etc).
A design brief for each place/area identified, informed by the strategy, outlining the
desired attributes, elements, facilities, experience etc, presented as a list of bullet
points illustrated with relevant precedents.

The presentation of the strategy/vision and framework plan must be planned as a group, in
terms of content and style, to ensure consistency. It must communicate all stages of the
project clearly, as you will not present the work verbally. All work must be labelled with your
group number and list of students within the group.

Framework plan on A1/A0 sheets as appropriate (submitted as a hard (drawn/printed)

copy and pdf files via dropbox)
Framework plan at 1:1500. This should be include enough information (including keys and
annotation) on each sheet to be understandable without reference to the information in the blog.
Framework plan Model
1:1500 cardboard or polystyrene/foam (not laser cut) model indicating what is to be retained (in
one colour) and changes (in another colour).

Phase #3 submission
Monday 19 January 2015.
NOW submission
One member of each group should take responsibility for the submission of all work as pdf files
via the dropbox on NOW. Please state your group number in the submission message, so tutors
can see at a glance which submission is for which group.
Group meeting minutes should be submitted to the dropbox after each meeting.
Peer review all students are required to submit a peer review form.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding

Demonstrate through design a sensitivity to and awareness of urban form and urban life
and a response to the macro and micro forces that impact on them.

Describe and analyse historical and contemporary strategies in making urban form.

Engage in creative design in a range of contexts beyond building construction,

demonstrating impact on the understanding of cultural space.

Apply different forms of interdisciplinary knowledge in broadening architectural

understanding.
Skills, Qualities and Attributes

Gather, collate, analyse and synthesise information and apply research and scholarship
skills.

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 8 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Demonstrate appropriate and creative decision making and entrepreneurship within a

range of design contexts.
Engage effectively both individually and through collaborative teamwork in communicating
ideas through visual, oral and written means.
Critically appraise own working practice.

Programme
A programme of lectures will underpin the project. These will take place on Fridays 11.0012.00.
A suggested schedule for independent group work is identified below.

Week 10

No lecture

Week 11
6-10 Oct

Introduction to the module & brief

Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; site visit(s); set up blog;
upload meeting minutes

Week 12
13-17
Oct

Lecture: Greening the City Lindsay Purssord

Week 13
20-24
Oct

Lecture: What is Urban Design? - Stefan Kruczkowski

Week 14
27-31
Oct

Lecture: A Pragmatic Approach to Placemaking Lindsay Purssord

Week 15
3-7 Nov

Lecture: Green Infrastructure in Cities: connecting people and place - June

Greenway

Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; research / analysis; update
blog; upload meeting minutes

Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; research / analysis; update
blog; upload meeting minutes

Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; research / analysis; update
blog; upload meeting minutes

Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; research / analysis; update
blog; upload meeting minutes
Week 16
10-14
Nov

Lecture: Whats the Point of Urban Design - Sue McGlynn (co-author of Responsive
Environments) Wednesday 12 November.
Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; research / analysis; update
blog; upload meeting minutes

Week 17
17-21
Nov
Week 18

Lecture: Framework plans and Urban Design Paul Collins (tbc)

Schedule for independent group work: group meeting; research / analysis; update
blog; upload meeting minutes
Lecture: term 2 project briefing Lindsay Purssord

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 9 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

24-28
Nov
Week 19
1-5 Dec

Group task Q&A

Term 2 project choice forms to be submitted by 12.00 Friday 28 November.
Lecture: Briefing Group task Q&A (in studio Monday lecture slot)
Film: the Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (in Monday studio session)
Schedule for independent group work: complete the research / analysis; update
blog. After the submission of your studio project on the Monday, youll have the
rest of this week to focus on phase #1.
Holiday

Week 24
5-9 Jan

Submission phase #1
Lecture: Responsive Environments Lindsay Purssord & workshop Farida Makki
(in studio Monday lecture slot)
Urban workshop in Mondays studio session: vision / strategy; framework plan.
Bring A1 sheets of paper and thick nib pens, as well as sketchbooks and drawing
materials.

Week 25
12-16
Jan

Lecture: Framework plans: presentation Lindsay Purssord (in studio Monday

lecture slot)
Urban workshop in Mondays studio session: framework plan.
Bring A1 sheets of paper and thick nib pens, as well as sketchbooks and drawing
materials.

