11501 Practice: Advocacy
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): ( 144 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C10413 Bachelor of Design Architecture Master of Architecture AND 11503c Practice: The Profession AND 11502 Practice: Finance and Project Management AND 11504 Practice: Research Cultures) OR ((11184 Landscape Architecture Studio 6 OR 11179 Landscape Urbanism))
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Description
Architects and Landscape Architects also need to be advocates. Advocacy, as its definition suggests, is the act or process of supporting (or defending) a cause. Now more than ever the world seems to be suffering from a long list of environmental, social, and political crises. From global warming, and the consequent extreme weather events and impact on ecosystems, to the deep effects of colonisation on indigenous peoples and land, the need to act on and advocate for environmental and social justice has never been more urgent. The core questions raised within this context are what is the role of advocacy in architecture and landscape architecture today, and how can we understand its influence on a more just future?
11501 Practice: Advocacy invites students to reflect on their civic, social, environmental, and ethical responsibilities as design professionals by exposing students to broader practice through forms of advocacy. It focuses on key areas including Decolonisation, Decarbonisation, and Urban Equity, positioning architecture and landscape architecture as disciplines with agency. The subject recognises that architecture and landscape architecture are contingent not only on good design skills but on developing a critical voice that responds to complex, contemporary and often urgent conditions, scaling from the domestic to the planetary. 'Advocacy' equips students with the skills, methods and formats required to frame, situate, and project themselves into a position of advocacy as they enter the profession.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Analyse and articulate the significance of advocacy in addressing environmental, social, and political challenges within the contexts of architecture and landscape architecture |
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| 2. | Engage in critical reflection on one’s positionality, including ethical responsibilities in advocating for Decolonisation, Decarbonisation, or Urban Equity |
| 3. | Develop a nuanced position of advocacy that responds to complex challenges in architectural and landscape architectural practice, including social, ethical, environmental, political, and regulatory contexts |
| 4. | Demonstrate an understanding of the tools, skills, and techniques of Advocacy to enhance and implement effective strategies within their professional practice |
| 5. | Create a strategic plan with clear goals, objectives, and action steps to integrate advocacy into practice, fostering sustainable and impactful contributions to broader societal and environmental issues |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Establish and develop an informed and ethical position towards social, technical and environmental issues and practices (A.1)
- Work cooperatively and professionally as part of a team, initiate partnerships with others, take a leadership role when required, and constructively contribute to peer learning (C.1)
- Communicate ideas professionally and effectively through a variety of mediums: oral, written, visual, physical and digital (C.2)
- Produce inspirational responses that demonstrate the successful integration of sub-disciplinary areas of knowledge: history, theory, tectonics and/or practice (I.1)
- Thoughtfully apply disciplinary learning in work, with a continuing commitment to personal professional development (P.2)
- Position work within an extended and critically reasoned context through the identification, evaluation and application of relevant academic references and architectural case studies (R.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:
C = communication and groupwork
A = attitudes and values
P = practical and professional
R = research and critique
I = innovation and creativity.
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject is designed as a collaborative and discursive juncture between theory and practice. The subject includes lectures, conversations and debates, and participatory workshops to unpack forms of architectural and landscape architectural advocacy. Lectures will introduce students to issues in the contemporary context and will be followed by open conversations that examine the topic presented. Workshops and seminars will research/debate/formulate a responsive position for review and unpack required readings. Formative feedback will be undertaken through weekly peer-to-peer and peer-to-tutorial mentor sessions and assessment milestones to include formal critiquing panels.
Content (topics)
Subject areas are focused on how and what it means to advocate in architecture and landscape architecture today. Topics of advocacy include the relationship between architecture/landscape architecture and: Climate Change / Environmental Justice; Biodiversity; Decarbonisation; Working with Country; Decolonisation (in practice or pedagogy); Social Justice; Urban Equity; Housing Affordability / Accessibility; Refuge Housing / Housing for Women; Heritage; Wellbeing and Mental Health; Gender Equity; Queering Spaces / Queer Practice; Diversity and Inclusion; Pay Equity; Flexible Work (and healthier workspaces); Labour Practices; Policy; Anti-Corruption / Good Governance; 'Better' Design (relationship b/w Design and Construction Industry); 'Better' University Education; Public Space, among others.
