Building in the Built Environment 1: Understanding Existing Buildings

larct1362  2025-2026  Tournai

Building in the Built Environment 1: Understanding Existing Buildings
The version you’re consulting is not final. This course description may change. The final version will be published on 1st June.
5.00 credits
40.0 h + 15.0 h
Q2
Language
French
Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.
Main themes
This course introduces the fundamentals of project design in existing buildings—repair, reinforcement, renovation, transformation, extension, etc.—through the lens of understanding the physical and spatial reality of the built environment.
A careful assessment of existing structures focuses on identifying and evaluating their condition and potential. This serves as the foundation for selecting the most appropriate project strategies and defining the necessary measures to be undertaken.
Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

Specific Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to assess and diagnose the condition of buildings and propose measures to extend their life cycle. Specifically, students will be able to:
  • Identify and interpret the condition of a building in terms of its dimensional, morphological, and spatial characteristics, as well as its structural and physical behavior over time, including sustainability,
  • Identify, analyze, and examine the main pathologies and structural defects in buildings, understanding their causes, effects, and potential evolution,
  • Clearly present and synthesize correlations between various building malfunctions in a manner intelligible to other stakeholders,
  • Communicate effectively, using discipline-specific terminology appropriately,
  • Justify a proposed outline of measures to be undertaken.

General Learning Outcomes

In line with the program’s learning outcomes (LOs), this course contributes to the development and acquisition of the following LOs:
  • LO1.1 Identify the parameters and issues of a given situation.
  • LO1.6 Incorporate Sustainable Development requirements into the design process, at multiple scales.
  • LO3.1 Acquire and explain the physical and physiological principles related to architecture.
  • LO3.2 Acquire and explain the construction and technical processes related to architecture.
  • LO3.4 Acquire and explain the environmental, social, and economic consequences of construction and technical choices.
  • LO5.1 Communicate attentively and inclusively with the various stakeholders of the architectural project.
  • LO6.1 Acquire knowledge of disciplinary methods in scientific research. 
LO6.2 Adopt a critical attitude free from any preconceptions. 
 
Faculty or entity
> LOCI


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Bachelor in Architecture (Tournai)
ARCT1BA
5
LARCT1281 AND LARCT1262