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Course profile

Architectural Design : Tectonics and Precision (ARCH3200)

Study period
Sem 2 2024
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
4
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Architecture, Design and Planning School

Tectonics and Precision: Students in this course use the elemental logic of different materials and methods of construction to generate the design of a building of medium scale and complexity. Integration of building technologies with formal, environmental and aesthetic ambitions is pursued across all scales of a resolved design proposal. Documentation drawings and working models that precisely capture the means by which the design intent will be realised are produced.

ARCH3200 is one of six core courses offered in the Bachelor of Architectural Design degree in which solutions to design problems are developed through experimentation, iteration, collaboration and review in a studio setting. In addition to further developing previously acquired architectural knowledge and skills in form and planning, this course provides an opportunity to synthesise structural, environmental and construction knowledge in the design process.ᅠARCH3200 develops skills in the understanding of the impact of material and building technology decisions on the realisation of a design concept.ᅠARCH3200 also develops skills in detail resolution and assessment of building performance.ᅠStudents will be required to evolve and present developed design proposals that include detail drawings and large scale models.

Semester 2, 2024 Design Studio Tectonics and Precision

The course is aimed at development of architectural design solutions for public and private space, creating spatial link through the site, providing new experiences and opportunities of the new activated space. The studio investigates various approaches and techniques to enrich the built environment beyond the pragmatic scope of functionality. The designed multi-storey building, in addition to facilitation of teaching, learning and administrative activities, must have its own distinctive identity achieved by means of architectural design, and foster social interaction and promote creativity.

The studio involves extensive analysis of the site context, impact of Brisbane climatic conditions and site orientation, existing access and circulation, and awareness of existing site and landscape opportunities, in order to propose an improved scenario of social and spatial relationships. The building design for this course accounts for the previously obtained knowledge of the building structures and allows the students to utilize this knowledge in justification of their design choices and creating unique building that can meet the demands of the future.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students are assumed to have an introductory understanding of fundamental architectural knowledge and skills.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ARCH1100 and ARCH1160 and ARCH1201 and BLDG1220

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ARCH2100 and ARCH2200 and ARCH3100

Recommended companion or co-requisite courses

We recommend completing the following courses at the same time:

BLDG3220 and either (ARCH3241 or ARCH3242)

Restrictions

BArchDes students only. Study abroad students must seek Head of School's permission to enrol.

Course contact

Course staff

Lecturer

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

This course requires attendance of the weekly lectures to obtain important knowledge and insights on the critical topics and active engagement and participation in the studio work.

The studio consultations and discussions that follow the lectures are an important element of the course dynamic, that allows to ensure individual and group progress of the course design and analysis tasks. Active participation in studio work can be crucial in defining the outcomes of the course work, fostering exchange of ideas, inspiration, and peer review.ᅠ

The detailed programme of events and activities such as studio activities, site visits, interim and final submissions and reviews will be specified in the course outline and uploaded to BlackBoard.

Aims and outcomes

This course aims to extend students' capacity to integrate design, structural, environmentalᅠand construction knowledge in the design of a complex building.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Analyse the design constraints and opportunities presented by the realities of architectural construction and building performance.

LO2.

Apply technical strategies to a complex design problem.

LO3.

Communicate a developed design proposal to a professional standard.

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Paper/ Report/ Annotation Design Brief and Concept Design
40%

30/08/2024 4:00 pm

Digital Submission: via Blackboard

Presentations & Review in class on Wednesday 28th August

Product/ Design Design Portfolio
  • Hurdle
  • Identity Verified
60% Hurdle

25/10/2024 4:00 pm

Digital Submission: Via Blackboard

Presentation & Review in class on Wednesday 23rd October

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Design Brief and Concept Design

Mode
Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
Category
Paper/ Report/ Annotation
Weight
40%
Due date

30/08/2024 4:00 pm

Digital Submission: via Blackboard

Presentations & Review in class on Wednesday 28th August

Other conditions
Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L01, L02

Task description

Assessment Overview

Assessment 1 requires you to develop a research-led design brief and conceptual design for a retrofit of the UQ Central Library building on the St Lucia Campus.

