Course coordinator
Mr Kim Baber
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- 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 develops analytical skills in relation to framed structures, facade materials and construction systems, and envelope detailing and technical documentation. Students investigate gridded structures and facade systems through activities and assignments that also develop skills in code compliance, environmental performance analysis and design detailing for medium to large-scale buildings.
BLDG3120 Building Structures and Envelopes is one of five technology courses in the Bachelor of Architectural Design. BLDG3120 develops knowledge of the framing and cladding systems used in commercial and multi-storey buildings, and skills in the design and performance evaluation of facades for medium to large-scale (4+ storey) buildings.ﾠStudents develop familiarity with building structure and enclosure principles, façade materials and systems, building techniques and construction detailing. BLDG3120 also develops students’ ability to integrate and apply communication, documentation and technology, and environmental knowledge through the performance analysis and partial documentation of a medium to large-scale building.ﾠBLDG3120 delivers theoretical knowledge through lectures supported by contemporary case studies presented by practising architects and consultants.ﾠSite visits to façade examples, and workshops with glass and curtain-wall manufacturers to provide practical experience of the materials and processes used in the design and manufacture of building components.
Course requirements
Assumed background
It is assumed that students will have an adequate knowledge of Sketchup as well as a 3D CAD application such as Autodesk Revit, Graphisoft Archicad, or Rhino.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
Year 1 of the Bachelor of Architectural Design or equivalent
Recommended companion or co-requisite courses
We recommend completing the following courses at the same time:
ARCH3100 and either ARCH3141 or ARCH3142
Restrictions
Admission to the Bachelor of Architectural Design. Study abroad students must seek Head of School's permission to enrol.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Mr Kim Baber
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to develop students' ability to analyse framed structures, faade materials and systems, and envelope detailing and documentation requirements for medium to large-scale architectural projects.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Investigate relevant facade system precedents.
LO2.
Examine alternative facade solutions for a framed building.
LO3.
Analyse and detail appropriate facade materials and construction systems.
LO4.
Collaboratively prepare an environmental performance analysis report.
LO5.
Independently prepare a set of technical drawings.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation |
Assignment 1 - Due Diligence
|
40% Group |
31/03/2025 10:00 am |
| Project | Assignment 2: Making Things Better - Interim | Formative Only |
Report 28/04/2025 10:00 am Presentation 28/04/2025 10:00 am |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project |
Assignment 3: Making Things Better - Final
|
60% IVAH |
16/06/2025 1:00 pm |
Assessment details
Assignment 1 - Due Diligence
- Team or group-based
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40% Group
- Due date
31/03/2025 10:00 am
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L04
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
The project context for all three assignments will be the analysis and redevelopment of a proposed commercial building situated on a site within the middle ring of Brisbane. Your client has placed an option to purchase a site with a developed building proposal but before they finalise the deal they want you to assess the design of the building; specifically, the building's performance and the wellbeing of its future users. The client is a fledgling company interested in a holistic approach to low carbon futures that encompasses energy, human comfort and wellbeing, and innovative low carbon construction. If your findings determine that there are some shortcomings in the design of the building that they are intending to buy then they will ask you to develop proposals that will improve the performance of the building against a number of metrics. They will use all of this information to help shape their offer before closing the deal on the site. Understanding the project context is critical in determining a design response that is founded on a reasoned and evidence-based understanding of constraints and opportunities. Given that the analysis must take into account an existing building proposal, the scope of investigations must expand to check whether the proposal meets the requirements under local building regulations and standards. The client is also interested in where the current best practice stands locally and internationally around low carbon buildings.
For the first stage, you have been commissioned to undertake a due diligence on the proposed building that they have their option on. Working in a team, you are to prepare an expanded due diligence report that covers the following topics:
- Building code compliance
- Compliance with Australian Standards
- Detailed environmental report covering:
- Orientation, solar gain and overshadowing
- Effects of wind
- Noise Transport connections including servicing the building
- Embodied energy and energy in use
- Investigation of alternative building frame strategies
- Identification of best practice: locally and globally
The report shall be issued in a digital format that can be emailed to the client. As part of this assessment, an introduction to groupwork will occur in week 1, and your group will be required to complete a group work task plan, clearly outlining the expected tasks of each group member, and the timeline for which the work is to be completed. It is also a requirement of the assessment that a peer evaluation be separately completed by each individual group member in which they independently review their peers' contributions and performance.
