Construction Technology · for students
Leaving Certificate Construction Technology · 30% of your grade

Your project

In 6th year the SEC (State Examinations Commission) sends every student in Ireland the same brief. You design something in answer to it. You make it in the Construction Technology classroom. You show your thinking in a design folio. The project's official name is Exploring the Constructed Environment, or the ECE.

30%of your final grade: 180 marks. Your written exam and your skills test make up the rest.
1 briefIt arrives in term 1 of 6th year. It is the same for Higher Level and Ordinary Level.
35 hoursUp to 35 hours of class time. All of the work is done in school, with your teacher there.
2 thingsYou hand in a design folio and an artefact — the piece you make.

1The brief gives you a theme, not a thing to make

The brief is two short paragraphs. The first sets the scene. The second sets the task. This is the SEC's sample brief.

You choose your own design focus

Inside the theme, you decide what to design, who it is for and what need it meets. No one hands you a project to make.

Choose a focus that suits your interests, your skills, the time you have and the materials you would like to work with.

The SEC sample brief for Exploring the Constructed Environment
SEC Sample Brief, Exploring the Constructed Environment, page 6: the brief as it prints.

The brief is your chance to show the whole subject. Ask these four questions at every stage of your project.

Strand 1Built Environment

Who is it for? Where does it go? Is it sustainable and easy for everyone to use?

Strand 2Design, Materials and Craft Skills

What is it made of? How is it made, and why that way?

Strand 3Building Fabric

How is it built? How does it deal with load, heat and moisture?

Strand 4Services and Control Technology

Does it use or save energy, water or light? Is anything controlled?

No marks are set aside for any one strand. A strong project draws on the strands because the design needs them, not because a checklist asks for them.

2Make a wood craft artefact or a model

The brief allows two kinds of artefact. Many students do not know about the second one. Both are marked the same way.

Route 1

A wood craft artefact

A piece of furniture, a fitting or a product, made to a high standard of craft. This is the route most students take.

The craft pieces you make in practical classes in 5th year build the skills you need for it.

Route 2

A model

The SEC defines a model as a scaled physical version of a construction design. It shows the form, the structure, the detail of a building element, or a space.

  • A wall-to-floor junction at 1:5, showing the insulation and the airtight layer.
  • A room laid out for a wheelchair user, to scale.
  • A rainwater-harvesting detail.
  • A whole building to scale, showing its form and how it sits on its site.
A model is not an easier route. 60 of the 100 artefact marks are for craft skills. A model must still show careful marking out, cutting, shaping and assembly. A model that shows little making will not earn those marks.

3Your design journey: five stages

The SEC calls this "My Design Journey". In the rows below, the bars show how your 35 hours are shared out. The marks show what each stage is worth.

The briefHand in12345
Go back a stage whenever your design needs it.The stages are a guide, not a straight line. Good designers loop back, test and improve.
1
Explore and investigate
4–5 hours
Pick your design focus. Research existing designs, materials, technologies and building methods. Find out what the user needs.
25marks · folio
2
Design solution
4–5 hours
Sketch ideas by hand. Develop the best one. Test it against your research. Choose your materials and joints, and say why.
25marks · folio
3
Plan of manufacture
2–3 hours
Draw it so it can be made. Write a cutting list and the order of work. Name the tools, the machines and the safety steps.
15marks · folio
4
Manufacture
18–20 hours
The longest stage. Mark out, cut, join, assemble and finish your artefact in the Construction Technology classroom. The artefact is also marked on how well it answers the brief and on its creativity.
100marks · artefact
5
Evaluate and reflect
1–2 hours
Test your artefact against the brief and the user. Say what worked and what you would change.
10marks · folio
+
Your folio as a whole. Overall coherence and presentation: how clearly the folio tells the story of your design journey, from start to finish. Together with the five stages, this makes 180 marks.
5marks · folio

4Where the 180 marks go

The blocks are drawn to scale by marks.

