Contextual Studies 2 consists of three nested subjects; Urbanism: History, Design & Sustainability (A), Modern Architecture: Histories and Critiques (B) and Architectural Representation (C).
‘Urbanism: History, Design & Sustainability’ examines the origins and transformation of cities in a global context, focusing on the social, economic, political and ideological factors shaping urban change across different historical periods. It introduces key urban theories and explores contemporary debates on sustainable cities and current urban challenges.
‘Modern Architecture: Histories and Critique’ explores significant modern architecture and offers an understanding of the historical contexts in which they are produced. It recognises that historic studies, like buildings, are also reflections of the times and places in which they are produced. The subject therefore looks both outwards and inwards and questions why and how architectural history should be studied today.
‘Architectural Representation’ addresses how architects represent their projects in a myriad of ways: not just to clients, construction teams and consultants but also the public, researchers, and for future generations. The subject evaluates and experiments with the representation of architectural ideas, from studying influential architectural media to practical exploration of representing architectural research.