Bachelor of Design in Architecture

Overview

The Bachelor of Design in Architecture, along with its streams Allied Arts in Architecture, Digital Architecture and Urban Design and Planning, is focused on learning about designing in the built environment. The program is structured around a required set of core units of study, with a choice of streams and a range of elective units of study within and outside the faculty.

By selecting the appropriate stream, students in this program can graduate after three years with a:

• Bachelor of Design in Architecture or
• Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Allied Arts in Architecture) or
• Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Digital Architecture) or
• Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Urban Design and Planning).

You may choose to do an additional honours year €’ see the chapter relating to honours later in this Handbook.

The program is designed to provide you with maximum flexibility to allow you to pursue particular interests while participating in the core of the program with its focus on design in the built environment. Possible pathways and areas of interest include the three streams, particular areas of specialisation offered within the Architecture, Design and Planning electives and other specialised areas offered as electives within the faculty. Opportunities also exist for you to take units of study in other faculties within the University.

If your interest is in becoming a professional architect, you can apply to continue to the Master of Architecture. However, to gain entry to this program you will have to take a specific elective, commencing in third year, that is a prerequisite for entry to that program, and complete the Architectural Experience Requirement (18 weeks of approved work experience or equivalent).

If you follow a particular interest and specialised stream, you may decide to pursue graduate study in a workplace-linked program by applying for enrolment in a graduate certificate, graduate diploma or master’s degree. As a graduate with a broad education as well as a specialised focus, you will be able to work in diverse private and government arenas, as well as in specialised areas as a designer, in architectural practice, in digital media and, with further study, as a planner. Other areas of graduate specialisation within the faculty include urban design, heritage conservation, illumination design, audio design, facilities management and sustainable design.

In summary, the Bachelor of Design in Architecture program will be concerned with:

• understanding and practising design in the built environment
• providing a broad architectural design education which contains all aspects of the built environment and
• providing the basis for more specialised study in areas related to the design of the built environment that can be taken as streams or areas of interest within streams.

Philosophy of the Bachelor of Design in Architecture

Rigorous, critical design

The program is underpinned by a strong philosophical approach. This approach is based on architectural theory, research and practice, research-enhanced learning, educational theory, and research in areas relevant to design such as to problem solving and the development of expertise.

The key features of this approach are:

Focus on the design process

The design process is the main focus of learning about designing. It is a complex, iterative, interpretive and integrative process that inherently has the potential for innovative and creative responses.

Designing as a contextual activity

Designing is a contextual activity, that is, it can only occur in the specific space established by a particular design problem. It requires the recognition, discovery and use of particular knowledge as it relates to the context established by the design problem. Learning to design involves establishing the physical setting that allows situated learning to occur.

Critical practice

Criticality is a central component in the learning and practising of design. Critical reflection on and reinterpretation of the many areas involved in designing form the basis for learning and practice. These areas include the historic and theoretical contexts of design; the role of representations in the production of physical forms, the knowledge required and used, the processes of designing, and interactions of people involved in that process. Useful critical practice may take both structured and unstructured forms, and range from immediate to reflective review.

Research enhanced design

Many types of knowledge are relevant to solving a design problem. These have traditionally been taught as separate units of study in design education. Often these units of study do not have a direct relationship to activities associated with learning how to design or to the selection of the design problem that forms the basis for these activities. A central aspect of the program involves a reconceptualisation of the various types or domains of knowledge associated with design and how this knowledge relates to the design problems used to learn how to design.

The program identifies four key areas of study that aid the studio-based design practice. These areas are: Architectural History and Theory; Architectural Communicaitons; Architectural Technologies; Art Workshop. These areas form the integrated collaborative core of the program and it is this knowledge which is used to develop the design problems to be used as the basis for learning how to design.

Collaborative practice

As the activity of designing involves the integration of areas of knowledge, it also requires collaboration between experts in these areas. The acquisition of collaborative and team skills forms a further central component of the program.

Deployment of knowledge

A design education must involve both the development of coherent sets of knowledge and an integrated and progressive sequence of situated learning activities.The ability to integrate and apply complex knowledge in designing is a mark of expertise.To gain this expertise, learning must be developed progressively, integrating previous knowledge and abilities with new knowledge.

