Modules on the Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture

What makes the Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture different from other degree programmes?

Few degree programmes demand so much in such diverse areas at the same time. In Architecture, you have to master mathematics and structural engineering, but also drawing, art history and design. You have to calculate whether a building will stand, whilst at the same time deciding whether it is worth looking at.

That is what makes this degree programme unique and also particularly demanding. It is not enough to be good at just one thing. An architect must be, at the same time, an engineer, an artist, a historian, an urban planner and project manager.

The curriculum for the Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture is designed so that these skills are developed progressively, with a common thread running through it all: the Project Workshop.

The Project Workshop: the module that turns you into an architect

If there is one module that defines the Architecture degree, it is the Project Workshop. It runs from the second year through to the fifth, in eight consecutive blocks (I to VIII), with the workload increasing progressively to 12 credits in the seventh year.

What exactly is it? A workspace where you design real architectural projects such as a house, a public facility or a large-scale building, with all that this entails: devising the programme, resolving the structure, integrating the services, relating the building to its urban context and, finally, presenting and defending your proposal before a panel.

The format is completely different from that of any other module. There is no exam. There is a process: sketches, models, plans, feedback from the lecturer and a final submission. Critique is the driving force behind learning.

In total, the Project Workshop accounts for 72 ECTS credits, 24 per cent of the entire degree programme. That says it all.

How many years does the Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture take?

The degree programme lasts 5 years and comprises 300 ECTS credits. It is important to understand that this degree qualifies graduates to progress to the Master’s Degree in Architecture , which is the additional step required to practise the profession with full authorisation: to sign off on projects, supervise building works and assume technical and legal responsibility for a building.

The 5+1 structure (undergraduate degree + master’s) has been the standard model in Spain since the adoption of the Bologna Process, and is similar to that in countries such as France, Germany and the Netherlands.

How is the curriculum organised?

• FB = Foundation Year 
• OB = Compulsory 
• OP = Optional

First year: you learn the language of architecture

In the first year, you don’t design buildings. Not yet, anyway. What you do is learn the tools you’ll later use to do so: how to represent space on paper, how to analyse forms, and how physics explains materials and forces. It’s the most abstract year, but also the most essential.

By the end of the first year, you will be able to draw in two and three dimensions, understand the fundamentals of how buildings behave physically, be familiar with basic building materials, and have gained an initial overview of what architecture is and what it means to study it.

What sets this year apart:

• Graphic Expression (6 ECTS): before you can design, you need to know how to communicate. This module provides you with the visual vocabulary: plans, sections, elevations, perspectives. It is the language you will use throughout your degree and your entire professional life.
• Applied Physics (9 ECTS): the most demanding module of the year and also the one with the highest drop-out rate. It is not abstract physics: it is the physics of materials that bear loads, of the waves that determine acoustics, and of the heat that defines thermal comfort. It requires a solid grounding in mathematics and a high capacity for abstraction.
• Introduction to Architecture (6 ECTS): your first map of the field. You’ll understand what it means to practise architecture, what it has meant historically, and who the key figures are that you need to know before you start designing.

Second year: you utter your first architectural word

In the second year, you utter your first sentence in the language of architecture: your first project. The Project Workshop runs throughout both semesters and, with it, everything falls into place. Structures, services and construction cease to be abstract subjects and become real tools.

By the end of the second year, you will have designed your first projects, understood how a building is supported, learnt which systems make a space habitable, and gained a theoretical grounding in why architecture takes the form it does.

What makes this year stand out:

• Project Workshop II (12 ECTS): the biggest milestone of the year. Worth 12 credits, this is the first full-scale project you’ll develop from start to finish. You’ll learn that designing isn’t just about having a nice idea: you have to defend it, justify it and make it viable.
• Structures I (6 ECTS): you discover that structure is not something that is ‘added’ to the design, but rather forms part of it. The finest works of architecture in history are inseparable from their structural solution.
• Theory of Architectural Form (6 ECTS): you learn to analyse architecture critically. Why does this building work and the one next to it not? This module gives you the tools to answer that question.

