ABB247 Landform, Technology and Techniques

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2025, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

This second-year landscape technology unit provides introductory landscape technology principles and processes of landform manipulation as part of the landscape architectural design process and practice. It introduces essential techniques, including landform grading design for drainage, circulation, and to create platforms. It introduces analogue and digital moulding of landforms, expanding on visualisation skills developed in the Create and Represent: Visualisation for Documentation unit. Knowledge gained in this unit will inform your work in your ongoing design studio units, landscape architectural materials, constructs, and documentation units. 

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Understand and apply design and practical technical knowledge and skills in landform manipulation.
2. Plan, develop and complete landform analysis, landform manipulation design and analysis
3. Analyse landform, problems and scenarios and formulate a sustainable landform design proposition and technical knowledge
4. Effectively communicate landform design and manipulation using industry-standard documentation conventions.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit engages you in your learning through: 

• Individual and group learning via in-class lectures, fieldwork, making, discussions, activities and exercises; 
• Individual and group learning through the completion of exercises outside classes; 
• Individual learning through designing, developing, completing, and communicating a landform design using industry-standard documentation conventions.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback will be provided by: 

• Formative feedback on exercises and work-in-progress in the form of verbal feedback from peers and academic staff 
• Summative review of submitted assessments in the form of verbal or written feedback from academic staff and criteria-referenced assessment rubrics. 

Assessment

Overview

This unit includes two assessments. These have been designed to enable you to learn and apply introductory landform analysis, landscape technology principles and processes of landform manipulation. In the first assessment, you will analyse a set of existing landforms and landform designs. In the second assessment, you will apply techniques of landform manipulation learnt to design, develop, and communicate a landform design focusing on landform grading for drainage, circulation, platforms, and other uses using industry-standard documentation conventions. 

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Landform Analysis and Design

You will analyse a set of existing landforms and landform designs, identifying issues, problems, and design opportunities.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Landform Design and Documentation

Supported by in-class activities, you will work individually to design, develop and communicate a landform design focusing on landform grading for platforms, drainage circulation and planting using industry-standard documentation conventions. You will submit a set of landform design documentation drawings and a 3-dimensional model. 

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Requirements

All students and staff are required to complete the FoE General Health and Safety Induction course for access to campus buildings and facilities. This must be completed online.

Costs

You should allow up to $150.00 for model making materials and printing costs.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Petschek, Peter. (2019) Grading: BIM. Landscape SMART. 3D-Machine

Control Systems. Storm Water Management. Birkhauser.

Sharky, B, G. (2014) Landscape Site Grading Principles; grading with Design inMind. Wiley Publishers, 1st edition.

Sharky, B, G.(2014) Landscape Grading Principles. Grading with Design in Mind. Willey Publishers, 1st edition

Standards Australia 2009, Design for access and mobility – AS 1428.1 – 2009.

Williams, G. (1999). Grading: A Workbook of Manual Land Grading Techniques,QUT. This book is available for downloaded fromhttp://eprints.qut.edu.au/75917/

Risk Assessment Statement

All commencing Faculty of Engineering students are required to complete the FoE General Health and Safety Induction course.

There are no extraordinary risks associated with the classroom/lecture activities in this unit.

This unit is based in QUT teaching spaces, there are no out of the ordinary risks or hazards during the in-class activities but there will be risk assessment during fieldwork.

Course Learning Outcomes

AB01 Bachelor of Built Environment (Honours)

1. Apply theoretical, practical and cultural knowledge and skills across a range of disciplines and specialist knowledge and skills in one built environment area.
   Relates to: Landform Analysis and Design, Landform Design and Documentation
2. Design and critically evaluate sustainable and creative solutions to social, economic, technological and environmental challenges.
   Relates to: Landform Analysis and Design, Landform Design and Documentation
3. Communicate knowledge, ideas and creative solutions in diverse modes, for a range of contexts and diverse audiences.
   Relates to: Landform Design and Documentation
4. Plan, develop and complete research and other projects.
   Relates to: Landform Analysis and Design, Landform Design and Documentation