UDES501 Urban Design Studio (4, 0, 4) 6
Studio in fundamental physical urban design; design guidance, site planning and urban design in the newly established districts of cities or at the edge or outside cities; survey of small urban communities varying in social, economic, technological, and physical components; analysis of the data and information surveyed; formulations of database necessary for urban design; proposing urban design alternatives. Collaborative work on problems that are large in scope, yet require attention to spatial organization and design details.
UDES503 History, Theory and Criticism of Urban Design (3, 0, 0) 3
This course provides an examination of essential urban design theories and principles and historic and contemporary trends in urban design theory and practice. Topics covered include: emergence of urban pattern; elements, patterns, and evolution of urban form; urban design concepts and approaches; past and present urban development; city forms in history; patterns and influences affecting domestic and international urban characteristics; urban identity; urban forms related to functions; analysis of socioeconomic, political, historical, geographic, and cultural forces influencing urban form; concepts of idealized urban forms and theoretical models of urban configuration. Techniques and evaluation criteria for urban design inquiry; and urban design trends in USA, Europe and the region.
UDES502 Advance Urban Design Studio (4, 0, 4) 6
Studio in advanced urban design processes; superimposing of urban design
data base on the social, economic, and cultural constraints; proposing
appropriate urban development and design. A group or individual project which will normally be a real-life large-scale urban design and development project in urban environments with historical significance involving analysis, problem solving, plan decisions, land reclamation and infrastructure provision leading to a 3-D built form. Designed to professional standards involving relevant urban design theory and implementation criteria with an interdisciplinary approach, and conducted with participation of professionals in both public and private sectors. Collaborative work on problems that are large in scope, yet require attention to spatial organization and design details.
UDES 504 Contemporary Approaches in Urban Design (3, 0, 0) 3
In this course, different seminars from different tutors is given to cover subject of issue of problematic building types and mixed use; density issues; regeneration; guiding and promoting urban design development; sustainability in urban design; coding and briefing; issues of local identity; urban landscape design; movement and mobility and emerging issues concerned with the provision of good urban design in relation to globalization.
UDES599 Final Project Report (0, 0, 0) 0
The Urban Design Report, which consists partly of a design component and partly of a written component is prepared by the students. Students are expected, with the support of their tutors, to be highly self-motivated in the course of this module, proposing their own topic of investigation and design. This topic is a continuation of the design work that was initiated earlier in the year within UDES 502 design project.
Design component
The design part of the Urban Design Report is to be presented in the form of a pin-up presentation during the final end of year crit as well as in the form of a hard-copy portfolio.
Written component
The written part of the Urban Design Report is a 5,000-10,000 word illustrated document. It must describe the initial ideas that underpin the urban design proposal, the design investigation and associated information that has been gathered during the process and a conclusion that summarises the way in which the design work informs the initial ideas. The pedagogical aim of this module is to encourage students to engage with analytical rigor and design originality in an individual piece of research and design development.
ELECTIVES
UDES512 Urban Design and Sustainability
This course provides students with an introductory yet comprehensive overview of sustainable urban design, encompassing its physical, structural, functional, social and economic dimensions. The topics covered will include: definitions of sustainable urban design, principles of sustainable urban design, environmentally conscious / responsive design concepts and criteria, valuing and managing the built and natural environment.
UDES513 Urban Design and Aesthetics
Urban Design and aesthetics are important in creating a high quality of life for a community. While the visual aesthetics are the most noticeable to the casual observer, there are a number of other reasons why design is central to a community's well being. This graduate course aims to provide students with the aesthetical dimension of urban design concentrating on the three dimensional form of urban areas. The topics covered include: site planning; parking lots; landscaping / street trees; streetscape; signs; architectural treatments.
UDES514 Urban Design and Development Control
This course aims to develop a professional standard of competence in the generation and implementation of urban design and development control policies and instruments; and to demonstrate a critical and reflective awareness of the philosophies, concepts and practice of urban design and development control. The course focuses on the development of design arguments, the translation of preferred design outcomes into development control codes, the legal framework of development controls and the preparation of development control reports. The course also covers the technical areas of local traffic and pedestrian movement, environmental factors, such as sunlight and shade, wind and noise effects, together with the aesthetic considerations relevant to landscape and those elements of the built environment that give definition to the public realm.
UDES515 Typo-morphological Analysis in Urban Studies
This course explores the evolution of urban form with an emphasis upon built form typologies. Students will be introduced to the advanced knowledge for the study of both architectural and geographical aspects of urban form. The course seeks to advance knowledge and techniques of urban areas through the study of their history and agents and ideas involved in their creation and transformation of urban form in its context. The development of an historical knowledge and of sensibilities and skills in the recording and interpretation of urban pattern and form for design purposes is the unit's primary aim. As such it examines the characteristics and dimensions of major urban typologies (especially those still visible in today's cities) their origins and interrelationships, and issues surrounding their interpretation and treatment in the contemporary city.
UDES517 Urban Public Spaces
This seminar course provides a systematic knowledge on the development and design of urban public spaces, considering aesthetical, ecological, cultural, social, political, technical, and financial factors. It will examine contemporary theories, debates, and design practices of public space making. Through readings, discussions, and class presentations we will explore the perceived crisis of public space, evaluate postmodern and feminist constructions of the public sphere, and develop a framework for a critical investigation of the claims and merits of current public space practice.
UDES518 Urban Landscape
Components and visual relationships of urban environment; theories of visual perception and aesthetic in urban environment; principles of urban landscape planning and design processes; urban landscape problems and problems solving processes with regard to physical, economic, social and technological aspects.
UDES519 Creative Approaches to Urban Problems
This seminar course focuses on contemporary approaches to urban problems, including challenges and varying ways in which these have been met over time and space. The topics covered include: urban change, urban regeneration, urban revitalization, urban renewal, urban quality.
UDES520 Housing Environments and Sustainability
This course explores the concept of sustainability in housing environments. The topics include: housing design principles; social and cultural variables in housing design; sustainable residential environments; the meaning, use, scale and form of residential exterior spaces in terms of their sustainability. The course will focus on both traditional and new settlements both in Cyprus and other settlements in the region, on a comparative basis.
UDES523 Computer Aided Urban Design (CAUD)
This course focuses on advanced CAD skills, multimedia and other techniques for urban design presentation, and enables designers to fully explore the use of computers as professional design and presentation tools.
UDES524 Physical Environment and Site Planning
This course provides an examination of the methods and techniques used in master layout planning. Topics examined include: location and site analysis; land use planning and program development; environmental standards; infrastructure and facilities; site formation and landscape planning.
UDES526 Transformations of Cultural Environments
This course will examine the rapid change in traditional settlements, cultural values and the relation of tradition to modernization; analyze the rehabilitation of historic areas; assess the impacts of cultural exchanges and visitation in historic urban places; and facilitate the incorporation of cultural factors in planning urban developments. The course covers four main areas: cultural development (cultural identity and continuity in urban places and their relationship to heritage conservation); cultural transformation (trends in the cross-cultural occupation, use and rehabilitation of places in historic settlements; change in habitats and the resilience of local communities in urban places); dual urban structures (Asian and European morphologies in colonial and post-colonial settlements); cultural tourism (cultural heritage, tourism and cultural exchange, visitation trends and cultural rush; carrying capacity of historic places and resources).