Your Assessment 1 submission will be a graphic report outlining a research-led design brief and corresponding proposal for a conceptual design. The report will include activities completed each week during studios and set homework tasks. You will produce approximately 1-2 A3 pages of work per week for discussion during studio, which will form the basis of your assessment submission. This assessment task is the foundation for Assessment 2.

Assessment 1 requires you to produce a 10-page A3 graphic report, structured in two parts. The report will include a combination of graphic elements (orthogonal and 3D drawings, mapping, sketches, diagrams, and photographs) and annotative text (maximum font size 12 for body text). The report will contain two parts:

Part 1 - Research and Analysis

Part 2 - Design Brief and Conceptual Design

Assessment task to be completed without use of AI or MT: This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

The School of Architecture, Design and Planning uses Blackboard and Turnitin for assessment submission. Turnitin is accessed through the course Blackboard site. Turnitin also checks for plagiarism or instances where the original work of others is not appropriately acknowledged. Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). After successfully submitting an assignment through Turnitin, a ‘Submission Complete!’ screen will be displayed.  It is the student’s responsibility to check assignment preview and confirm successful submission. If the ‘Submission Complete!’ screen isn’t displayed, the student should regard the submission as unsuccessful. Students should download a copy of the digital receipt as proof they have submitted the assignment. Students who are experiencing upload issues must advise the Course Coordinator immediately by email and should include screenshots and a copy of the assessment for submission.

To meet professional accreditation, public engagement and quality assurance obligations, digital copies of all course assessment items must be submitted in addition to any hard copy submission requirements specified in individual Course / Studio Outlines. Any physical models should be photographed and a minimum of two photographs describing the complete and full model must be included in the digital submission.  

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

If a student wishes to apply for an extension, they must apply online on or before the assignment due date. When possible, it is suggested that requests are submitted 2 business days prior to the submission due date for the assignment to allow processing time. Students with outstanding applications for extensions are advised to submit their assessment by the original due date, irrespective of whether the work is complete, so that what has been done can be graded.

Critique panels cannot be reconvened for the presentation component of assessment when an extension has been approved. Students with granted extensions (or pending extension applications) are able to attend but are not permitted to participate in the design review.

Late submission

The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows: 

First 1-hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.

Second 1-hour block - An penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted

Third 1-hour block - An additional penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted. (adding up to a total penalty of 20% of the maximum possible mark)

Any submissions received after three hours will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each one-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due. 

Design Portfolio

  • Hurdle
  • Identity Verified
Mode
Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
Category
Product/ Design
Weight
60% Hurdle
Due date

25/10/2024 4:00 pm

Digital Submission: Via Blackboard

Presentation & Review in class on Wednesday 23rd October

Other conditions
Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03

Task description

Assessment Overview: 

The second assessment task builds from your Assessment 1 Design Brief and Conceptual Design. You are required to develop your design for a new Student Learning Commons and Peer-to-Peer Support service for the UQ Central Library. During the second part of the semester, set studio and homework tasks will encourage consideration of materiality, and detailed resolution of your proposal. 

You will be expected to consider the material impact of design decisions and identify ways to improve the sustainability of your proposal. You will be asked to choose one material type to focus on, as you develop your design. How you design and detail with this material will be informed by parallel research into environmental and performance implications.

Assessment Requirements

There is no set page limit for your Design Portfolio. Drawing scales should be negotiated with your tutor. The minimum submission requirements are as follows:

  1. Poster (A1 format)
  2. Design Portfolio (A3 format)

Assessment task to be completed without use of AI or MT: This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Hurdle requirements

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied to receive a specific grade in the course. 'Submission02: Design & Development' assessment item is designated as a Hurdle in this course. This means a minimum achievement of 50% (a grade of 4) is required for this assessment item in order to pass the course. Meeting the hurdle requirement for a course does not guarantee a passing grade for the course and in order to pass this course, students also need to achieve a minimum grade of 4 overall.

Submission guidelines

The School of Architecture, Design and Planning uses Blackboard and Turnitin for assessment submission. Turnitin is accessed through the course Blackboard site. Turnitin also checks for plagiarism or instances where the original work of others is not appropriately acknowledged.  

Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). After successfully submitting an assignment through Turnitin, a ‘Submission Complete!’ screen will be displayed. It is the student’s responsibility to check assignment preview and confirm successful submission. If the ‘Submission Complete!’ screen isn’t displayed, the student should regard the submission as unsuccessful. Students should download a copy of the digital receipt as proof they have submitted the assignment. Students who are experiencing upload issues must advise the Course Coordinator immediately by email and should include screenshots and a copy of the assessment for submission.