Week 26
19 Jan

Submission phase #2 & #3 & peer review briefing Lindsay Purssord (in studio
Monday lecture slot)

Reading List / References Sources

Essential
Bentley, I. et al, (1985) Responsive Environments: a manual for designers, Oxford; Boston:
Architectural Press. AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK.
Carmona M. et al, (2010) Public Places Urban Spaces : the dimensions of urban design, 2nd
edition. Oxford: Architectural. AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK.
Landscape Institute, (2011) Local Green Infrastructure: helping communities make the most of
their landscape. Available at: http://www.landscapeinstitute.org/policy/GreenInfrastructure.php
(accessed September 2012).
Meeda, B., (2006) Graphics for Urban Design, London: Thomas Telford Ltd.
Whyte, W.H., (2001, c1980) The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, New York: Project for Public
Spaces. Film of the same name.
Recommended
CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) archived webpages.
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118095356/http:/www.cabe.org.uk/ (accessed
September 2013).

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 10 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Gehl, J., (2010) Cities for People, Washington: Island Press.

Hall, P., (2002) Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the
Twentieth Century, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Harwood, E. 2008. Pevsner Architectural Guides: Nottingham. New Haven, Conn;
London: Yale University Press. (Walk 10 (pp165-175) covers the site area.)
Kostof, S., (1999) The City Assembled: The Elements of Urban Form Through History, London:
Thames and Hudson.
Kostof, S., (1999) The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History, London:
Thames and Hudson.
Montgomery, C., (2013) Happy City: transforming our lives through urban design, London:
Penguin Books Ltd.
Local Council
Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City Centre Framework plan 2005-2015,
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7137&p=0 (accessed August 2013).
Nottingham City Council, Streetscape Design Manual City Centre,
http://nottinghamcity.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7140&p=0 (accessed August 2013).
Information about local history can also be obtained from:
Nottingham Archives, Castle Meadow Road, http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/archives
(Accessed June 2012).
Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row.
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/centrallib (Accessed August 2013).
Historic maps can be downloaded from Nottingham City Council website (Nottinghamshire
Insight Mapping, previously NOMAD), http://info.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/insightmapping/#
(Accessed August 2013). OR from http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/ancientroam/historic - youll need
to use your NTU log on details (Accessed August 2013).
Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway,
http://www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/ (Accessed August 2013).
Nottinghamshire History,
http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/default.htm (Accessed August 2013).

Assessment
This project comprises 40% of the module. All the work for this project is undertaken in
groups. Groups will be awarded a grade; the grade each student is awarded is the group work
weighted by the peer review, as indicated in the table below. (Peer reviews will be discounted if
they are not supported by group meeting minutes see above.)
The assessment will be weighted as follows:
Background / Contextual Research
Site Data and Critical Evaluation
Vision and Strategy
Framework Plan
Presentation blog, boards, model

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

Page 11 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Peer review: You will be asked to assess the level of contribution of each member of your group,
over the project period, based on the considerations below, and using the descriptors in the
tables below.
An element of successful group work is recognising and maximising the different knowledge
and skills that each member brings to the team. Your peers might have contributed to the
work in different ways, including:
Management eg. Acting as group leader; arranging meetings; coordinating
communications, the sharing of information etc.
Generation of ideas.
Production of material eg. research, presentation work etc.
All students should also conduct themselves in a professional manner, which includes:
Attending timetabled lectures, tutorials, site visits etc; arriving on time;
Attending group meetings (arriving on time);
Maintaining contact with their group;
Completing allocated tasks on time etc.
Choose the description which, overall, best fits each of your
group members.
made a full contribution to the majority of aspects of the group work;
produced work of an excellent quality and quantity (this could relate
to ideas and/or production of material);
demonstrated excellent time management;
demonstrated a high level of attendance (few, if any, sessions missed
without good reason).
made a very good contribution to many aspects of the group work;
produced work of a very good quality and quantity (this could relate to
ideas and/or production of material);
demonstrated very good time management;
demonstrated a high level of attendance (few, if any, sessions missed
without good reason).
made a good contribution to some aspects of the group work;
produced some work of a good quality (this could relate to ideas
and/or production of material);
produced a limited quantity of work;
demonstrated variable time management;
demonstrated inconsistent attendance (some sessions missed,
sometimes without reason given).
made some contribution to some aspects of the group work;
produced work of a low or variable quality (this could relate to ideas
and/or production of material);
produced a low quantity of work;
demonstrated poor time management;
demonstrated a low level of attendance (many sessions missed, often
without reason given).
made few contributions to few aspects of the group work;
produced work of very poor quality (this could relate to ideas and/or
production of material);
produced an unsatisfactory quantity of work;
demonstrated poor time management;
demonstrated a low level of attendance (most sessions missed, often
without reason given).
Made no contributions to the group work;
produced no work;

