Course syllabus for Architectural technology: Theme brick

Course syllabus adopted 2026-02-11 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameForm och teknik: tema tegel
  • CodeACE275
  • Credits4.5 Credits
  • OwnerTKARK
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyArchitecture
  • ThemeArchitectural design project 1.5 c
  • DepartmentARCHITECTURE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING
  • GradingUG - Pass, Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 45113
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0123 Written and oral assignments 4.5 c
Grading: UG		 4.5 c

In programmes

Examiner

Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements

Course specific prerequisites

  • Architectural design and aesthetics, or equivalent
  • Architectural technology: theme wood, or equivalent
The course is part of the learning sequence Architecture and technology and builds on and deepens knowledge of architecture's materials and technical systems on different scales which were covered in the in the above-mentioned courses.

Aim

The course is the second in a sequence of Architectural Technology courses dealing with architectural materials and technical systems at different scales: material, detail, building and urban. The overall aim of the courses is to provide a systematic overview of the field and an approach that emphasises how functional technical systems and the physical properties of materials interact with perceived materiality and architectural wholeness. Furthermore, the courses provide the student with a repertoire of built examples that illustrate this interaction and that can support investigations of alternative designs and material choices in an iterative design process.

The course provides knowledge of the load-bearing structure and climate shell in a transformation project of a brick building. A starting point is the characterisation of the existing building with assessment of both technical and architectural values of materials and technical systems. At the building scale, this includes analysing and describing the existing load-bearing structure and the existing building envelope, and explaining how the interventions involved affect the load-bearing structure and the building envelope. At the detail level, this includes analysing and describing detailed sections before and after transformation.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  1. Describe and explain how the structural elements of a transformation project, before and after transformation, are logically arranged to carry horizontal and vertical loads (gravity and wind).
  2. Describe the indoor climate before and after transformation (temperature, humidity and air quality).
  3. Describe and explain various overarching principles/concepts for the climate envelopes of brick buildings as well as the basic mechanisms for heat and moisture transport, and carry out a building physical sizing of a building part before and after transformation.
  4. Describe and explain the arrangement of the building elements of a brick construction and explain the various functions of the constituent parts through a construction section and a selection of critical details before and after transformation.
  5. Describe the material brick in terms of internal structure and properties, production processes and products, processing and joining, use in construction and environmental impact.
  6. Reflect on how the load-bearing structure, indoor climate, climate shell, building details and choice of materials interact with the building's architectural qualities and the demand for sustainable and high-quality functional solutions.
  7. Reflect on the building regulations in the context of a transformation project.

Content

The course is divided into four thematic parts: Load-bearing systems, Climate envelopes and indoor climate: moisture, Construction sections with details: bricks, and Materials.

Load-bearing systems deals with:
  • behavior and principles for composition of load-bearing structure before and after transformation
  • examples of load-bearing brick structures

Climate envelopes and indoor climate: moisture deals with:
  • indoor climate before and after a transformation.
  • mechanisms of heat and moisture transfer through the building envelope. 
  • building physics sizing of a wall.
  • overall functions of the building envelope before and after transformation.

Construction sections with details: bricks deals with:
  • functions of different layers of a load-bearing brick structure
  • construction details and built examples (possibilities and problems).
  • representations with different tools and at different scales.

Materials deals with:
  • species and types of brick material, internal structure and properties, production processes and products, processing and joining, environmental impact.
  • the brick material in architecture.

Organisation

The course consists of lectures, design labs, tutorials and seminars.

Lectures cover concepts, materials, behaviors and principles/concepts for load-bearing structures, climate systems and building details. The lectures provide typical examples that illustrate how different technical functions can be solved in principle. There is also a repertoire of built examples that highlight the interaction between architectural values and how technical functions can contribute to achieving these - Architectural technology.

Design labs are exploratory investigations with the aim of testing/sketching and analysing different possibilities/combinations in a simple set-up and then taking knowledge and skills to more complex design projects.

Supervision and seminars provide opportunities for reflection on both the work of others and your own.

The course ends with a reflection moment in the form of a peer review where the strengths and weaknesses of design choices are discussed and the basis for these design choices. Proposals and reflections are collected in the student's portfolio

Literature

Kurslitteratur (referenslitteratur)


Materiallära

Gustavsson, Tomas: Murat byggande. 2023.

Lindgren, J. och Moeschlin, J.: Tegel: Tillverkning - konstruktion - gestaltning. Svensk Byggtjänst, 1985 (2:a uppl.).

Tägil, T, Gustavsson, T. och Bergkvist, K.: Modernismens tegelfasader. Arkus 2011. ISBN 9789197895736

Ivarsson, Per Arne: Puts. Svensk Byggtjänst AB, 2022.


Detaljer och tekniska system

Wahlgren Paula: Fukt för arkitekter och andra husbyggare, Studentlitteratur 2025. ISBN 9789144155784.

Gustavsson, Tomas: Moderna tegeldetaljer med teglet materialitet som utgångspunkt. Arkus 2008. ISBN 9789197895743

Schultz O. och Månsson M.: Bärande murverk i modern arkitektur. Arkus 1994.

Jensen, Mette Jerl: Mur sten. Forudsætninger, problemer, muligheder. CINARK 2008.

Björk, C., Kallstenius, P., & Reppen, L.: Så byggdes husen 1880-2020. Svensk Byggtjänst 2021. ISBN 9789179170943

Sandin Kenneth: Praktisk husbyggnadsteknik. Studentlitteratur 2019. ISBN 9789144131580

Pettersson, B.-Å.: Tillämpad byggnadsfysik. Studentlitteratur, 2018. ISBN 9789144123936

Hagentoft, C. E., Sandin K.: Byggnadsfysik: så fungerar hus. Studentlitteratur 2017. ISBN 9789144114484

Cornell Elias: Byggnadstekniken: metoder och idéer genom tiderna. Byggförlaget 1979. ISBN 9185194131

Examination including compulsory elements

Examination takes place through
  • ­Assignments that mainly examines learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
  • ­Reflection which mainly examines learning outcome 6
  • ­Active participation in the course and active attendance at compulsory moments
Submission requirements and compulsory moments are announced at the start of the course.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers about disability study support.

Architectural technology: Theme brick | Chalmers