To meet professional accreditation, public engagement and quality assurance obligations, digital copies of all course assessment items must be submitted in addition to any hard copy submission requirements specified in individual Course / Studio Outlines. Any physical models should be photographed and a minimum of two photographs describing the complete and full model must be included in the digital submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

If a student wishes to apply for an extension, they must apply online on or before the assignment due date. When possible, it is suggested that requests are submitted 2 business days prior to the submission due date for the assignment to allow processing time. Students with outstanding applications for extensions are advised to submit their assessment by the original due date, irrespective of whether the work is complete, so that what has been done can be graded.

Critique panels cannot be reconvened for the presentation component of assessment when an extension has been approved. Students with granted extensions (or pending extension applications) are able to attend but are not permitted to participate in the design review.

Late submission

The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows: 

The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows: 

First 1-hour block - initial 1 hour grace period no penalty.

Second 1-hour block - An penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted

Third 1-hour block - An additional penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark allocated for the assessment item will be deducted. (adding up to a total penalty of 20% of the maximum possible mark)

Any submissions received after three hours will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each one-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due. 

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Grade Cut off Percent Description
1 (Low Fail) 0 - 24

Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

2 (Fail) 25 - 44

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

3 (Marginal Fail) 45 - 49

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes

4 (Pass) 50 - 64

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.

5 (Credit) 65 - 74

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.

6 (Distinction) 75 - 84

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.

7 (High Distinction) 85 - 100

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Additional course grading information

Identity verified assessment (IVA) -ᅠArchitectural Design Courses

Architectural Design Courses require the cumulative integration of critical reflection and feedback on original creative ideas in an iterative process of project work developed over time in the studio context. To meet assessment validity and integrity obligations in Architectural Design Courses,ᅠstudents mustᅠregularly present and discuss their work with staff over the course of scheduled studio learning activities including lectures, structured studio activities, workshops, individual and group consultations, presentations and critiques. Students are expected to participate in at least 80% of scheduled studio activities in which the progress of their work is intended to be monitored and reviewed. If participation in such activities falls below 80% students may be requested to submit process work (such as drawings, models and design exegesis). If a student is not able to provide evidence of authorship to the satisfaction of the course coordinator, or if their participation falls below 50%, a maximum grade of 3 will be awarded.ᅠ

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is not available for this course.

Due to the need for the cumulative integration of critical reflection and feedback on original creative ideas in an iterative process of project work development over time, supplementary assessment will not be offered in Architectural Design or Advanced Architectural Design courses to any student with a failing grade of 3 or less.

Additional assessment information

While presentations at assessment milestones are not formally assessed activities, it is highly recommended that students use this opportunity to clarify design thinking and intent, which aids the grading process of work. The presentations are intended as a formative feedback opportunity, with 48 hours given to implement pertinent advice before the official due date.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Multiple weeks
Studio

Studio Week 1 [Design Brief Research]

Weeks 1-3 Design Brief Research Campus Mapping

Weeks 4-5 Conceptual Design

Week 6 Assessment Presentations

Weeks 7-9 Schematic Design

Weeks 10-11 Detailed Design

Week 13 Design Week




Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03

Multiple weeks

From Week 1 To Week 12
(22 Jul - 20 Oct)

Lecture

Lectures

Week 1 Lecture Topic - Introduction to the Course

Week 2 Lecture Topic - Site and Place

Week 3 Lecture Topic - The University Campus

Week 4 Lecture Topic - Public Holiday - no class

Week 5 Lecture Topic - Design for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Week 6 - Assessment 01 Presentations (No Lecture)

Week 7 Lecture Topic - Passive Design Principles

Week 8 Lecture Topic - Sustainable Materials

Week 9 Lecture Topic - Retrofit and Adaptive Reuse

Week 10 Lecture - Topic Tectonics and the Art of Construction

Week 11 Lecture Topic - Delighting in Detail

Week 12 Lecture Topic - Articulating a Design Approach

Week 13 Lecture Topic - Assessment 02 Presentations (No Lecture)

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.