CEM260: Innovations in Digital Practice

Module code: CEM260

Module provider: School of Construction Management and Engineering, School of Built Environment

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Ian Ewart, email: i.j.ewart@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Dragana Nikolic, email: d.nikolic@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The proliferation of digital data, and the rapid development of tools and technologies to collect, analyse, visualize and disseminate it, are beginning to transform built environment practice. Practitioners in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) disciplines often find that no single drawing, graphic or tool best represents a given idea, concept or project. For example, to evaluate a project at any stage, engineers, designers and stakeholders need to visualize projects in a way that allows them to easily interact with, understand, critique and revise the work. However, this is set against the need for information that is relevant, accessible and useful at a human scale. Balancing developments in digital technologies with specific user requirements forces us to think about why and how data is collected, and how it can be presented in useable ways.

Blending social science methods with modern digital technologies, we will examine the relationship between people, technologies and the information that circulates in built environment practice. Through a review of current research and applications of digital and interactive technologies, the goal is to discern and evaluate the rationale for their use, and further explore methods to apply innovative approaches to support users in a given context of use. Students will learn about and use digital tools and technologies to produce representations of the built environment, whilst also engaging with the built environment as perceptive human beings.

Aims:

• To introduce students to the range of advanced and innovative visualisation and interaction approaches for facility design and construction.
• To gain a basic experience of using a range of modern digital tools, and processing the data produced.
• To learn how to analyse the built environment from a human perspective, using approaches from anthropology and sociology.
• To consider how these two perspectives compliment and complicate the construction of useful information.
• To review and critique existing initiatives in research and practice.
• To identify potential uses in a context, and propose a method, prototype, or a process to visualise and interact with relevant project information.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Identify types of digital and interactive technologies used for design and construction;
2. Review current research and applications of digital technologies, such as virtual prototypes and visualisation approaches in design and construction;
3. Identify potentials areas and use scenarios for innovative use of virtual and advanced technologies for design, construction, operations or facility management, and apply the process typical for designing visual-interactive experiences;
4. Combine data from digital tools and human experiences to produce information that is useful, relevant and accessible, and carry out an evaluation of a small part of the built environment using social science methods.

Module content

• Overview of the current use of digital tools and their role in the production of data, advanced visualisation technologies and innovative design concepts in AEC;
• Application of technologies such as: augmented and virtual reality; interactive workspaces; immersive environments; virtual prototypes; game engines as they apply to the built environment.
• Discussion and hands-on experience of a range of modern technologies; identify and present information in ways that are useful and relevant.
• Processing data to produce representations of the built environment (e.g. 3D models from laser scans)
• Perception and experience of the built environment, using social science methods.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This course will combine lectures, demonstrations, in-class discussion, hands-on projects, presentations, campus walk tours. Several class periods will be available for discussing projects and providing specific demonstrations that may be useful for completing the projects.

Study hours

At least 48 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The below information applies toall full time and flexible modularstudents on taught PGT programmes in SBE

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Discussions and practical sessions throughout the module teaching will challenge students’ understanding, and provide opportunity for feedback.

Reassessment

Additional costs