Building Design

Are you interested in working in the area of building design? Do you want to be a part of creating new buildings, homes and infrastructure through IT? There are a number of courses available in the area to help you get on your ideal career path. Take a look and see if you’re interested.

What is building design?

Building design refers to the design of building which is broadly based on architectural, engineering and technical applications. It involves working with clients, hearing and meeting their requirements for a new building or changes made to an existing building.

What 3rd level courses are available?

Universities and college in Ireland are offering courses in the following subject areas:

Building Technology and Design
Building Design using 3D Cad (Entekra) – Traineeship
CAD Architectural Design for Green Building

Studying Building Design in college

The courses available in this area, which are listed above, are all PLC courses. The course content will differ from course to course as they all slightly differ in the specificities. All courses available are 1 year in length.

The courses will give you a strong foundation in the area of building design and help you to gain experience and be ready to work in the world of building design. The specifics of these courses may differ but for the most part you will focus on areas such as Building Technology and Design, Architectural Drawing and Presentation, Computer Aided Design 3D should you study Building Design using 3D Cad (Entekra).

If you opt for the Building Technology and Design you will cover areas from Computer Aided Draughting, Design Skills, Building Construction and Mathematics to Health and Safety at Work, Renewable Energy Systems and more. If studying CAD Architectural Design for Green Building, your core areas will be Design Skills, Appreciation of Art, Craft and Design, Computer Aided Draughting, Computer Illustration Graphics and many more.

In most cases you will also have the opportunity to do work experience to apply your knowledge practically as well as your Safe Pass course.

Career options

Working in the construction area can offer multiple different jobs. The main role is working with IT in meeting demands of clients. You will also plan and design layouts for buildings and landscapes as well as budgeting projects and understand requirements. You will work under supervision of licensed Architects.

You may go on from your PLC course to study other courses such as at undergraduate level in order to either move in a different direction or often it may help to get into managerial roles or similar in construction companies, for example. If you’re interested in physical work, that is also an option. of Roles you could work in are listed below.

Skills and qualities that are important in this area include ability to work well with others, IT skills, creative, ability to take direction, strong communication skills, physical strength, endurance, strong hand-eye coordination, strong reading and maths skills, experience with technology and basic knowledge of both building and engineering.

Related Jobs

Builder
Building designer
Block layer
Construction Project Manager
Plumbing
Electrician
Civil Engineer
Quantity Surveyor
Building Inspector
Architect

Further Study

Visit postgrad.ie for more information.

FAQ

Different courses and different colleges will have different entry requirements. It’s always safest to check with the individual higher education institution which is available on their websites. As a general rule Leaving Cert students should have a minimum of six subjects which should

include: Two H5 (Higher Level) grades and Four O6 (Ordinary Level) grades or four H7 (Higher Level) grades. Subjects must include Mathematics, Irish or another language, and English.

PLC courses will accept Leaving Certificate results and in some cases, especially in this area, courses may carry out an entrance interviews. Specific courses may have their own requirements. For example, some courses may have a certain interview process or expect a portfolio of sorts so it is always important to look into these things in depth.

Where can I study?

For other courses in the area you would like to explore, you can do so here.

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