Please refer to Addendum for detailed weekly scheduled topics, tasks and assessments.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Advocacy as Positioning
| Intent: | Students are tasked with developing their own position of advocacy by first reflecting on the work of 'Other Architects,' both historical and contemporary. This reflection serves as a foundation for understanding the broader landscape of advocacy efforts in architecture and landscape architecture. Central to this task is the creation of a 'Community of Practice Diagram,' where students identify allies and methodologies within their chosen area of advocacy. Additionally, participation in 'injection workshops' throughout the semester, each with associated exercises, equips students with essential skills for effective advocacy. These include the power of positioning, the written word, grants and ground-up initiatives, social media, and self-leadership. Please refer to detailed Assessment 1 Handout. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, C.1, C.2 and R.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Case study | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Advocacy as Project
| Intent: | Assessment Task 02 builds on Task 01's exploration of advocacy by requiring students to further develop and clarify their positions within architectural and landscape architecture disciplines. This involves updating their position statement and Community of Practice diagram to articulate their chosen advocacy topic and its personal and professional implications. Additionally, students will create a detailed Project Action Plan outlining short and long-term projects intended to achieve their advocacy goals over a 3-5 year period. They will also execute a tangible Project Activation by implementing an advocacy initiative in real-time during the semester. This practical application demonstrates how the skills acquired throughout the semester can be translated into real-world advocacy efforts. The assessment culminates with a synthesis of the students' Position Statement, Community of Practice Diagram, Action Plan, and Project Activation into a coherent visual and verbal presentation. Please refer to detailed Assessment 2 Handout. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 3, 4 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, C.1, C.2, I.1, P.2 and R.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 60% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.
Recommended texts
On Advocacy and expanded forms of practice
Awan, N., & Schneider, T., & Till, J. (2011). Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture. New York: Routledge.
Bell, Bryan. (2008). Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism. New York: Metropolis Books.
Blundell-Jones, P., Till, J., & Petrescu, D. (2005). Architecture and participation. London: Spon Press.
Borasi, G. (2015). The Other Architect: Another Way of Building Architecture. Montreal: CCA and London: Spector Books.
Deutsch, R. (2020). Think Like an Architect: How to Develop Critical, Creative and Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills. London: Riba Publishing.
Findley, L. (2005). Building Change: Architecture, Politics and Cultural Agency. London: Routledge.
Fisher, T. (2011). Ethics for Architects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Hamers, D., & Mesquita, N.B., & Schoffelen, J., & Vaneycken, A. (2017). Trading Places: Practices of Public Participation in Art and Design Research. Barcelona: dprbarcelona.
Harriss, Hyde, R., & Marcaccio, R. (2020). Architects after Architecture: Alternative Pathways for Practice. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group.
Hromek, Danièle. (2023). "Indigenizing practice: What can non-Indigenous designers do?" Architecture Australia, July/Aug issue.
Hyde. R. (2012). Future practice conversations from the edge of architecture. New York: Routledge.
Hwang, J., & Bohm, M. (2016). Beyond Patronage: Reconsidering Models of Practice. New York City: Actar D.
Kossak, F. (2010). Agency: Working with Uncertain Architectures. New York: Routledge.
Kristiansson, T., Maze, R., Schalk, M. (2017). Feminist Futures of Spatial Practice: Materialisms, Activisms, Dialogues, Pedagogies, Projections. Strong Research Environment: Architecture in Effect. Rethinking the Social. Baunach: AADR, Art Architecture Design Research.
Latour, B. (2005). Making Things Public: Atmospheres of Democracy. Cambridge: ZKM publishing program.
Morrow, R. & Abdelmonem, M. G. (2012). Peripheries: edge conditions in architecture (Morrow & M. G. Abdelmonem, Eds.). New York: Routledge.
Petrescu, D., & Trogal, K. (2017). The Social (Re)Production of Architecture: Politics, Values and Actions in Contemporary Practice. New York: Routledge.
Rendell, J. (2007). Critical Architecture. London: Routledge.
Sinclair, C., & Stohr, K. (2006). Design like you give a damn: architectural responses to humanitarian crises. London: Thames & Hudson.
Till, J. (2009). Architecture Depends. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Wall, E., & Waterman, T. (2017). Landscape and Agency: Critical Essays. New York: Routledge.
