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Unit Synopsis
This unit builds upon students' knowledge of the foundational principles of human and built-environment relationships. Through exploring theories and principles of environmental psychology and social design, students develop critical knowledge of the symbiotic relationships between human and the physical surroundings and the importance of human-focused, inclusive, socially and culturally relevant and empathetic, and environmentally sustainable design solutions. Online studio-based activities, series of case study analysis, and spatial design exercises support student to develop skills in spatial design research methods and to critically evaluate design solutions that go beyond merely addressing basic functionality to include the concerns for improved quality of human life, equality, social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Through engaging in project-based learning, students develop creative design and visual communication skills and design spaces that promote human health, well-being, and a sense of community and belonging.
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: BLAR12036 AND (BLAR11045 OR ENEG11005) 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 - 2026
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).
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 |
Part Weighting
(% of assessment) |
Assessment Security Level | Gen AI Guidance Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Assessment 1 ( 40% of unit • 1 part ) | |||
|
Part 1
– Portfolio
|
100% of 40% | Medium | AI-Assisted (Guided Collaboration) |
| 2. Assessment 2 ( 15% of unit • 1 part ) | |||
|
Part 1
– Presentation
|
100% of 15% | Medium | AI-Assisted (Guided Collaboration) |
| 3. Assessment 3 ( 45% of unit • 2 parts ) | |||
|
Part 1
– Reflective Practice Assignment
|
70% of 45% | High | No Gen AI Use |
|
Part 2
– Presentation
|
30% of 45% | Medium | AI-Assisted (Guided Collaboration) |
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
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: The lecturer's conversations with students in online Zoom sessions
Students found case studies of community center buildings provided in the Moodle to be useful in completing Assessment 3.
The teaching team ensures that they provide case study buildings for students to support their creative design processes.
In 2024 offering, a Zoom session was dedicated to review case studies of community centers.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation Survey
There was a suggestion that the teamwork component is Assessment 2 to be replaced with an emphasis on participation in the online design critique sessions of online forums.
Review the strategies to further support online design critiques and peer-to-peer feedback on design tasks.
In Progress
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation Survey
There was a comment about the lecturer being insightful and offering interesting discussion making students to contemplate each new public space they enter.
Continue to engage students in discussion about emerging studies and research in Human-Environment relationships.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain and analyse fundamental principles and theories of human-environment relationships
- Apply spatial design research methods to evaluate design solutions for their impacts on community and human behaviours and experiences
- Propose spatial design solutions that are human-focused and culturally relevant
- Design built environments that are socially responsible and environmentally sustainable
- Demonstrate professional practice skills in creative use of visual presentation tools to communicate design ideas
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|
1.
Assessment 1
Part 1 -
Portfolio
|
• | ||||
|
2.
Assessment 2
Part 1 -
Presentation
|
• | • | • | • | |
|
3.
Assessment 3
Part 1 -
Reflective Practice Assignment
Part 2 -
Presentation
|
• | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | ||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |