Syllabus OverviewArchitecture

Immerse Education aims to challenge participants with interesting academic concepts in an environment where tutors are welcoming and supportive. Our philosophy is that students should thrive in their academic endeavours, not merely survive.

This syllabus has been carefully designed by Immerse Education tutors with the mission to provide all participants with a taster of what it’s like to study a chosen course at an advanced level. During your summer programme with Immerse, participants will explore a wide range of themes and concepts that are not typically explored at school level, enabling students to explore their passion for a subject beyond the confines of a school curriculum.

Our tutors take great care in designing and delivering a syllabus that is academically challenging to all participants while simultanously building each individual’s confidence in their own ability. Tutors are therefore able to tailor their teaching according to the interests and abilities of the students in their class.

This syllabus overview is designed to give a sense of the topics you will be engaging with in Cambridge this summer. These topics are carefully chosen to reflect current areas of academic research, the individual specialisms of our tutors and content that students may encounter should they decide to pursue their subject at a higher level.

Sean StevensProgramme Director

Immerse Education’s Academic Sessions

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The Level of Academic Difficulty

As all of our programmes are designed to provide a unique introduction to advanced material, the syllabus will be academically challenging at times.

This is something to be excited about and all of our tutors will encourage and support participants throughout the programme. Immerse Education aims to develop every participant regardless of ability, and our tutors will adapt their teaching to individual needs.

The Modular System Explained

The modular system of teaching practiced during the Immerse programme enables participants to explore a variety of different topics. The aim is to provide exposure to different topics within the same discipline, each of which is challenging and interesting.

Each syllabus contains a number of different topics and most days of the programme will introduce a new topic which will build upon knowledge gained so far.

Preparatory Materials

Not all programmes have preparatory material, but if yours does, it will be at the end of this Syllabus Overview document. This is to be completed before attending Immerse Education as it ensures that all participants begin their summer programme with the same foundation of knowledge and understanding, ready to explore ideas at a deeper level. Tutors will discuss the preparatory materials during the first academic session.

The preparatory material should take no more than 10 hours to complete.

Tutors and the Syllabus

Throughout the academic sessions, participants will be taught by a dedicated and passionate subject tutor. As a tutor of undergraduate students, our tutors have a wealth of experience in guiding students to academic success.

The Immerse tutors are experts in their field and are on hand to support students’ learning by imparting their enthusiasm for exploring academic concepts in depth.

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Top tips for succeeding

Have fun.

The Immerse syllabus is meant to be challenging but don’t forget, there is a joy to learning and we want you to find it!

Get involved.

Immerse isn’t just about being taught, it is about challenging yourself. Voice your opinion, then question it! Engage in debates in class, carry on those debates outside of class. Try a new activity that you haven’t tried before! Immerse offers participants a whole range of exciting opportunities – seize the opportunity and get involved.

Ask lots of questions

If you don’t understand something, ask! If you do and want to explore something more, ask! You have access to some of the top minds in the entire world, so feel free to pick their brains while you have the chance.

Complete the ‘learning how to learn’ course

This free course gives you easy access to the invaluable learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, math, science, sports, and many other disciplines. You’ll learn about the how the brain uses two very different learning modes and how it encapsulates (“chunks”) information. You’ll also cover illusions of learning, memory techniques, dealing with procrastination, and best practices shown by research to be most effective in helping you master tough subjects.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn

“It was an amazing experience, worth every single minute. You

meet so many different people, and leave with wonderful memories

that you will never forget.”

- Rebecca, 2017

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TOPIC 1:

Introduction to Architecture-The opening sessions should be a chance for students to assimilate to the university style of teaching. The introductory lecture is intended to give an overview of what the study of architecture is at university level and some description of current practice. Following on from this, students will embark on a tour of Cambridge and are encouraged to sketch moments and details of architectural interest.

TOPIC 2:

Plan-The purpose of this second lesson is to get to grips with the foundations of architecture by examining some of its earliest examples. This will enable students to begin locating their architectural thinking in relation to some theoretical and historical grounding and also provide a starting point for further discussions. As the plan is perhaps the primary form of architectural depiction this will be examined in reference to the historical precedents previously discussed and then students will apply what has be learnt by constructing their own plan of their ‘found place’.