25
25
15
10
5
10
10
60
20

Design folio · 80 marks

  • Explore and investigate 25
  • Development of a design solution 25
  • Planning the manufacture 15
  • Evaluation and reflection 10
  • Overall coherence and presentation 5

Artefact · 100 marks

  • Artefact satisfies the brief 10
  • Creativity 10
  • Craft skills and techniques 60 — marking out, processing, assembly, and the range and depth of your skills
  • Finishing and presentation 20

The same 180 marks, sorted by the kind of work.

Design thinking · 100
Making · 80
  • The whole folio (80), plus the artefact marks for satisfying the brief (10) and creativity (10).
  • Craft skills and techniques (60), plus finishing and presentation (20).
Design carries 100 of the 180 marks. Making carries 80.Making takes the most hours, but the marks reward the thinking as much as the making. Your design decisions show up in the folio and in the artefact. Marks are from the SEC sample brief; the SEC says the breakdown may change from year to year.

5What you hand in

Stages 1, 2, 3 and 5

The design folio

  • No more than 16 single-sided A4 pages. An A3 page counts as two. The cover and the reference pages do not count.
  • Your own original sketches. Freehand work is evidence of your thinking.
  • A printed photograph of your finished artefact.
  • Every source referenced, in the text and in a reference list.
  • If you use AI (artificial intelligence), you say so: the tool, the date and how you used it.
Stage 4

The artefact

  • A wood craft artefact or a model.
  • Made in school, with your teacher supervising.
  • It stays in school until results and any appeals are over. It must never leave the building.
  • Any part cut on a laser cutter or made on a 3D printer needs its own CAD (computer-aided design) drawing in your folio, marked with your exam number. That drawing shows the part is your own work.

Give your pages to the sections that carry the marks. The page ranges are the SEC's suggestions.

Folio sectionMarksPages
Explore and investigate — your own research counts most: visiting, sketching, measuring, photographing, testing252–8
Development of a design solution252–4
Planning the manufacture152–4
Evaluation and reflection101–2
Overall coherence and presentation5—
Total8016 at most

6Your project across 6th year

This is one typical plan. Your teacher decides how your classes are used, and will give you your school's dates.

34567891011121314151617181920212223
Explore
Design
Plan
Make: 18–20 hours in the Construction Technology classroom
Eval.
In
Your folio grows alongside the work, all the way through — record the making with photographs, changes and the reasons for them
Weeks of 6th year
Week 3
The brief arrivesYou read it as a class. Then each of you defines your own design focus.
Week 7
Design and plan checkedYour teacher checks your design and plan pages, your materials and safety before you start making.
Weeks 8–21
MakeYou make your artefact, with your teacher supervising. You keep your folio up to date as you go.
Week 23
Hand inYour folio and your artefact are submitted. You sign the SEC form to say the work is your own.

Get ready in 5th year. The habits that earn project marks start long before the brief.

Build your craft skill

Every craft piece you make in practical classes is practice for the 60 craft-skill marks.

Sketch every week

Freehand sketches are how a folio shows your thinking. Keep every sheet in one folder.

Look, measure, record

When you study a building in class, notice how it was designed and built. That is the research the project asks for.

7Your work, your words

The project must be your own work. Your teacher confirms that by seeing it grow, week by week.

Your teacher can

  • Talk through the theme with the class when the brief arrives.
  • Help you test whether a focus suits your skills, the time and the materials you want to use.
  • Explain what the marks look for at each stage, before you start.
  • Ask you questions that push your thinking.
  • Give you general feedback.
  • Agree your making plan with you, and supervise all of the making.

Your teacher cannot

  • Choose your design focus for you.
  • Correct or rewrite your drafts.
  • Give you a folio template or a worked example, not even a blank page layout.
  • Cut, shape or prepare any part that you hand in as your own.
  • Step in while you make, except to stop something unsafe.

