17916 Urban Design Studio 1: Urban Morphology
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Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 17904 Urban Design Fundamentals
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
This first Urban Design Studio aims to develop students’ drawing, analytical and design skills by focusing on urban typologies and morphologies. This subject provides an introduction to precinct scale design by identifying and analysing different typologies (residential, commercial, industrial, mixed) through both hand drawing and digital graphic tools. Students will learn about the implications and impacts of the different urban and building typologies on the built environment. This subject also provides students the foundation to recognise problems that manifest in a real place, and to use research and creative problem-solving strategies to develop design-based solutions. Students develop an analysis of a precinct (including historical and morphological analyses), develop representational skills to explain its structure, and research skills to accurately identify constraints and opportunities. Finally, students develop a proposal for then given precinct site to address these constraints, and capitalise on opportunities.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Communicate urban design ideas effectively using a variety of visual media |
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| 2. | Analyse and explain the context in which a particular built form evolved |
| 3. | Identify the factors underpinning the challenges and opportunities facing particular places |
| 4. | Develop urban design recommendations based on a clear rationale |
| 5. | Identify the environmental, economic and socio-cultural impacts urban design proposals have on precincts and their context |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Communicate with people with a wide variety of cultural, social, economic, and political perspectives and interests using verbal, written, and visual media (C.2)
- Apply urban design principles to develop creative solutions for urban problems (I.2)
- Develop and apply the principles of urban design to analyse places (P.5)
- Interpret spatial relationships and evaluate the spatial and physical impacts of proposals (R.3)
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 primarily studio based, including online-interactive content discussing fundamental concepts, self-guided site visits, virtual site visits to a given precinct and weekly live in-class studio sessions to discuss the students’ progress. This subject also includes peer discussions and collaboration in developing analytical activities. These will be complemented by self-directed student learning via subject readings guided by discussion points / questions. These different activities involve the provision of formative feedback from the lecturer and the students. Participation in Zoom sessions for this subject is mandatory to foster a collaborative studio environment, enabling feedback from both your instructor and fellow students.
Content (topics)
- Morphology and Typology of a Precinct
- Analysis of a Precinct
- Synthesis of Analysis
- Design Proposal: Creating a Vision
- Design Proposal: Developing the Design Proposal
- Design Proposal: Refining the Proposal
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Figure-Ground Diagram of your precinct
| Intent: | This assessment focuses on applying your hand drawing skills by drawing a series of figure-ground diagrams. Furthermore, this assessment aims to focus your understanding of the evolution of a precinct over time in terms of its 2-dimensional built/urban form. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1 and 2 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.): C.2 and P.5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Design/drawing/plan/sketch | ||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 15% | ||||||||||||||||
| Length: | Each drawing must be presented on an A3-size paper. The accompanying explanation can be written in a Word document (A4 formatting) and submitted along with the drawings. The word limit is 1,000 words. | ||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Analysing a Precinct
| Intent: | This assessment focuses on your understanding of the interpretation of precinct analysis data. In this assessment you will take data gathered in week 2 for your precinct and interpret it in structural and hierarchical terms. The intent is to enable you to look critically at information and be able to translate and distil it into a composite analysis map which will result in the beginnings of design intentions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2 and 3 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.): C.2, P.5 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Project | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | Your submission will comprise an A3 map/diagram, containing your synthesis map. Your composite constraints and informant map must include:
The length of the accompanying report should consist of no more than 1000 words (including the SWOT analysis). | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Spatial Design of your Precinct
| Intent: | The focus of assignment 3 is on the design proposal for your precinct. You are requested to produce an overall vision for your precinct and illustrate your design intervention in structural and hierarchical terms. Students also need to discuss how their proposal contributes to complementing elements including transport, ecology, social and economic conditions, and political agents (see week 01 compulsory reading: Scheer, Brenda Case 2015. "The epistemology of urban morphology." Urban Morphology 20 (1):5-17). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 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.): C.2, I.2 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 45% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | The submission should be in the form of a professional report comprising a series of A3s with concept diagrams, sketches and more refined drawings. These illustrations will describe your design intentions in drawing format. The sketches and diagrams should comprise the following aspects in order to describe the spatiality of the area:
The written part of the report should consist of no more than 1000 words. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total mark.