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Module

ARC1017 : Architectural Representation 1

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Mr Simon Hacker
  • Owning School: Architecture, Planning & Landscape
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 10
ECTS Credits: 5.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

The Module aims to introduce a range of common architectural communication methods and media, encouraging students to practice and engage with these in order to be able to clearly and effectively represent existing objects, spaces and places. As familiarity and confidence grows, students are encouraged to apply these same methods and techniques to the representation of their on-going ARC1001 studio projects – as such the module introduces and adresses one of the key architectural professional requirements (i.e. ARB General Attribute 1.2).

Throughout the module, students are encouraged to make a careful and critical observation of the world around them, and to especially consider how and why architects (as well as other design and construction professionals) commonly represent this complex lived 3-D ‘reality’ using various, and often abstract, 2-D representations.

Outline Of Syllabus

Throughout the module a variety of Architectural Representation theory, practices and skills are introduced and developed using various discreet Tasks, each with its own brief. These tasks build in scale and complexity, but all share similar iterative working patterns and seek to be directly applicable to both the exploration and development of design ideas and alternatives (i.e. architectural process) as well as the visual representation of design propositions to others (i.e. architectural presentation).

The sylabus encompasses:
• Quantitative representation methods and techniques – enabling the accurate measuring, description and representation of objects, people, spaces and buildings, these are associated with the production of scale drawings.
• Qualitative representation methods and techniques – used to communicate atmospheres, sensorial and expressive characteristics. These can include photography, sketching, painting, observational drawing, collage and model-photography.

The scope of the module is essentially focussed on hand-drawn or hand-production methods together with photographic representation. Physical architectural model-making is introduced and developed in the ARC1001 Architectural Design module, whilst ‘digital’ representation skills are considered in the Semester 2 ARC1018 Digital Representation module.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion135:0035:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture32:006:00Introduction of theory, core material and sign-posting
Structured Guided LearningAcademic skills activities12:002:00These take the form of 20 minute videos - provided to support assessment-related skills development and practice, these introduce the final synthesised task and include real-time demonstrations of key skills by an instructor.
Structured Guided LearningAcademic skills activities32:006:00These take the form of 20 minute videos - provided to support skills development and practice, these introduce the tasks and inlcude real-time demonstrations of the task by an instructor.
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching100:244:00Students bring 'independent study' work to weekly studio tutorials. Tutors review the outputs and provide specific feedback, often in the form of one-to-one discussions with the student, but also encouraging peer-review, comment and suggestions
Guided Independent StudySkills practice135:0035:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesWorkshops32:006:00On-line workshops that build directly on the material introduced in the lectures and allow for specialist demonstration of techniques, principles and methods. Students are encouraged to work and practice these in real-time during the workshops.
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesFieldwork32:006:00These specialist-led sessions vary but typically take the form of city-walks that include practical demonstrations, skill tuition and workshop elements.
Total100:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

ARC1017 closely supports the ARC1001 design module by providing an introduction to a wide range of design project-related representation modes, techniques and principles.

Much of the core learning material and sign-posting is delivered in joint ARC1017/ARC1001 lectures in the first half of the Semester. The ARC1017 material is then developed, discussed and trialled by students in follow-on on-line workshops. Short videos are produced that introduce each of the discrete tasks and also show the task being undertaken in real-time by the instructor. Students then bring their own work from the workshops and work produced in response to the videos, and pin this in the studios each week. Tutors then take time in the weekly studio tutorials to review the outputs and provide specific feedback, often in the form of one-to-one discussions with the student, but also encouraging peer-review, comment and suggestions. Photos of the on-going Task process work are then presented in the following week’s lecture and used to provide additional ‘general’ feedback.

The complexity of the Tasks builds throughout the Semester, which concludes with a final ‘synthesised’ Task, encompassing the recording of a chosen space together with its representation using both 2D and 3D methods and techniques.

Delivering, presenting and discussing the ARC1017 tasks alongside the on-going ARC1001 Architectural Design lecture material, workshops and studio design projects reinforces the symbiosis between the modules and, in addition to planned points of convergence, allows for many impromptu connections to be found, made and understood.

In addition tyo the above, various professionally-led sessions and workshops are organised. These might typically include Artist-run City Drawing and Exhibition sessions and Photographer-led Model Photography and City Photography Workshops.

The Tasks, along with the specialist session outputs are gathered together and presented in a digital booklet which is submitted at the end of the Semester.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Portfolio1M100A digital booklet containing examples of all Semester 1 representation methods and tasks. Marked as Pass/Fail.
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment is pass/fail and the key component of this is the final ‘synthesised’ task. Other Tasks and specialist-taught outputs, are required to be included in the assessment (thus demonstrating the students process and engagement with the module) but are not specifically marked. In addition to the final Task, a short written summary is also marked and allows students to more fully and specifically document their learning process and progress. The design of the final digital booklet enables students to develop skills in document-based communication.

Reading Lists

Timetable