MASTER’S in Wood, construction, architecture

In short

  • Course duration : 1 year
  • Full-time study, Apprenticeship
  • Recruitment criteria : 1st year master’s in civil engineering
    Graduates in architecture
    Graduate engineers in civil engineering

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GENERAL PRESENTATION and AIMS

The aim of this course, run in collaboration with the National Higher Schoolsl of Architecture in Nancy and Strasbourg, is, logically, ‘building in wood’.

Priority is given to engineers, architecture graduates and students (university or engineering school cursus) having followed years 1 or 2 of a Master’s in civil engineering. This Master’s course focuses on developing the use of wood in construction and national efforts to promote the sector.

The course focuses on the techniques of wood use in construction and enables architects and engineers to acquire dual skills through its original curriculum. Architects learn the primordial technical aspects which will allow them to see a wood construction project through to its end and engineers learn the various characteristics of the material used in the project. Closer collaboration between engineers and architects will enhance project quality by optimizing design and economy.

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRATION

Civil engineering graduates from the ‘Wood, construction, architecture’ cursus hold membership in the ENSTIB alumni association and so appear in the Alumni Directory as associate members. If they wish, they may use the school’s professional recruitment services : help with their CV, job search techniques, subscription to the list of job offers received by the school.

TEACHING

Classes are taught by building professionals, architects, experts and faculty from both ENSTIB and Nancy and Strasbourg Higher National Schools of Architecture.

This Master’s accredits a university year (September – end August). It combines  theoretical knowledge with hands-on experimentation within a specific technical framework for the implementation of wood and its derivatives. Classes are held on Wednesday afternoons, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings from September to February in order to free up students for other activities such as work in agencies, design offices, or apprenticeships.

An integral part of the course is a common ‘Architect – engineer’ project. This takes the form of a competition with precise specifications originating from an public or private contracting authority, followed by an oral presentation of the project before a jury composed of outside members and Master cursus faculty. One example of a project : a city farm for Metropolitan Nancy in collaboration with Nancy Higher National School of Agronomy and Food Industries. Students also particpate in ‘Les défis du Bois 3.0’, an international competition and event held every year in Epinal since January 2005 (www.defisbois.fr)

An internship in an architect’s agency, a design office or a laboratory puts the finishing touch to this course. It takes place from March and lasts at least 4 months, validated by a report and oral presentation.

Continuous assessment, the project and the internship marks all combine to validate the course with a national Master’s degree. Classes are mainly taught in Epinal.

The curriculum may be enriched by classes offered in other ENSTIB engineering modules (tailored to students’ needs)

Programme

CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

3 ECTS
50h

Wood Technologies

  • Machining and manufacturing
  • Carpentry
  • Glueing and finishes
  • Conservation
  • Physics of wood / drying
  • Wood energy

6 ECTS
50h

BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES TECHNOLOGIES

  • Vertical and horizontal load-bearing systems
  • Roof load-bearing systems
  • Cladding
  • Pathology in building structures
  • Assembly and stability of structures
  • Structural mechanics

3 ECTS
50h

HOME COMFORT

  • Thermal
  • Acoustic
  • Air quality and ventilation
  • Environmental quality of buildings
  • Fire resistance
  • Themed conference / sustainable development
  • Sweating walls

WOOD AND ARCHITECTURE

3 ECTS
50h

MATERIALS, CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTEXT

  • Forest / wood / derivatives / forestry production
  • Sawmilling / wood grading
  • Xylology anatomy
  • Wood sector players
  • Materials solidity

6 ECTS
50h

WOOD ARCHITECTURE AND RESEARCH

  • History of wood in architecture
  • Introduction to research (building analysis)
  • Company and building site visits

3 ECTS
50h

English

INTERNSHIPS AND PROJECTS

6 ECTS
50h

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

  • Project cost management
  • Integrative project

3 ECTS
50h

PROJECT and IMPLEMENTATION

  • Défis du Bois

4 à 6
mois

Internship

4 – 6-month internship in industry

  • Industry
  • Architect’s agency

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

Audrey CHOULET

Architect, Promotion 2015

After graduating from Grenoble School of Architecture, I read a magazine article on the ABC Master’s degree, which mentioned the technical skills taught by the school and I decided to apply.

I did the course through block release and looking back, I’m really happy I did. When you come out of a School of Architecture, you have no idea technically-speaking. ENSTIB brought me the structural skills but also taught me about thermal performance.

I got my diploma in 2015 and started working straight away in the company where I did my block release. I stayed there for 3 years, then set up my company, ‘Le Chat Architecte’ near Chambéry in Haute Savoie.

What I learned at ENSTIB is completely linked with what I do now.

What I learned at ENSTIB is completely linked with what I do now. My course taught me essential technical basics. I even keep my class files on my desk at work !

I mainly work on small projects, for individuals or professionals. I use wood a lot, particularly in vertical extension projects.

When I think back to ENSTIB days, the memory that stands out is the Défis du Bois. What a week !

The experience gave me the sense of detail and coordination. Just making pretty drawings isn’t enough – you have to get from the lines on paper to the actual technique of physically building it.

Guillaume CLAUDEL

Engineer, Promotion 2017

I enrolled in the Master’s Wood, Construction and Architecture at ENSTIB after doing a Master’s in civil engineering in the Vandoeuvre science section of the University of Lorraine. Before that, from 2007 to 2009, I was a carpentry apprentice with the Compagnons du Devoir, then I did a preparatory class for Maths, Physics and Engineering Science. I got a job right away, in the company I did my internship in, CALQ agency in Paris, and I’m still there.

I got a job right away, in the company I did my internship in, CALQ agency in Paris, and I’m still there.

The ENSTIB course corresponded perfectly to my professional plans, as there’s a close collaboration between architects and engineers. This is precisely what I do today as a site supervisor for an architect’s agency. Project management is like being a conductor : I make sure the different parties talk to each so that work on the site can go ahead properly – like musicians playing together.

Some of my best memories of ENSTIB are projects in the hall : Felix’s pedal-canoe, the customized van the technical degree in furniture students made – all night till dawn the day before I left….