Architecture is an act of interpretation. This might emerge through direct experience or through representation in another form, whether visual, oral or literary. Representations of architecture both construct its meaning and are fundamental to the processes of its design. A completed work of architecture brings together the different concerns, which have informed its development and translates them into a coherent spatial and material whole.
This module provides you with a historical, theoretical and practical introduction to cross-disciplinary techniques and examples of architectural representation. It asks you to complete an architectural design project and introduces the idea that a successful proposition manifests the complex and imaginative inter-relationships between physical, environmental, social and cultural factors. It asks you to consider how some of these interrelationships are interpreted within your own project, through the appropriate employment of a range of techniques of representation, across two and three dimensions.
The aims of this module are:
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
The module has two supportive/contextual based elements (Coursework) and one design based element (Design Portfolio). The Coursework and the Design Portfolio parts of the course are taught in relation to each other through a combination of studio based projects, lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops and study visits.
The School employs various learning technologies to support the teaching and learning strategies. Canvas is used to support teaching and learning in all modules, and other aspects of the courses and School as a whole. It is used at a modular level as a repository for all module documentation, such as the module guide, briefs, lecture handouts, support material, and links to web-resources. It is also used for tutorial and workshop sign-up lists and discussion forums where appropriate. Students should check this site on a daily basis.
All courses based in the Kingston School of Art offer students free access to the online video tutorial platform Lynda.com. This provides a wide range of subjects to choose from, many with downloadable exercise files, including software tutorials covering photography, graphics, web design, audio and music, CAD and Microsoft Office software, as well as courses on Business and Management skills. Some of these are embedded in the curriculum and offer additional self-paced learning, others may be taken at will by students wishing to broaden their employability skills in other areas.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Studio-based projects, lectures, workshops, study visits, tutorials, seminars. | 75 |
| Guided independent study | 225 | |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 | |
Assessment for this module has three elements of assessment. The Coursework consists of two assessed elements and these are 'Coursework Assessment 1' and 'Coursework Assessment 2'. The 'Design Portfolio' is a separate element and is synoptically assessed across all 4 modules.
Within the Coursework elements, feedback/feed forward is given in different forms depending on the nature of the work. However all will offer the opportunity for at least one group or individual tutorial and formal written feedback following submission, within the prescribed timescale.
Within the Design Portfolio elements ie. in Studio the following strategies for feedback/feed forward apply:
Coursework Assessments (50% in total):
The Coursework consists of two elements and these are 'Coursework Assessment 1' and 'Coursework Assessment 2' which are reflected in Learning Outcomes 1-3. The 'Coursework Assessment 1' element on this module is an A1 site drawing (10%). The 'Coursework Assessment 2' element on this module is a collection of individual practical tasks in architectural 2D and 3D representation. A typical example of this element may include a site plan, and interior and exterior perspective of a building and its context (40%).
Design Portfolio (50%):
The assessment for the Design Portfolio element of this module is a portfolio of work demonstrating a resolved design which integrates the various physical and social contexts within which they are situated. A typical example of this element may include two and three dimensional drawings and/or a physical model of the design project. This is reflected in Learning Outcomes 4-6.
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| 1) Demonstrate a knowledge of both historical and contemporary landscape interpretations, across a range of media; | Coursework Assessments (site drawing and practical tasks in architectural representation) |
| 2) Demonstrate a level of skill in a range of manual, two dimensional techniques of representation, including conventional, scaled orthographic drawing; | Coursework Assessments (site drawing and practical tasks in architectural representation). |
| 3) Demonstrate a level of skill in a range of spatial and material model making techniques; | Coursework Assessments (site drawing and practical tasks in architectural representation). |
| 4) Produce an architectural design proposal which begins to address issues of context, programme, space, form, material, time, experience and inhabitation; | Design Portfolio. |
| 5) Communicate some of the key ideas which have defined a design proposal through written and visual material; | Design Portfolio. |
| 6) Represent an architectural design proposal through an appropriate range of two and three dimensional media. | Design Portfolio. |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework Assessment 1 (A1 site drawing) | Coursework | 10% |
| Coursework Assessment 2 (collection of practical assignments in architectural representation) | Coursework | 40% |
| Design portfolio | Coursework | 50% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It is a requirement that the elements of assessment for Coursework are passed on aggregate and it is a requirement that the element of assessment for the Design Portfolio is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
Ching, F.D.K., 2002. Architectural Graphics, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons
Bielefeld, B., Skiba, I., 2007. Basics. Technical Drawing, Basel: Birkhäuser
Zell, M., 2008. The Architectural Drawing Course, London: Thames & Hudson
Schilling, A., 2007. Basics. Modelbuildings, Basel: Birkhäuser
Deplazes, A., 2008. Constructing Architecture: Material Processes Structures, Basel: Birkhäuser
Farelly, L., 2008. Representational Techniques. Worthing: Ava Publishing
Pallasmaa, J, 2011. The Embodied Image. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons
Berger, J., 1977. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
Recommended website:
Studios will provide specific recommended reading lists relevant to each project.