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Construction History (ABPL90085)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

Availability
Semester 2 - On Campus
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Students will gain the ability to analyse the use of materials and the means of constructing buildings from antiquity on, but with particular reference to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  Class activities will focus on the comparison of equivalent materials and trades between different cultures, and explore the transmission of skills, building processes and techniques from one to another. 

 

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of the subject, students should be able to:

  • Recognise traditional building materials and methods of construction and trace their origins and connections in different regions and historical contexts
  • Appreciate the cultural role of building technology and its value as a source of reference and inspiration for innovative architectural design and construction practice
  • Understand the historical and cultural developments underlying the history of construction processes, including the political, social and economic factors that led to them

Generic skills

Analyse historical buildings using specialised literature in the field and other aspects of independent investigation and reporting

Last updated: 6 November 2025