Competencies and abilities

The design activity of the program will develop the abilities of students to apply the different types of knowledge in unfamiliar situations, from awareness at a general knowledge level, through competence to excellence and finesse. The core of the program will require demonstration of the ability to apply knowledge at a competent to excellent level, while streams and electives may start with the requirement of a more general ability to demonstrate knowing about.

Objectives

The Bachelor of Design in Architecture will produce graduates at a pre-professional and pre-research level who will:

• understand the broad social, cultural, aesthetic, environmental and technological issues involved in the design of the built environment

• be able to identify critical knowledge relevant to the design and planning of the built environment

• be able to carry out competently appropriate design processes which integrate and resolve this knowledge in order to develop design intentions and strategies for small to medium-scale components of the built environment which realise as design representations social, cultural, aesthetic, environmental and technological values

• be able to reflect competently on and evaluate their design process in order to improve the outcomes of these processes, in both pre-research and pre-professional contexts

• understand the cultural, social and historical context of their own and others design processes

• understand the roles of both practice and research in the design of the built environment and possess the skills and knowledge to make an informed choice on entering a research or practice career path

• have an awareness of the issues involved in designing a more sustainable built environment

• possess a sense of their ethical responsibilities.

Streams in the Bachelor of Design in Architecture

Allied Arts in Architecture

The Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Allied Arts in Architecture) offers students the opportunity to specialise in art as it relates to architecture, while completing their major studies in architecture. The stream is structured so that the student starts with a general approach and finishes with a focus on the growing fields of public art and site-specific art. The stream consists of mandatory and elective units of study. The mandatory units are AWSS2001 Public Art (6 credit points) and AWSS2002 Site Specific Art (6 credit points) in the third year. Many students interested in this stream will also complete AWSS1001 Architectural Sketching and Drawing (6 credit points) in their first year. Students can choose additional units from a wide range of Allied Arts in Architecture electives: photography, digital video, web art and design, drawing, painting, mixed media, ceramics, sculpture, object design, screen printing on paper and fabric, print-making and graphic design.

To construct an Allied Arts in Architecture stream best suited to each individual it is suggested that students speak with the coordinator of the stream. Students can build a particular emphasis into the stream itself so that they focus on, for example, three-dimensional forms or photography or design or the decorative arts as they relate to architecture. It is also expected that students will keep an ongoing, informal resource diary during second and third years to collate ideas, images and a bibliography about art and architecture. This diary will form a strong basis for ongoing research.

The mandatory senior units of study, Site Specific Art and Public Art, allow the student to focus on an area of particular relevance to contemporary architects and planners in that the units specifically look at place and space and how art and architecture can be thought about in dynamic and imaginative ways. It is anticipated that students of the stream will take these units in their third year.

On the successful completion of the Allied Arts in Architecture stream students will have: an awareness of current thinking and practice in various art media, knowledge and insight about the relationship of art to architecture and from that point be able to develop critical analysis and further research, a set of technical skills in various media, and the ability to develop and translate ideas in various art media and written work in relation to architecture.

This stream is also relevant to those contemplating taking graduate programs in Urban Design.

Urban Design and Planning

The units of study in the Urban Design and Planning stream provide Bachelor of Design in Architecture students with the opportunity to extend their design skills, working with a wider set of contextual variables such as nearby activities, access, pedestrian provisions and views. Skills in developing proposals (for buildings, sites and local areas) which fit the context and create desirable public places are given a strong emphasis. Students are taught to work at a range of scales using various forms of representation. Particular attention is given to developing skills in preparing site analyses and local area studies, and to constructing basic reasoning to explain and justify proposals.

The introductory unit is based on lectures and on two case projects that require students' simple analyses, before moving to interpreting key points and making simple design proposals.

The senior urban design and planning units are taught as interactive workshops, where each student prepares and presents reports on urban design and planning projects.

Assessment in these workshops is based on a workbook presenting ongoing, preparatory work, with critical and reflective comments, besides presenting the final responses. Equal weight is given to the graphic presentation of proposals or background studies, and to a short report that explains and justifies the proposals.

Digital Architecture

The Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Digital Architecture) stream encourages a more in-depth exploration of the role of digital technologies in architectural representation and production. Students are introduced to some of the key industry programs such as AutoCAD and ArchiCAD for the production of 2D and 3D drawings and models; digital image design and representation; interactive media design and advanced 3D modelling.

