ABN463 Contemporary Architecture
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | ABN463 |
|---|---|
| Equivalent(s): | ABN513, DAN108, DAN125 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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Unit Outline: Semester 1 2027, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | ABN463 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Equivalent: | ABN513, DAN108, DAN125 |
Overview
A core skill in architectural practice is the ability to think, write and speak critically about the histories and theories that inform your design decisions. This unit helps you to develop a clear professional position and cultivate your own voice in architectural discourse. Through collaborative discussion and structured debate, you will engage with contemporary architectural challenges, drawing on architectural history and theory to ground your arguments. You will practise forming and defending positions, responding to critique and contributing to collective intellectual debate. You will also learn to communicate architectural thinking to both expert and non-expert audiences by experimenting with different modes of communication and criticism, and presenting your design ideas for competitions, awards and public consultation. This unit will equip you with the knowledge and skills to articulate and advocate for your architectural work and the wider profession.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Evaluate and interpret contemporary architectural works and publications, demonstrating an advanced understanding of the socio-political contexts that shape them.
- Communicate complex architectural ideas effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using a range of written, visual and verbal modes to advance architecture’s social and environmental value.
- Critically analyse contemporary architectural issues, including how the profession meaningfully engages Aboriginal and orres Strait Islander knowledges, by drawing on relevant historical, theoretical, and precedent-based knowledge to construct well-supported arguments.
- Formulate and defend clear architectural positions, drawing on independent evidence-based and scholarly research.
Content
In this unit, you will explore the following topics:
- Contemporary debates in architecture: key themes, tensions and emerging positions
- Methods for constructing architectural arguments
- Understanding and analysing architectural precedents
- Architecture and ethics: social responsibility and inclusion
You will engage with these topics through in-class debates and discussions, as well as critical reflection and independent research.
Learning Approaches
You will learn by following formal lectures on specific themes, observing discussions with authors and architects, and augmenting course-specific content with extended reading, viewing or encounters with architectural works (remotely, or through direct experience). Development of individual work in the course will be iteratively, though a series of exercises that build one upon the next from week to week. You will encounter course content asynchronously through pre-recorded content as well as in tutorial classes, which will focus on in-class writing exercises and group discussions. You will be expected to follow all content week by week and to spend time every week extending formal education with independent reading and research.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive feedback in a range of registers, including formative assessment, peer response, and informal discussion with tutors. You will participate in weekly tutorial discussions and prepare work for formal submission, assessment and feedback. Assessment 1 will test progress in the first half of the unit to inform progress towards your final assessment.
Assessment
Overview
The assessments in this unit will evaluate your ability to construct, communicate and defend evidence-based architectural arguments across different audiences and formats. Assessment 1 introduces you to public-facing architectural communication, requiring you to research and explain a contemporary architectural issue or work through clear and accessible language. Assessment 2 extends this work into a more rigorous discipline-facing context through a structured formal debate. Here you will develop a more advanced argument around a complex contemporary issue and defend this position amongst your peers using evidence-based research.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Public Facing Architectural Commentary - Video
You will develop a 2-3-minute video explaining a contemporary architectural work or issue, using clear argumentation and accessible language while still grounded in theoretical and historical understanding. You will support this with a 1500-word written summary that justifies and supports your position using evidence-based architectural history, theory and precedence.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Architectural Debate
You will respond to a provocation about a contemporary architectural issue and collaboratively work in small groups to research and develop your case. You will then present and defend your position and respond to critique from the opposing team during a live formal debate in class.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
The live debate component of this assessment task is NOT eligible for the 48-hour late submission period. However, the 2,000-word written argument summary 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.
Resources
Specific resources and materials will be shared through the unit Canvas site.
Risk Assessment Statement
This unit is based in QUT teaching spaces, and as such there are no out of the ordinary risks or hazards.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.DE83 Master of Architecture
- Research and integrate emergent knowledge, data, and digital tools to develop innovative, resilient, and regenerative architectural practices, including the application of circular economy and systems‑based design principles.
Relates to: Architectural Debate - Exercise critical, evaluative, and ethical judgment in architectural decision‑making using quantitative and qualitative evidence, including social, cultural, and life‑cycle and building performance data, to support responsible professional outcomes.
Relates to: Public Facing Architectural Commentary - Video , Architectural Debate - Communicate architectural ideas and outcomes effectively and respectfully across diverse audiences and disciplines, including clients, communities, and industry stakeholders, advancing architecture’s social and environmental value.
Relates to: Public Facing Architectural Commentary - Video , Architectural Debate - Demonstrate professional integrity and leadership in relation to Country, climate, and community wellbeing across all aspects of architectural design and documentation.
Relates to: Public Facing Architectural Commentary - Video