Should you find that your group is not functioning effectively, please contact your Course Coordinator for support.
Assessment tasks prohibiting 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. Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. 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.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 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.
Group requests must fill out the group member acknowledgement form: https://my.uq.edu.au/files/35533/extension-to-group-assessment.pdf with at least 50% in agreeance.
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.
Assignment 2: Making Things Better - Interim
- Mode
- Oral, Written
- Category
- Project
- Weight
- Formative Only
- Due date
Report 28/04/2025 10:00 am
Presentation 28/04/2025 10:00 am
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
Having reviewed the analysis of the existing design proposal, the client has decided to move to the next phase of the process and has asked you to prepare some considered concepts that will help make the building design better.
This second stage shall be worked up individually using the report developed with your team. The work shall be developed to a sketch design degree of detail. This will be explained and discussed further in class. The proposal shall be produced as an A3 report with an accompanying 5 minute presentation that provides an overview of the proposal, highlighting the main elements of the proposal. This may include:
- Key response to the environmental report
- Opportunities for a different type of building frame
- Design proposals for a higher performing façade that demonstrates improved performance
- Schematic planning layouts for greater planning effectiveness and user comfort
The submitted report itself is not graded, but the oral presentation contributes to 10% of the mark of the final assignment, and should reflect the amount of work in progress that has been completed and the level of understanding of the project.
Assessment tasks prohibiting 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. Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. 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.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 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.
Assignment 3: Making Things Better - Final
- Identity Verified
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project
- Weight
- 60% IVAH
- Due date
16/06/2025 1:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05
Task description
Assessment Rationale:
The client is well pleased with the progress on the proposals - they have now asked you to develop the detail of the façade and frame so that they can pass on the information to their quantity surveyor to get a better idea of cost before finalising their option on the site and design. The client has asked you to provide some detailed drawings that will be useful to their preferred façade supplier who in this case will be G James Glass and Aluminium. The set-out of the drawings shall be workshopped in class but in principle the key drawings are to include:
- Key diagrams explaining the design strategy
- Overall elevation of each façade that illustrates the performance over time
- Detail elevation, plan and section showing glass specification, frame configuration, relationship with building frame, indicative servicing strategy and human occupation, shade elements and breakdown of panels on the façade
- 1 Visualisation of the building in context that illustrates the key message of the project.
Assessment tasks prohibiting 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. Students are advised to commence assignment uploads with sufficient amount of time (consider possible technical problems with computers, internet speed, etc). Uploaded files must contain readable text and not be rasterised. After successfully submitting an assignment 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.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 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.
Group requests must fill out the group member acknowledgement form: https://my.uq.edu.au/files/35533/extension-to-group-assessment.pdf with at least 50% in agreeance.
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
To meet assessment validity and integrity obligations, this course includes at least one piece of individual Identity Verified Assessment 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 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 IVA 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
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.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 12 |
Lecture |
Lecture Week 1: The Project Plan Week 2: Site and Circumstance Week 3: NCC Fundamentals Week 4: Introduction to Facades Week 5: Alternative and Low Carbon Structures Week 6: Introduction to assignments 2/3 Week 7: Project Exemplars Week 8: Façade Performance Mid semester break Week 9: Lighting Design Week 10: no lecture - public holiday Week 11:Final assignment work in Progress Week 12: Final assignment work in Progress Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Multiple weeks From Week 2 To Week 12 |
Tutorial |
Tutorial Week 1: Group Formation and Plan Week 2: Project Work Tutorial Week 3: Project Work Tutorial Week 4: Project Work Tutorial Week 5: Project Work Tutorial Week 6: Presentation of Assignment 1 Week 7: Project Exemplars -Site Visits Week 8: Façade Performance - Workshop Mid semester break Week 9: Presentation of Assignment 2 - work in Progress Week 10: no Tutorialv- public holiday Week 11: Project Work Tutorial Week 12: Project Work Tutorial Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05 |
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.