The electives associated with the stream aim to provide students with a broad understanding of programs and their applications for design and representation; and students are encouraged to apply their skills to the design studio courses. On completion of the Digital Architecture Stream students will have: an understanding of the role of the digital technologies in architectural design; an ability to engage with the digital technology as a tool for architectural communication and technical skills in a variety of digital media.

Bachelor of Design in Architecture enrolment guide

The Bachelor of Design in Architecture is a three-year degree, or four years with honours. In order to qualify for the degree candidates must complete the requirements as specified in the resolutions of the Senate and faculty for this degree. All students should read the degree resolutions later in this handbook and monitor their progress throughout the degree by reference to them. The following points summarise the resolutions but do not replace them.

Summary of requirements

In order to qualify for the award of the pass degree, candidates:

• must maintain a full-time enrolment (18 credit points or more per semester €’ a normal full-time load is 24 credit points per semester; the maximum allowed is 30 credit points per semester)

• must complete successfully 144 credit points

• must complete successfully 102 credit points from the core units of study as described in Table A

• must complete successfully at least 12 credit points from the faculty electives as described in Table A

• may complete the requirements for an additional stream as described in Table A

• may complete no more than 24 credit points from units of study offered by other faculties

• must complete successfully the remainder elective units of study from those listed in Table A

• may, with the permission of the unit coordinator concerned, enrol in elective units of study from the faculty€™s tables of graduate units, provided they have completed at least 96 credit points with a wighted average mark (WAM) of at least 70.

Progression in the Bachelor of Design in Architecture

It is a requirement of the Bachelor of Design in Architecture that you pass ALL core units for the degree. To manage this, the faculty has created a series of thresholds through which you must pass in order to progress to the next stage.

Transition

The faculty recognises that in the first year many students experience difficulty making the transition to tertiary study, which requires much more independence than school study. At the same time, there are knowledge and skills that are essential to the degree that must be mastered before you can progress.

Studio

Studio is central to the Bachelor of Design in Architecture and the teaching is structured in such a way that the knowledge and skills learned in one semester build on those learned in the previous semester. You are required to pass Studio 101 before you will be allowed to proceed to Studio 102 and Studio 201 before you proceed to Studio 202 and so on. A fail in any Studio unit will prevent progression to the next unit, causing a 12-month delay in your studies.

Architectural History and Theory; Communications; Technologies and Art Workshop

While Architectural History and Theory; Communications; Technologies and Art Workshop units are core to the degree, they are taught in relatively self-contained ways that complement the work in Studio. If you fail any of these units in first year you will be allowed to progress to second year, BUT you you will still be required to re-enrol in the failed units and pass them in their own right. For example: a pass in Architectural History and Theory 2 will NOT result in a retrospective pass in a failed Architectural History and Theory 1 unit.

Progression to Year 3

You will not be permitted to enrol in Studio 301 unless you have passed ALL first and second year core units. You will not be allowed to proceed to Studio 302 until you have passed Studio 301.

Master of Architecture prerequisite unit of study

Candidates who wish to proceed to the Master of Architecture must include the prerequisite unit of study described in Table A in the chapter Bachelor of Design in Architecture. Other conditions apply to entry to the Master of Architecture, including completing the Bachelor of Design in Architecture with a WAM of at least 65, and undertaking work experience. Intending students should read the information for that degree.

Honours

In order to qualify for the honours degree candidates must satisfy the requirements for the pass degree with a Weighted Average Mark of at least 70 and in addition successfully complete 48 credit points consisting of a research thesis. Honours may only be undertaken on a full-time basis. For more information about honours see the chapter of this Handbook about undergraduate honours.

Planning your degree

The program has been designed so that the core units should be taken in a certain order and the elective units for the stream fitted with them. Students intending to proceed to the Master of Architecture should complete the prerequisite unit of study in their final year. Students are advised to carefully consider which stream or streams interest them and plan their elective units accordingly.

Bachelor of Design in Architecture enrolment planner

Bachelor of Design in Architecture

Streams

If you wish to take a particular stream, choose your electives carefully, using the tables on the following pages. But as a guide, some recommendations are outlined below.

Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Allied Arts In Architecture)

Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Digital Architecture)

Bachelor of Design in Architecture (Urban Design and Planning)

Units of study

Course rules