Course coordinator
Dr Liz Brogden
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2026 (23/02/2026 - 20/06/2026)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Architecture, Design and Planning School
This course examines the ways in which built environment design can mitigate and adapt to the climate and biodiversity crisis. Students will develop an integrated understanding of the concepts required to design buildings that deliver sustainable outcomes at multiple scales, from site to system. Learning activities will build knowledge of climate fundamentals, skills in energy and carbon modelling, critically evaluate systemic conditions and structures, and imagine sustainable, design-led futures.
ARCH7033 is a research courseﾠ designed to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of climate change as it relates to built environment design. Through a solutions-oriented and future-focused approach, students will learn how architects are positioned to address many different types of sustainability problems through designﾠ projects, and how we can collectively redirect systems that are currently in crisis. Learning isﾠ guided by both core content and self-directed researchﾠ to develop a proposal for a disaster-prone site in a specific context. ARCH7033 develops skills in Place-Based Approaches to sustainability through: climate-responsive design, community resilience, material resource use within planetary limits, carbon and circular economy, and integrated responses to environmental, social, and economic systems.ﾠ
This course addresses selected AACA Performance Criteria (PCs) from the National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA) (2021). These PCs are a requirement for all accredited architecture courses that enable their graduates to go on to register as Architects in Australia. Details of the specific NSCA PCs covered in this course are provided in the relevant assessment tasks and marking rubrics.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Please note that ARCH7033 is similar to ARCH7071, which was offered by Dr Liz Brogden as a research selective in semester 1, 2022.
It is advisable that you do not enrol in this course if you have already completed ARCH7071.
Restrictions
MArch students only
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Liz Brogden
Tutor
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to introduce students to strategies of built environment design in response to climate change.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Draw on knowledge from building sciences and technology, environmental sciences and behavioural and social sciences as part of design research and practice.
LO2.
Identify, analyse and integrate information relevant to environmental sustainability over a project lifecycle.
LO3.
Understand the whole life carbon implications of procurement methods, materials, components and construction systems.
LO4.
Propose strategies for sustainable development in an evidence based framework.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
The Sustainability Problem
|
40% IVA |
13/04/2026 4:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
The Sustainability Strategy
|
60% IVAH |
8/06/2026 4:00 pm |
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
The Sustainability Problem
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40% IVA
- Due date
13/04/2026 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
The first assessment task is to submit weekly activities, up to and including, the week 6 activity, laid out using the report template provided. The pages will comprehensively describe a specific sustainability problem, as well as an architectural intervention for a site. Report Part 1 will demonstrate the completion of weekly activities and self-directed research.
The following National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA) Professional Competencies are mapped to this assessment item:
- PC 16 Understand risk management and mitigation principles and strategies – including safety in design, project risk, requirement for resilience from the impacts of climate change and appropriate insurances – across architectural services.
- PC 26 Be able to undertake site, cultural and contextual analysis as part of preliminary design research.
- PC 29 Be able to develop and evaluate design options in terms of the heritage, cultural and community values embodied in the site, and in relation to project requirements.
- PC 30 Be able to explore options for siting a project, including integrating information and analysis of relevant cultural, social and economic factors.
Complex / authentic assessment using AI and/or MT to support learning: This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
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. Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. 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.
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
Standard 10% (or 1 grade) per day for 7 days
The Sustainability Strategy
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 60% IVAH
- Due date
8/06/2026 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
The second assessment task is to submit weekly activities up to and including the week 12 activity, laid out using the report template provided. The pages will comprehensively describe a sustainability problem through the weeks 1-6 activities (already graded); and, (2) a comprehensive sustainability strategy. The final report will demonstrate the completion of weekly activities and self-directed research.
The following National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA) Professional Competencies are mapped to this assessment item:
- PC 10 Understand the whole life carbon implications of procurement methods, materials, components and construction systems.
- PC 16 Understand risk management and mitigation principles and strategies – including safety in design, project risk, requirement for resilience from the impacts of climate change and appropriate insurances – across architectural services.
- PC 26 Be able to undertake site, cultural and contextual analysis as part of preliminary design research.
- PC 29 Be able to develop and evaluate design options in terms of the heritage, cultural and community values embodied in the site, and in relation to project requirements.
- PC 30 Be able to explore options for siting a project, including integrating information and analysis of relevant cultural, social and economic factors.
- PC 31 Be able to identify, analyse and integrate information relevant to environmental sustainability – such as energy and water consumption, resources depletion, waste, embodied carbon and carbon emissions – over the life cycle of a project.
- PC35 Understand the operational and embodied carbon implications of chosen materials, components and systems.
Complex / authentic assessment using AI and/or MT to support learning: This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Hurdle requirements
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied to receive a specific grade in the course. This 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. Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. 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.
Late submission
The late penalty for this assessment item will be calculated as follows:
Standard 10% (or 1 grade) per day for 7 days
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
To meet assessment validity and integrity obligations, this course includes at least one piece of individual Identity Verified Assessment (IVA) that is unambiguously completed by that student, and in which a minimum level of achievement is reached. IVA assessment item(s) contribute at least 30% towards the final grade. Examples of IVA items include any activity in which a student’s individual performance is directly monitored, such as: attendance, presentations, fieldwork, oral assessment, individual ongoing class progress and invigilated exams. In order to pass this course students must achieve a minimum grade for the IVA designated assessment item(s) as stated in the Assessment Task Description in the ECP.
Assessment tasks are longitudinal and require the cumulative, incremental development of work through weekly in-class activities. Work is verified by tutors through regular one-to-one interactions, group discussions, and the sharing of work during class time. Where staff cannot verify submitted work has been produced by the student, the Course Coordinator may request additional evidence of progress material and/or conduct an interview to confirm understanding of the work.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.
Supplementary assessment is available for assessment 2 only.
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
Library resources are available 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.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 12 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial/ Workshop Weekly information available in Blackboard Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
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:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
- AI for Assessment Guide
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.