For the 2020-2021 Academic Year this course is being taught remotely. This means there will be no face-to-face teaching and you will not need to be present in person in Cambridge. The course content will be delivered, and the learning outcomes met, through the use of video-based teaching platforms and a dedicated course Virtual Learning Environment. ”
To transition to remote delivery of the course our academic staff are updating the course structure and timetable. This will allow the course to be academically engaging and of the quality expected from the Institute. A course guide will be available containing this detailed information no later than the end of July. Details of the Unit start dates and assignment submission deadlines are under the Teaching & Assessment tab. For an overview of the course scroll down this page.
Who is this course for?
The course is aimed at students of whatever age and previous experience with a defined interest in building conservation as well as students who wish to develop their professional qualifications or enhance their career prospects in the area of building conservation.
The course is structured as a series of units.
Some of the elements of this award-bearing course will also be available as open access, non-credit, taster sessions. The stand-alone sessions might be taken for Continued Professional Development purposes or personal interest.
This programme builds on the introductory level study of historic building conservation covered by the Certificate in Historic Building Conservation (FHEQ Level 4), introducing more complex and applied areas of heritage work– such as heritage economics or managing heritage at risk– to be explored in more depth.
What will I be studying?
The teaching for this course will take place over three termly units.
Unit 1 Understanding ecclesiastical architecture, Heritage at Risk, and new design in historic places
Understanding ecclesiastical architecture and addressing the particular conservation challenges presented by church buildings; the effective use of systems for identifying and prioritising action for Heritage at Risk, and the visual analysis of historic places visually to identify the principles for successful new design in them.
Unit 2 Building in brick, modifying historic buildings to address climate change, and heritage economics
The traditions and methods of building in brick and common conservation issues experienced in brick buildings; understanding different building construction types, common structural failings, sourcing and matching replacement materials and using modern repair techniques; examination of direct damage or loss to heritage brought about through climate change and details of how historic buildings can be modified to reduce carbon emissions; methods by which the value of developments relating to historic buildings is commonly calculated, and the challenge to ensure that change to historic buildings and places is economically viable.
Unit 3 Challenges in dealing with Industrial heritage and twentieth century heritage, and international systems for protecting heritage
The development of manufacturing, processing, transport and other structures as a result of the Industrial Revolution, their subsequent trajectory including functional obsolescence and material decay, and relevant conservation solutions; architectural developments in the twentieth century and particular structures associated with that era, including the heritage of the Cold War and post-war social housing, the particular conservation challenges they present, including the use of concrete as a building material, and its common failings and repair solutions, and heritage conservation in its global context, including International policy and systems and the bodies that operate them (including an examination of current challenges for the conservation of world heritage arising from conflict, deliberate destruction and natural disasters).
What can I go on to do?
Students completing this Diploma gain a number of valuable transferable skills as well as specialist and professional skills highly sought after in the fields of conservation and heritage, including:
- The capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of the historic environment and conservation issues affecting them;
- The ability to prescribe solutions to common conservation issues;
- The ability to draft professional documentation such as conservation management plans or building conditions surveys;
- The capacity for informed and independent thought and judgement demonstrated through critical practice.
The course is intended to give students an advanced understanding of, and skills in, historic building conservation that would facilitate their entry or progression into conservation practice at an intermediate level.
Students who have completed a Diploma course might be interested in progression to FHEQ 6 provision (e.g. Advanced Diploma level in a related subject) within the Institute at the discretion of the Academic Director.
Credit awarded by the Institute can be transferred into the degree programmes of some other higher education providers. The amount of credit which can be transferred into degree programmes varies from institution to institution and is always at the discretion of the receiving institution.
