Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Architecture, Design and Planning School
This course provides an introduction to the principles of architectural science (heat, light and sound), materials science (embodied energy and energy transfer), building services (power, sewer and water) and passive design for sustainable building. Students examine the principles of energy, air, water and climate in activities and assignments that also develop skills in the design of environmentally sustainable small to medium scale buildings.
BLDG2120 Building Science: Performance and Sustainability is one of five technology courses in the Bachelor of Architectural Design and the foundational environmental course. BLDG2120 develops knowledge of the physical behaviour of buildings in their environment and skills in the sustainable design for small to medium-scale (2-3 storey) buildings. Students are introduced to the principles of architectural science (heat, light and sound), materials science (embodied energy and energy transfer) and building services (power, sewer and water). BLDG2120 also introduces students to passive design for sustainable building including environmental rating systems, siting, material and servicing strategies, site ecology and bioclimatic design.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students are assumed to have an introductory understanding of design.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
Year 1 of Bachelor of the Architectural Design or equivalent
Recommended companion or co-requisite courses
We recommend completing the following courses at the same time:
ARCH2200 and ARCH2240
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
ARCH2120
Restrictions
Restricted to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Architectural Design, or the Buildings and Environments Major in the Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Design dual programs. 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
Due to the public holiday on Monday 7 October a replacement session will be offered. The date, time and venue will be provided to students via Blackboard shortly after the commencement of the semester.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to introduce students to the principles of architectural science, materials science, and sustainable design for small to medium-scale architectural projects.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Describe core sustainability goals and challenges and how the build environment shapes them.
LO2.
Interpret basic environmental data for a given location and outline passive design strategies (ventilation, solar control, thermal properties of materials)
LO3.
Examine and apply sustainable building systems related to energy, water, lifecycle of materials, and site ecology
LO4.
Integrate passive and low-energy design and building systems into an effective sustainable design proposal tailored to its location
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
A1) Climate responsive vernacular architecture
|
20% Group + Individual assessment |
22/08/2024 4:00 pm
Digital Submission: via Blackboard |
| Examination, Quiz |
Course quiz
|
30% IVAH |
30/09/2024 9:30 am |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
A2) Integrated sustainable home design
|
50% Group + Individual assessment |
11/11/2024 4:00 pm
Digital Submission: via Blackboard |
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
A1) Climate responsive vernacular architecture
- Team or group-based
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 20% Group + Individual assessment
- Due date
22/08/2024 4:00 pm
Digital Submission: via Blackboard
- Other conditions
- Student specific.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
In this assignment, students work in groups to examine vernacular architecture of diverse cultures around the world in order to understand how they adapted to their local climate. Students first work together to analyse the characteristics of a particular climate zone (e.g. arid, tropical, temperate etc), and the challenges of living and building there. Each student then selects a specific example of vernacular architecture from that climate zone and analyses the strategies that have been used to adapt. These include organisation and planning, materials, openings and shade, ventilation, vegetation and landscaping and other characteristics. Students recommend potential strategies to enhance the passive design performance of their case study. Finally, the group identifies common climatic adaptations from among their case studies.
This work will form a shared resource document for all of you, which will be valuable for your next assignment and your future studies. The group reports will follow a template provided to ensure consistency and save your time to focus on analysis.
Group work note:
Group work plays a significant part of this course, and has been incorporated into the subject to help prepare you for working in architectural practice. Exercises early in the semester will help to form groups and to make clear agreements between group members about how to communicate, how to share resources, how to give feedback and advice to other group members and the consequences for any group member for not following the group agreement. Group work can be difficult, particularly as the stresses of semester mount and assessment items for other subjects are due. If you find that your group is not functioning effectively please contact the course co-ordinator for support as early as possible.
Assessment task to be completed without use of AI and/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.
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.
Course quiz
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination, Quiz
- Weight
- 30% IVAH
- Due date
30/09/2024 9:30 am
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
This in-class digital quiz covers the full range of topics from across the semester. Questions will multiple choice based directly on lecture and tutorial content.
Assessment task to be completed without use of AI and/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. 'Course Quiz' 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.Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Learn.UQ |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Late submission
Exams submitted after the end of the submission time will incur a late penalty.
A2) Integrated sustainable home design
- Team or group-based
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 50% Group + Individual assessment
- Due date
11/11/2024 4:00 pm
Digital Submission: via Blackboard
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
In this assignment, students develop and apply their new knowledge of climate responsive and sustainable design the design of a small home. It involves two main components:
1) brief individual case studies of sustainable systems; and
2) a concept design integrating their earlier work.
Part 1) Sustainable systems case studies (25%) – Individual assessment
Each member of the group selects one of the following four categories: a) Water and waste; b) Energy and active systems; c) Materials and construction lifecycle; or d) Site ecology. Each student then selects and analyses a contemporary project which exemplifies sustainable systems in the selected category.
Part 2) Integrated sustainable home (25%) – Group assessment
Working collaboratively in groups, students develop a concept design for a sustainable home adapted to a particular Australian location and climate. This involves synthesising their
Checklists and templates will be provided to students to ensure the completeness of both survey and design proposal.
Participation and contribution to group work will be valued through the online Students Peer Assessment process and may affect the individual grade.
Should you find that your group is not functioning effectively, please contact your Course Coordinator for support as early as possible.
Assessment task to be completed without use of AI and/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.
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.
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 with a hurdle (IVAH)
To meet assessment validity and integrity obligations, this course includes at least one piece of individual Identity Verified Assessment with a Hurdle (IVAH) that is unambiguously completed by that student, and in which a minimum level of achievement is reached. IVAH assessment item(s) contribute at least 30% towards the final grade. Examples of IVAH items include any activity in which a student’s individual performance is directly monitored, such as performances, fieldwork, oral assessment (including design critiques), design studio project work and invigilated exams. In order to pass this course students must achieve a minimum grade for the IVAH designated assessment item(s) as stated in the Assessment Task Description in the ECP.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
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.
Additional learning resources information
Please bring your best tools for designing and taking notes every week. These include: Tracing paper (cheap baking paper is fine), stationery for design work, note pad.ﾠStudents with access to a laptop should bring it to tutorials where it will be valuable for quick research and design tasks.ﾠ
Additional costs
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
Guided site visit |
There may be a cost (around $20) for the guided site visit. This will be confirmed early in the semester. |
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 |
Lecture |
Lecture series Week 1 - Course Introduction / Climate and comfort Week 2 - Sun and shading Week 3 - Thermal properties of materials Week 4 - Ventilation and evaporation Week 5 - Buildings in a social-ecological system Week 6 - No Lecture Week 7 - Landscape ecology Week 8 - Water and waste systems Week 9 - Lifecycle of materials and Circular Economy Week 10 - QUIZ (No lecture) Week 11 - Energy systems Week 12 - Presentation and feedback session (no lecture) Week 13 - No lecture Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial sessions Tutorial exercises align with lectures and directly contribute to progress on group and individual components of assignments. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
|
Week 10 (30 Sep - 06 Oct) |
Fieldwork |
Site visit Site visit to leading sustainable development precedent. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 12 (14 Oct - 20 Oct) |
Symposium |
Presentation and feedback session Full-day presentation and feedback session for the whole class in week 12. 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 - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.