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Design History & Theory in the Making (ARCH10004)

Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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The subject is an introduction to history and theory in architecture and landscape architecture within the Bachelor of Design. To understand the making of built places, from the scale of the house to that of the city, the subject is built around three questions:

  • What is the built environment and how is it formed and transformed?
  • How do we analyse built places?
  • How might we imagine and create better social and environmental outcomes in our built places through design? 

Using a contemporary city as its key case study, location for student fieldwork and the mapping of places, the subject is organised into four parts, addressing in turn: infrastructures, housing, health, and knowledge institutions.

Intended learning outcomes

Through accessing subject information from four modules: infrastructure, housing, health, and knowledge institutions and through discussions, written, drawn and visual analysis, readings and on-line interaction, students will be able to:

  • Describe, discuss and analyse major social drivers and ideas structuring the design and urban formation of a contemporary city;
  • Describe and explore the role of historic precedent, critical theory, and observational analysis as investigative tools for understanding the built environment and its transformations;
  • Demonstrate the application of history and theory knowledge to analyse specific design case studies;
  • Describe, recognise, and evaluate the diverse views and interpretative frameworks that structure knowledge of the built environment.

Generic skills

Students who successfully complete this subject will demonstrate:

  • An ability to relate historic precedent to the contemporary city
  • An ability to apply critical thinking and analysis
  • An ability to apply design concepts to the study of the built environment
  • Communications skills in written and graphic formats

Last updated: 21 February 2024