BLAR13052 - Spatial Design Theory and Application

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit provides a direct focus on spatial design theories and assessment tasks incorporating relevant spatial design activities. This will enable the development of independent thinking to inform the creative design skills that are essential to the building design profession. Theories of Environmental Perception, Environmental Psychology and Environment Behaviour Studies (EBS) are included in some depth; as are matters of human comfort and spatial design to facilitate climatic design strategies. Spatial design for effective circulation, disabled access and emergency egress is also covered. Teamwork is included to enable the exercise of critical judgement in collaborative team activities. You will develop initiative and accept responsibility in your creative design role tasks to address these spatial needs in residential, community, commercial and industrial buildings.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites Prerequisites: BLAR11045 and BLAR12036

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Online
Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Presentation and Written Assessment 30%
2. Presentation and Written Assessment 30%
3. Presentation and Written Assessment 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 3 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 8.33% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit Evaluation Survey
Feedback
Students found the video-recorded feedback on their assessment submission as the most meaningful feedback they have ever received at CQU.
Recommendation
Continue to provide meaningful and constructive feedback for students' assessment submissions.
Action Taken
The teaching team provided timely constructive feedback for students.
Source: Unit Evaluation Survey
Feedback
Students suggested that they need more support in the form of short design exercises for some components of Assessment 3 i.e. developing space adjacency matrix, bubble and schematic diagrams.
Recommendation
Ensure that students have the opportunity to show and receive feedback on the drawings and diagrams related to the concept design phase of Assessment 3.
Action Taken
The teaching team offered students sessions to obtain ongoing feedback prior to submitting drawings and design for Assessment 3.
Source: The lecturer's conversations with students in online Zoom sessions
Feedback
Students found case studies of community center buildings provided in the Moodle to be useful in completing Assessment 3.
Recommendation
The teaching team ensures that they provide case study buildings for students to support their creative design processes.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Integrate concepts of environmental perception, environmental psychology and Environment Behaviour Studies (EBS) in spatial design
  2. Assess human comfort needs and apply relevant design solutions for climatic conditions
  3. Evaluate circulation patterns within proposed spatial designs including disabled access and emergency egress
  4. Modify spatial design proposals for diverse cultural needs
  5. Analyse spatial needs and propose appropriate design solutions for large and complex buildings
  6. Participate effectively in team activities.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • •
2 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • •
3 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Communication • • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
8 - Ethical practice • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • • •
2 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • • • •
3 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • • • •