86008 Communication and Construction: Representation
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Grade and marksThere are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Recommended studies:
An active participation in Orientation Weeks is recommended.
Description
This subject offers critical and practical experiences to develop fundamental skills and techniques for the communication of spatial interiors. Students develop a detailed understanding of the foundational principles, theories, and methods of interior architectural representation. Drawings are explored as tools to document space, explore processes and communicate ideas and students are asked to consider how the interior architectural drawing captures complex cultural, technological, and spatial ideas.
Students learn, by practice and refinement, the principles of a range of communication techniques, and processes relevant to Interior Architecture including orthographic projections, axonometric and perspective drawings, scales of representation, hierarchies and composition techniques and the mapping of interior spatial conditions. Students examine these principles by actively deploying processes that combine analogue and digital techniques.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1.. | Observe, survey, and accurately sketch spatial information. |
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| 2.. | Demonstrate competency in the accurate representation of space, utilising the drawing conventions and specific grammars of architectural drawings. |
| 3.. | Observe, survey, and accurately represent relations between context, objects, bodies and events. |
| 4.. | Observe and accurately represent hierarchies between material and immaterial spatial entities. |
| 5.. | Iterative processes explore, refine, and integrate a range of communication techniques |
| 6.. | Synthesise and demonstrate an understanding of critical positions on representing the interior |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to develop and establish an informed and ethical understanding and/or position toward social, technical and environmental practices (A.2)
- Ability to communicate ideas effectively, including oral, written, visual, analogue and digital presentations (2D and 3D) (C.2)
- Ability to apply experimentation in thinking and practice as a means toward developing an individual design approach (I.1)
- Ability to initiate and execute meaningful self-directed iterative processes (I.3)
- Ability to apply and utilise appropriate communication techniques, knowledge and understanding to enable practical applications in spatial design (P.1)
- Ability to rigorously explore, apply and extend multiple representational techniques (P.2)
- Ability to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of interior and spatial design precedent and to contextualise one's work within the extended discipline (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
86008 uses various teaching and learning strategies to induct and engage students in foundational skills and knowledge of Interior Architecture communication and representation.
It is structured on a two-fold approach that includes: 1 hr interactive lectures and 3 hr studio tutorials.
Interactive lecture sessions: where students will engage with essential theoretical and historical foundations of architectural and spatial representation. Students will practice the presented techniques and re-examine the lecture contents both during studio sessions and outside them.
Studio tutorial sessions: students receive feedback and reflection from design professionals, tutors and peers while continuing to work on their projects. The studio tutorial is an active space where students will be either working on their projects or participating in debates, conversations, presentations and quick exercises. It is expected that students have their work prepared and ready to discuss within five minutes after the starting time of each class. Preparation is a requirement to receive critique. Iterative drawing practice is one of the cornerstones of design practice. Students must bring their work each week to the studio and/or present them online, for ongoing feedback. If you are unsure how to move forward on your projects, work-up multiple options for discussion in studio tutorials.
Expectations: It is imperative that students arrive prepared and on time for each campus and online engagement. The use of mobile phones for private use is not permitted during lectures and studio tutorials. When learning via online video, cameras must be kept on at all times.
The subject is designed around the progressive development of the final documents. In this sense, every weekly session helps students to progressively improve their work. Students are expected to actively participate in the group discussions, present a draft version of their work and develop the work week-by-week, in order to receive feedback during the tutorials.
Submissions: weekly reviews will require all students to upload work every week for review, mark-up and improvement. On submission days, students must upload, in the required format, before presentation time.
Communication: All subject documents and email correspondence will occur through UTS Canvas. Students are expected to access UTS Canvas regularly and monitor announcements to ensure that they are prepared for lectures and studios, have completed required tasks and are equipped with all required materials. Specific requirements, such as material and equipment requirements, weekly deliverables and due dates of in-studio presentations, will be further detailed in assessment handouts, lectures and CANVAS announcements.
Skill Development: There is a range of online resources to support the learning objectives of this subject, which include: multimedia documentation, essential and recommended readings, videos, information about the precedents. All documents will be accessible from CANVAS.
86008 “Communication and Construction: Representation” is not a computer lab subject. Whilst basic training is provided students must further explore the use of the software in their own time. Software video tutorials (explicitly developed for this subject) will be available to students through CANVAS. For further training, students must access the video tutorials from Lynda.com (available through UTS Library).
Feedback: Students are expected to actively participate in the group discussions, present a draft version of their work and develop the work week-by-week, to receive effective feedback during the tutorials. However, being in studio even without work will greatly assist in completing the subject.
To gain most effective feedback, drawings should be printed for tutors to assist with the completion of the tasks. Drawings can be reviewed on a laptop screen, but not marked up.
Content (topics)
TOPICS INCLUDE
- Foundational Architectural Drawing Modes
- Orthographic Projection
- Axonometric and Oblique Projections
- Scales of Representation
- Graphic Post-production
- Layout and Composition
- Mapping of Interior Spatial relationships
- Material and Immaterial Spatial Analysis
- Critical Visual Literacy
- Conditions of Interiority
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Orthographic Representations of Domestic Space
| Intent: | This assessment will establish the foundations for the technical depiction of space, developing communication skills through progressive tasks. Students will survey, measure, sketch and photograph interior elements of different sizes, ranging from objects, bodies, and events to architectural elements (walls, partitions, windows, doors, ceilings, stairs, and rooms). Students will use the collected information to draw and depict their domestic spaces using CAD (computer-aided drafting) software. Themes are introduced weekly and developed iteratively.
By the end of the exercise, students will have produced a multi-scalar set of documents that demonstrate their understanding of:
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1., 2., 3. 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.): C.2, I.1, P.1 and P.2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Design/drawing/plan/sketch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Translating the Image; Gestalt Interior Mapping
| Intent: | Type sketches / plans / sections / axonometric / mapping / image production Groupwork Group (10%) & Individual (90%)
This assessment develops methods of investigating and representing interior spaces as a response to the notion that spatial experiences are increasingly mediated through pictorial screen space. Students will examine this experience, through tasks that enable communication and analysis of the spatial languages of interior architecture experienced through film. Students will consolidate skills in the technical depiction and analysis of space while also investigating a range of communication techniques and processes relevant to Interior Architecture practice; enabling the representation of both measured physical space and incorporation of immaterial affect, and atmosphere into their drawings. Students will utilise analogue and digital post-production techniques including, but not limited to; architectural hand drawing and rendering in mediums such as charcoal, lead, watercolour; image editing software, such as pixel-based software (Adobe Photoshop) or vector-based software (Adobe Illustrator). Students might also create animated GIFs or videos to convey their critical observations on the conditions of interiority. Themes and drawings and image making precedents are introduced weekly and work is to be developed iteratively. By the end of the exercise, students will have produced a set of documents that extend their palette of communication practice, exploring themes including, light / space / atmosphere / colour / surface / materiality / texture / detail / traces / movement. Skills in 2D orthographics will be consolidated and 3-dimensional spatial representations will demonstrate their understanding of;
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1., 2., 4., 5. and 6. 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.2, C.2, I.1, I.3 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Design/drawing/plan/sketch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Unfolding Interior Cartographies
| Intent: | Type sketches / plans / sections / axonometric / mapping / image production Architecture begins with a drawing, a representation of a place not yet existing, then through measurements and tools those representations become real space - but the drawing is not a building. The final assessment examines drawings ability to represent spatial experience unique to the representation of our experience of interior architecture. Students will observe, interrogate, develop and express critical positions using exploratory languages of spatial representation. Utilising a chosen drawing technique as a precedent, students will critique the drawing’s ability to convey meaning. The final drawing consolidates the technical and communication languages explored throughout the semester and examines architectural drawing’s power as a medium. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 4., 5. and 6. 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.): I.3, P.1 and R.3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Design/drawing/plan/sketch | ||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 20% | ||||||||||||||||
| 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.
The course is designed as a continuous, intense and participatory exercise. Assessment components function as an additive process in which it is expected that students work in the progressive improvement of the different deliverables. Students must present the work in progress to receive feedback during the tutorials.
Students must be aware of UTS University rules:
https://www.uts.edu.au/about/uts-governance/rules/uts-student-rules
Required texts
All required readings will be available in Canvas in the Assessments Module
Further References can be found in the Canvas Readings Module
Recommended texts
Atlier Bow-Wow, 2007, Graphic Anatomy, Toto Shuppan, Tokyo.
Atlier Bow-Wow, 2014, Graphic Anatomy 2, Toto, Tokyo.
Atlier Bow-Wow, 2001, Made in Tokyo: Guide Book, Tokio.
Scolari. (2012). Oblique drawing?: a history of anti-perspective. MIT Press.
Steyerl, H. 2012, In Free Fall: A Thought Experiment on Vertical Perspective (from the book “The Wretched of the Screen”), Sternberg Press.
Evans, R. 1997, Translations from drawing to building, Architectural Association Press, London.
Cook, P. 2014, Drawing: the motive force of architecture, Chichester, West Sussex.
Delaney, M. & Gorman, A. 2015, Studio Craft and Technique for Architects, Laurence King, London
Abalos, I. 2001, The Good Life: a Guided Visit to the Houses of Modernity, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona.
Colomina, B. 2007, Domesticity at War, Actar, Barcelona.
Jaque, A. 2016, ‘The Home as Political Arena’, Domestic Urbanism. Monu Magazine, Issue 24, Rotterdam
Luscombe, Thomas, H., & Hobhouse, N. (2019). Architecture through drawing. Lund Humphries, in association with Drawing Matter. (Selected readings)
Weinthal, L. (Ed.). (2011). Toward a new interior: An anthology of interior design theory. Papress. (Selected readings)
Marinic. (2018). The Interior Architecture Theory Reader (1st ed.). Routledge. (Selected readings)
References
All Visual References will be available in CANVAS.
Other resources
The subject has online learning resources are available in CANVAS