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

1st

2.1

2.2

Students
averaging a
1st will be
awarded
100% of the
group grade
Students
averaging a
2.1 will be
awarded 90%
of the group
grade
Students
averaging a
2.2 will be
awarded 55%
of the group
grade

3rd

Students
averaging a
3rd will be
awarded 45%
of the group
grade

Fail

Students
averaging a
fail will be
awarded 35%
of the group
grade

zero

Students
averaging a

Page 12 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

Attended few or no group sessions.

zero will be
awarded 0%

Any work submitted will be based on your ability to satisfy the module learning outcomes, but
your work will be judged against the following general criteria:

Ability to communicate concisely, accurately, convincingly and enthusiastically

Structure, logic and objectivity of analysis and evaluation
Relevance of selected material
Comprehensiveness of the content
Quality of presentation and the professionalism of submitted material

These qualities will generally be applicable to any assessed work that you undertake at your
time here at the university. When staff mark your work, they will always take these issues into
account. Hence, on every occasion, the quality of your work in terms of its appearance and
organisation will be part of the assessment.

Feedback to You
On any occasion that you submit work, you will get some form of feedback, which may be
verbal or in writing, within 21 days of submission of your work.

Potential Costs
It is expected that all work is presented to an appropriate professional standard at each stage of
development, but please be clear that the assessment of your work is not related to the amount
of money you spend on materials and presentation techniques. The stores in the Maudslay
workshop hold a range of materials sufficient for you to meet the requirements of briefs as they
are set out for you. Emphasis will be placed throughout the module on quality rather than
quantity, together with care and attention to detail.

Comments and Suggestions about the Coursework/Project

Your feedback is welcome at any time, whether it is on a formal or informal basis. The
programme team recognizes the importance of student feedback and its invaluable contribution
to future module development.

If you have a problem

If you are experiencing any problems with the module or the work, please see your Module
Leader (Lindsay Purssord) as soon as possible. She may be able to help, and the sooner a
problem is identified, the easier it will be to address. If the Module Leader is not able to assist
you, please make an appointment to see the Course Leader (Gavin Richards) and then the
Principal Lecturer (Guillermo Garma) in the area.

Notification of Exceptional* Circumstances

If you are experiencing problems outside your control, such as serious illness, bereavement,
crime or other trauma, which you feel are affecting your performance, you may wish to follow
the Notification of Exceptional Circumstances procedure. For further information about this
process, please see the Student Handbook or visit the following

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 13 of 14

BArchitecture, year 2: 2014/15

Interdisciplinary Design Studies DESN22073

link: http://www.ntu.ac.uk/current_students/resources/student_handbook/appeals/index.html
*Minor illness, holidays, IT problems, part-time work and financial difficulties are not covered
by this process

Plagiarism and Collusion

It is expected that comment and opinion are your own. It is not acceptable to copy published
work from any source and use it verbatim as if they were your own. You MUST NOT download
material from the internet and use it directly in response to project briefs.
If you incorporate material from any source without acknowledgement, this is called plagiarism,
which the university regards as a serious offence. It is acceptable to include short quotes from
published material in response to coursework briefs provided that it is correctly referenced and
acknowledged. Such quotes should be brief and be included only to support your own
arguments.
Plagiarism also applies to images presented as part of your design presentation: unless the
website, book, trade literature or similar source is specifically and clearly acknowledged
immediately adjacent to the image, the manipulation via Photoshop etc of digital images of
other designers architectural spaces or objects will be regarded as plagiarism in exactly the
same way as quoting sections of other writers texts without attribution.
If at any time you are working in groups, but submitting work individually, you MUST ensure
that you do not copy anyone elses work and use it as if it were your own. This is called
collusion. You may work with other students collecting information, but you must ensure that
any submitted work is clearly your own.
Please be aware that you could fail the module if you are proven to have plagiarised
(plagiarism) and/or colluded (collusion).
You should be aware that your submitted electronic written work can be easily checked for
plagiarism. Access to data bases of published material, and the work of other students both at
NTU and other institutions, means that words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs can be
identified and traced.

August 2014: Lindsay Purssord

Page 14 of 14