Topics

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TOPIC 3:

Elevation-The purpose of the third lesson is to continue to trace the evolution of architectural theory through a sustained examination of the architectures generated between the 16th and 19th centuries. This will look in depth at Palladian architecture and Gothic Revival, familiarising students with classic techniques of construction. Practical exploration will focus on the elevation, and its uses in reference to the precedents discussed. This will then inform the practical workshop in which students will delineate their own elevations to scale using their found place, with particular emphasis on the use of line weights and the notations of architectural drafting.

TOPIC 4:

Section-The fourth lesson will introduce some recognisable theories of contemporary architecture through a careful examination of the work of key architects during and after the war years. Particular emphasis will be placed on the architect Le Corbusier, who was instrumental in the modern movement and whose ideas in the discipline of master planning still have relevance today. The lecture will then be followed by another workshop demonstrating the use and utility of a sectional drawing, with students producing their own; focusing on the habitation of space.

TOPIC 5:

Axonometric-The final session of the first week will culminate with the last installment of the history and theory lecture series, introducing students to the trends and theoretical positions of our current era. The hope is that students will be able to now engage in in-depth discussions about the architecture around them, citing the relevant periods and theories from which they have evolved. The final practical will tackle the most complicated form of drawing; the axonometric and isometric. By the end of this week, students should have produced a full set of meticulously crafted drawings, that will be not only of use for their development but also for university applications.

TOPIC 6:

Presentation-Over the course of the weekend, the students should have each made their presentations to present to the class on their chosen topic. After successfully presenting their work, students will be taken to the site of their theoretical design project. On site the tutor will present the requirements of the design brief and suggest points of interest to begin the design discussion. The remainder of the session will be spent on site sketching ideas and key aspects of contextual value.

TOPIC 7:

Introduction to Design-The Tuesday session will begin with a lecture that draws on some of the examples given in the previous History and Theory sessions, however focus will be given to the methodology of concept to design. This will provide students with a framework with which they can begin to structure their own design propositions. In the afternoon students will be asked to bring their laptops so they spend the remainder of the session researching possible design directions with guidance from the tutor.

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TOPIC 8:

Defining a Design-The third lesson of the second week explores the practicalities of presenting a design idea; as architecture is chiefly a profession that requires the architect to convince prospective clients of the validity of their design and is thus a vital skill to have. The lecture will explore methods of graphical presentation and how narratives are incorporated to sell a proposal. Students will then be asked to begin to construct A1 competition boards of their design proposals which will be presented to both groups on the final day.

TOPIC 9:

Design Workshop-The students will have the penultimate day to focus purely on their design proposals, with the options of 15-minute one-to-one tutorial slots being provided through-out the day. This intensive period of work alongside tutor supervisions best replicates what students will experience at university on a day-to-day basis, should they decide to continue in the subject of architecture.

TOPIC 10:

Crit-The final session and culmination of the course will give students the opportunity to take part in a ‘crit’ which is the format in which the majority of architecture schools mark their work. The students will spend the morning session finishing up their design proposals, making the final adjustments to their competition boards. Students will then present their work in a ‘crit’ format to both groups. This will be graded by both tutors and critiqued, providing a constructive base for the reports submitted to each student after the course.

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Preparatory Materials: -In advance of the programme, please take time to read and consider the points discussed in the following book:Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness, (2007).

Your tutor has also provided preparatory questions, please complete these on your online portal.

Your portal is available at:https://portal.immerse.education

“The tutor shared their own experience to make it more realistic and truthful so I now understand both the positives and negatives of studying architecture.”

- Isabella, 2018

Meeting people from around the world who share common interests with you has been truly amazing. The people I met and the things we learned will stay with me forever.”

- Tilde, 2017

“Immerse was an enriching and challenging course which assisted me to develop and refine goals for the future. I went in with a dream and left the programme thinking it could become a reality.”

- Annabel, 2017

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www.immerse.education