Third year: your vocabulary expands

In the third year, the degree programme becomes more intensive. The History of Architecture, Urban Planning and Building Services take centre stage. The projects become more complex: you no longer simply design a building; you begin to consider its relationship with the city.

By the end of the third year, you will have a solid cultural foundation, be able to integrate structures and facilities into your projects, and understand architecture as part of a wider urban fabric.

What sets this year apart:

• History of Architecture I and II: an architect without architectural knowledge is like a writer who has never read a book. History is not just the past: it is the repertoire of solutions, ideas and references that will inform every project you undertake.
• Urban Planning I and II: a building does not exist in isolation. It exists on a street, in a neighbourhood, in a city. These modules teach you to interpret that context and to design accordingly.
• Construction I (6 ECTS): how what you design is actually built. Construction detail, the interface between materials, the technical resolution of each joint. This is where the project meets the ground.

Fourth year: you’re in your element

The fourth year is when you become an architect capable of tackling truly complex projects. Reliance on the lecturer gives way to your own judgement. The first optional modules also appear, allowing you to start specialising in your chosen area.

What makes this year different:

• Project Workshops V and VI (9 ECTS each): the fourth-year projects are the most demanding to date in terms of programme, scale and technical rigour. It is the final year before graduation, and this is reflected in the high standards expected of students.
• Aesthetics and Composition (6 ECTS): you learn to justify your design decisions within a philosophical and cultural framework. A good architect doesn’t just create beautiful things: they know how to explain why they are the way they are.
• Structures IV (6 ECTS): the fourth and final chapter of the structural cycle. After four modules, you will be able to understand and propose complex structural solutions that are integrated into the architecture.

Fifth year: you graduate as an architect

The final year is the year of synthesis. Everything you have learnt comes together in highly ambitious projects, in your understanding of the legal and professional framework, in external placements and in your Final Year Project.

What makes this year stand out:

• Project Workshop VII (12 ECTS): the most significant workshop of the entire degree programme. The project you undertake here is, for many, the best work of their academic career: large-scale, ambitious and fully integrated.
• Organisation, Management and Site Safety (6 ECTS): architecture doesn’t end when you finish the drawings. It ends when the building is constructed. This module prepares you to lead a real-life construction project.
• External Academic Placements (6 ECTS): you’ll work in an architectural practice, a construction company or a public sector organisation. It’s your first real contact with the professional world and, in many cases, the start of your career.

What elective modules are available on the Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture?

You must choose a total of 12 elective credits (6 in the fourth year and 6 in the fifth):

What is the most difficult subject in Architecture?

The difficulty in Architecture is two-sided. On the one hand, the most mathematically demanding technical subjects:

• Applied Physics (1st year): a heavy focus on maths and abstraction. This is the subject with the highest drop-out rate in the first year.
• Structures I, II, III and IV: four consecutive years covering the mechanical behaviour of materials and building systems.
• Building Services (I to V): five modules combining physics, thermodynamics and technical regulations.

On the other hand, the Project Workshop presents a different challenge: not mathematical, but creative, demanding hard work and stamina. Designing, developing and defending a complete project every four-month term for four consecutive years requires sustained discipline, which many students underestimate at the outset.

Summary

The Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture at UAX is a five-year programme worth 300 ECTS credits that trains architects in technical and design skills. Its backbone is the Project Workshop, which accounts for 72 credits over the final four years and increases in complexity to 12 credits in the fifth year. The programme combines technical training (structures, services, construction), cultural studies (history, urban planning) and design, with seven optional modules that allow students to specialise in urban planning, heritage or sustainability. Upon completion, graduates are eligible for the Master’s Degree in Architecture , enabling them to practise with full professional qualifications.

Sources 

• Official Curriculum for the Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture — UAX
• Royal Decree 1393/2007, of 29 October. Official State Gazette
• Higher Council of the Associations of Architects of Spain (CSCAE)