8Practise with a brief

Five practice briefs, written in the same shape as the SEC's sample. They are for practice. They are not predictions of the real brief. For each one, try defining your own design focus before you look at the examples.

Practice brief A

Comfort and energy in the home

Much of the energy used in Irish homes is lost through walls, floors, roofs, windows and doors. Careful design and construction can keep a home warm, dry and healthy while using less energy.

Explore an aspect of the home where comfort and energy use meet. Investigate existing products, materials and construction details, and use your findings to develop an original design solution that improves comfort or reduces energy use.

A design focus might draw on
Strand 1 · orientation, daylightStrand 2 · makingStrand 3 · the fabric, thermal bridgesStrand 4 · ventilation, heating
A wood craft artefact
An insulated window shutter; a draught-sealed attic hatch.
A model
A sectional model of a wall-to-floor junction.
These show the range. They are not answers. Your own focus is what earns the marks.
Practice brief B

Living well, for longer

People are living longer, and many want to remain in their own homes. Thoughtful design can make everyday tasks easier and safer for people of all ages and abilities.

Explore an aspect of the home or its surroundings that affects independent living. Investigate existing designs, standards and technologies, and use your findings to develop an original design solution that supports people to live well at home.

A design focus might draw on
Strand 1 · universal design, accessStrand 2 · makingStrand 3 · fittings, stairsStrand 4 · lighting, controls
A wood craft artefact
A perching stool; a raised planter for wheelchair users.
A model
An accessible entrance at 1:10.
These show the range. They are not answers. Your own focus is what earns the marks.
Practice brief C

Building with what we have

Construction uses large amounts of materials, and much of what is removed from buildings ends up as waste. Reusing materials and choosing them well can reduce the impact of building on the environment.

Explore how materials are sourced, used and reused in the built environment. Investigate traditional and contemporary practices, and use your findings to develop an original design solution that makes better use of materials.

A design focus might draw on
Strand 1 · heritage, vernacularStrand 2 · the circular economy, makingStrand 3 · materials in the fabricStrand 4 · services in a reused building
A wood craft artefact
Furniture from reclaimed timber, designed to come apart.
A model
A demountable timber-frame panel.
These show the range. They are not answers. Your own focus is what earns the marks.
Practice brief D

Nature and the built environment

Buildings and the spaces around them can support wildlife and bring people closer to nature. Design that welcomes nature can benefit health, wellbeing and biodiversity.

Explore how the built environment can make room for nature. Investigate existing designs, materials and construction techniques, and use your findings to develop an original design solution that brings people and nature closer together.

A design focus might draw on
Strand 1 · site, landscapeStrand 2 · making, durabilityStrand 3 · green roofs, swift bricksStrand 4 · rainwater
A wood craft artefact
A bird or bat box built into a wall detail.
A model
A green roof edge detail.
These show the range. They are not answers. Your own focus is what earns the marks.
Practice brief E

Water and the home

Water shapes how buildings are designed, from keeping rain out to using it wisely. Changing weather patterns bring heavier rainfall and new pressures on homes and their surroundings.

Explore how buildings and their surroundings manage water. Investigate existing systems, materials and construction techniques, and use your findings to develop an original design solution that manages water better.

A design focus might draw on
Strand 1 · site, floodingStrand 2 · makingStrand 3 · damp-proofing, flashingsStrand 4 · rainwater harvesting
A wood craft artefact
A stand for a rainwater butt, with a filter.
A model
A window sill and cavity tray detail.
These show the range. They are not answers. Your own focus is what earns the marks.
See how the project fits with your written exam and your skills test, on the subject page →

Sources: SEC (State Examinations Commission), Sample Brief: Exploring the Constructed Environment (2028L029C2ES); brief page reproduced from the SEC. NCCA (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) (2025), Guidelines to support the Additional Assessment Components in Leaving Certificate Construction Technology. Practice briefs: constructiontechnology.ie. © constructiontechnology.ie 2026