On Post-Coloniality / Decolonial Methods and Practice
Archibald, Xiiem, Q. Q., Lee-Morgan, J. B. J., Santolo, J. D., & Smith, L. T. (2019). Decolonizing research: Indigenous storywork as methodology. London: ZED Books.
Campt, T. (2017). Listening to Images. Durham: Duke University Press.
Hall, S. (1992). The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power. In Gieban, B., & Hall, S. (Ed). The Formation of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hall, S. (1997). The Spectacle of the Other. In Hall, S. (Ed). In Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE.
Lokko, L., & Naa, N. (1999). White Papers, Black Marks: Architecture, Race, Culture. London: Athlone.
Lokko, L. (2019). Decolonising Architecture. Assemble Papers.
Mbembe, A. (2002). On the postcolony. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Mbembe, A. (2015). Decolonizing Knowledge and the Question of the Archive. Africa Is a Country.
Paperson, L. (2017). A Third University is Possible. Minnesota: University of Minnesota. Press.
Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books. Said, E. W. (1994). Culture and Imperialism. New York: Knopf.
Tuck, E., Ree, C. (2013). A Glossary of Haunting. Canada: Left Coast Press Verges, F. (2021). A Decolonial Feminism. London: Pluto Press.
Wilson, S. (2008). Research Is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods. Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing.
On Country
Deadly Djurumin Yarns. Podcast Series. https://parlour.org.au/events/deadlydjurumin-yarns/
Dudgeon, P., Herbert, J., Milroy, J., & Oxenham, D. (2016). Us women, our ways, our world. Broome: Magabala Books.
Foley, D., Pascoe, B., & Read, P. (2020). What the Colonists Never Knew: A History of Aboriginal Sydney. Canberra: National Museum of Australia Press.
Gammage, B. (2011). The biggest estate on earth : how Aborigines made Australia. Allen & Unwin.
Gammage, B., Margo, N., & Pascoe, B. (2021). Country: Future Fire, Future Farming. Port Melbourne: Thames & Hudson Australia.
Grant, E., Greenop, K., Refiti, A. L., & Glenn, D. J. (2018). The Handbook of Contemporary Indigenous Architecture. Singapore: Springer Singapore Pte. Limited.
Kiddle, R., Stewart, L. P., & O’Brien, K. (2018). Our voices: indigeneity and architecture. ORO Editions.
Kovach, M. (2009). Indigenous Methodologies: Characteristics, Conversations and Contexts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
NSW Government Architect. (2023). Connecting with Country Framework. https://www.governmentarchitect.nsw.gov.au/projects/designing-with-country
NSW Government Architect. (2020). Designing with Country discussion paper.
https://www.governmentarchitect.nsw.gov.au/resources/ga/media/files/ga/discussion-papers/discussion-paper-designing-with-country-2020-06-02.pdf
Page, A., Memmott, P., & Neale, M. (2021). First Knowledges Design: Building on Country. Thames & Hudson Australia Pty Ltd.
Pascoe, B. (2018). Dark Emu. Broome: Magabala Books.
Steffensen, V. (2020). Fire Country: How Indigenous Fire Management Could Help Save Australia. Richmond: Hardie Grant Travel.
Yunkaporta, T. (2019). Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. Melbourne: Text Publishing Company.
On the Environment
Bouchard, N. (2021). Waste matters: adaptive reuse for productive landscapes (N. Bouchard, Ed.). Routledge.
Garayeva-Maleki, S., & Munder, H. (2020). Potential Worlds: Planetary memories and eco-fictions. Zurich: Scheidegger und Spiess.
Giddings, Joe. (2023). "Demolish nothing." The Architectural Review, no. 1503: 6-13.
Haraway, D. (1985). A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, technology, and socialist feminism in the 1980s. Socialist Review, (80).
Latour, B., & Porter, C. (2018). Down to Earth: Politics in the new climatic regime. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Graham, J., & Blanchfield, C (eds). (2016). Climates: Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary. New York: Columbia Books on Architecture and the City. Mariam Kamara, Radical Sustainability, https://vimeo.com/590069484
Seibert, M. (2021). Atlas of material worlds : mapping the agency of matter for a new landscape practice. New York: Routledge.