Design your workspace: a standalone one-room structure

Scenario
Design your workspace: a standalone one-room structure
You work as a built environment professional. Following a review of working practices, your
organisation is limiting office-based workspaces for its employees. Instead, it is supporting its
employees in creating their own spaces at home or in their local area.
You require a separate workspace to your current living accommodation. For any number of
reasons, involving people, place and space, your ability to function throughout a working day from a
home-based location is compromised and creating additional stress.
The solution is a sustainably-built, external structure consisting of one room, with power for heat
and light. Sanitary facilities are not required as it is assumed these are available close by.
The exact location of the workspace depends on your circumstances: if living in a house with a
garden, use that space; if home is an apartment, imagine an area somewhere within a bus or
subway ride of your home, perhaps the garden of a colleague or acquaintance willing to ‘lend’ you
the space. Wherever located, the home office must be in a private secure area, accessible only to
you and any other occupants, if applicable. There are additional details within the module content.
Task
Prepare:
1. a written report that responds to the key points listed below;
2. working drawings (to be included in the report) to the schedule shown.
Report guidelines
The following points do not have to be answered in order, or as separate tasks. You can meet the
requirements of this assignment in whatever way best works for you, while maintaining a logical
thread, but your answer must be in report format and must include associated drawings.
For all points, a description is a start, but some analysis of how the design works for the comfort and
utility of the person using it will be rewarded with a better mark.
© University College of Estate Management 2022 Page 3 of 9
Items to consider:
a. Overview of the building: what it is designed for, who will be using it, what type of work is
being done. Any assumptions made regarding site or other conditions should be included
here. Note also any constraints with these, or other factors.
b. Climate and geography: these may be an approximate location near to you, but should
detail local climate and site conditions, stating any assumptions you are making. Include
relevant detail on surrounding built structures and geographical features as applicable –
factors that may influence human comfort internally (shelter from wind and rain, limited light,
overhanging trees, high walls, proximity to main house, public highway or road close by
generating high noise levels).
c. Regulations: how does your home office design address the regulatory requirements for
human comfort, such as temperature, light levels, sound levels, air changes per hour?
d. Working conditions: does the building design meet recommended space requirements with
regard to its function as an office, for one person?
e. Materials specification: the materials used in the building should be specified in some
detail. What are they, how are they appropriate for this building in its location, how do they
contribute to the requirements for a comfortable workspace?
f. Unique selling point: what makes your design the most usable in terms of human comfort
and sustainable use?
The report is intended for a broad audience of built environment professionals who are interested in
your proposed solution to the need for an external workspace. Each reader will have a general
knowledge of buildings and structures, but will not necessarily have specific expertise in the
requirements of matching structure to environmental conditions in a given location.
Include hand-drawn sketches, photographs and images that you consider relevant to the design of
the home office.
An executive summary is not required.
Schedule of working drawings (hand-drawn only)
i. Floor plan
ii. Elevations – all sides of the structure
iii. Section – one only, as appropriate (indicate direction on the floor plan)
iv. 2-point perspective
v. Detail drawing – one only, as appropriate (e.g. floor to wall; wall to roof)
Reference list
You should include a reference list with a minimum of six separate relevant and appropriate
sources that you have written about and cited within your work.
A bibliography of uncited sources is NOT required.
Further information to support you with this assignment is available within the study materials for
this module on the UCEM VLE. If you have any questions about this assignment, please contact
your Module Team using the Assignment forum in the relevant Assessment preparation week on
the VLE.
© University College of Estate Management 2022 Page 4 of 9
Marking guidance for this activity
This guidance is designed to help you to do as well as possible in your assessment by explaining
how the person marking your work will be judging it.
Your work will be assessed in relation to the requirements set out in the assessment criteria
marking guide at the end of this document and the grading guidance section below.
It is recommended that you read both of these sections before starting your assessment to learn
what will help you to achieve the highest marks. Once you have finished you should review the
assessment before submitting it, to check you have done what is required to achieve the highest
marks.
When you receive your feedback from your tutor you should clearly be able to see which categories
you gained marks in and, where relevant, recommendations about how to improve your
performance going forward.
Grading guidance
This grading guidance section explains in more detail what a submission for this assessment
should include in order to achieve a mark at the threshold, good and excellent standards.
Threshold
The threshold pass mark for this undergraduate module is 40%. In the assessment criteria marking
guide table below, under the ‘Threshold’ heading for each criterion you will see such adjectives as
‘adequate’, ‘sufficient’, ‘satisfactory’. In other words, your work meets the minimum standard for a
passing mark.
With regard to this assignment, a satisfactory piece of work requires that you can show that you
have read the Task. There are two important elements needed to prove this: 1) the report addresses
all the key points, (a) to (f), at least in part, either via a narrative or by lettered paragraph; 2) all
drawings are attempted, regardless of quality.
At Threshold, there should be content in all sections of the task, but elements of each may be only
partially completed or just alluded to in narrative form. The drawings should include each one of
those shown in the schedule, but one or more may be a rough sketch or part completed.
As noted in both (a) and (b), you will have made certain assumptions regarding site location, climate
and geography. To meet the Threshold mark, these will have been described at least in outline –
see the ‘Good’ and ‘Excellent’ categories for the upgrade to this.
Good
The ‘Good’ mark for this undergraduate module is 50%. In the assessment criteria marking grid
table below, under the ‘Good’ heading for each criterion you will see adjectives such as ‘competent’,
‘clear’ and ‘reasonable’. In other words, your work has met more than the minimum standard and
shows promise in several areas when answering the assignment tasks. However, there are an
equal number of areas where the response was lacking, or where more context and information was
needed to push the mark to the next level.
With regard to this assignment, a Good piece of work requires that you have met the Threshold
mark, which means in turn you have read the Task as described above. The difference between
Threshold and Good is in the level of detail and analysis. A Good mark will be awarded where the
report addresses all the key points (a) to (f), and each point is both relevant to the building you are
presenting as a workspace, and evidences some analysis within each point. For example, how the
structure meets regulations or standards for light, space and so forth, with reference to the
appropriate source.
© University College of Estate Management 2022 Page 5 of 9
Excellent
The ‘Excellent’ mark for this undergraduate module is 70%. In the assessment criteria marking
guide table below, under the ‘Excellent’ heading for each criterion you will see adjectives such as
‘focussed’, ‘comprehensive’, ‘articulate’ and ‘rigorous’. In other words, your work has added value to
the original requirements of the assignment and shows that you have put in more than average time
and effort into the submission.
With regard to this assignment, an exceptional piece of work requires that you have met the ‘Good’
mark, as outlined above, with additional attributes noted here.
The difference between Good and Excellent is in the attention to detail, the understanding of who
you are writing for, and the advanced analysis of sources and solutions. All elements in each part of
the Task are complete, and the use of each citation (with matching reference in the list) is relevant
to the subject being discussed, and of appropriate length (whether quotation or paraphrased) to the
paragraph in which it is contained.
As noted in the Task, you are writing for a broad audience (anyone with a general interest in the
built environment); so an Excellent mark will demonstrate this by using clear, objective language,
with concise explanation of technical detail where deemed necessary. It follows that all discussion
and analysis of the solutions presented should be in the same vein.
It should go without saying that presentation of the submission at ‘Excellent’ level is first class –
virtually no spelling or grammar errors, document formatting is precise, all required components in
place