DESST 1505 - History Theory I

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2021

This course frames contemporary architecture, landscape architecture and urban design in the historical and theoretical contexts of previous design experience and debates. Focusing on key developments since the 20th century, the recent past is explored and explained in terms of its relevance to present issues and tendencies in design theory and practice. This course aims to develop and apply skills in critical reading and interpretation, including the establishment of an argument. Students will be exposed to a range of relevant criticism and scholarship employing different research methods. They will develop basic research skills and an understanding of academic writing conventions.

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Course Details

Course Code	DESST 1505
Course	History Theory I
Coordinating Unit	School of Architecture and Built Environment
Term	Semester 1
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Restrictions	Available to B.ArchDes & B.E(Arch) & B. Creative Arts students only
Quota	A quota will apply
Assessment	Quizzes, physical model making, digital models, hand drawing and digital drawing

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Peter Scriver

The tutors for History Theory I are listed below:

Dr. Namrata Vishwasrao (NV)

Madeline Nolan (MN)

Tim Siebert (TS)

Kenan Henderson (KH)

Peter Scriver (PS)

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Weekly activities are listed in the Synopsis.

Course Learning Outcomes

As a Level I Core Course in History and Theory, the course is designed to foster knowledge, understanding and skills that will assist the student with both future courses as well as professional design practice.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Identify important practitioners, projects and architectural movements of the last century.
Interpret & discuss the socio-cultural context of the 20th and 21st centuries within which these theoretical approaches to design have developed.
Compare & critique the various approaches to design in relation to their historical context.
Identify reliable and relevant sources of historical information for self-directed research.
Compose a critical argument and communicate this through clear and concise analytical texts.
Employ academic protocols in writing & referencing utilising established styles.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	3,4,5
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	5
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3,6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	2,3,5
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	3

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Course Reader:

DESST 1505 History Theory 1 School of Architecture and Built Environment*

This course will introduce you to a wide range of both current and classic textbooks that remain relevant and useful in studying the History and Theory of architecture, landscape architecture and urbanism in the modern era. For your convenience, however, a concise Course Reader has been prepared with selected readings and illustrations from some of these classic textbooks that will be the basis of the tutorial discussions and associated online submissions (Reading/Discussion Tasks) in the first half of the course.

All Adelaide-based students enrolled in the course, who are expected to be studying on campus this semester, should therefore purchase (at nominal cost) a hard copy of the Course Reader through the 'Online Shop'

https://shop.adelaide.edu.au/konakart/Welcome.actionLinks to an external site.

...and collect it, as instructed, from the Barr Smith Library. Please be sure to have your copy in hand by the time we begin the face-to-face tutorial sessions in the second week of the course.

(*PLEASE NOTE: The Reader is only listed generically in the Online Shop by the course name (as above). However it may also be referred to in this course by the actual title of this collection, Directions in Contemporary Design and 20th Century Modernism, which appears on the title page (inside the generic Reader cover).

Overseas and Remote students who will be studying this course exclusively online this semester (and are therefore unable to collect a hard-copy of the Reader) are requested to contact the course coordinator directly by e-mail for alternative instructions about the assigned readings and how you will be able to access these online.

Additional Textbook:

Weekly readings form the Course Reader will be supplemented with additional selections from the following relatively more recent critical survey of contemporary architectural history:

The History of Architecture 1905-2008

by Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi

Copyright Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi. Creative commons licence: the text may be copied in whole or in part under the condition that the source is quoted, that no content is altered and that material is not used for paid products. The official version, the model and sole version controlled and recognised as the original by the author is available at the following link:
http://presstletter.com/2013/07/storia-dellarchitettura-1905-2008-testo-completo-di-lpp/ (Links to an external site.)

As you will see, this is just the text of the complete book (i.e. un-illustrated) that the author has made downloadable in pdf format, free of charge to students. This is all that you are required to read.

However, you may wish to consider investing in the most recent illustrated paperback edition of the same book -- Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi, The History of Architecture: From the Avant-Garde Towards the Present, (DOM, 2019) -- to begin building your own personal architectural library. Copies are currently available (Feb 2021) through various Australian online bookstores with just 10--15 days delivery time).

Recommended Resources

How Architects Write
by: Tom Spector and Rebecca Damron (Routledge, 2013)
This is a wide-ranging guide to the ways that arhcitects write thorugh both text and drawing, that will be useful for the assignment work in this course, and also worth acquiring for your library.

The Elements of Modern Architecture, 2nd edition
by: Antony Radford, Selen Morkoc, and Amit Srivastava (Thames & Hudson, 2020)
Written and produced by staff and students of our own school, this is one of the most widely published and critically respected books in print today that offer a sophisticated graphic analysis of the design theory and form of iconic examples of modern and contemporary architecture from around the world. It would be well-worth investing in for you library, and will be directly applicable to major essay assignment, as well as later courses in first and second year.

Drawing tools & materials
Certain drawing tasks related to this course will require you to have access to drawing equipment and materials. You should have already obtained these for your Design Studio and Representation 1 courses, and can continue to use the same.

Online Learning

University Email:
The school uses the University email system to get in touch with the students. So it is imperative that you check your email regularly and keep up to date with any new announcements.

MyUni:
MyUni is an essential online tool which will be used to communicate information regarding the course including details of assignments and interim grades. Therefore it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the various functions of MyUni and employ it to its fullest extent.
https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au

Discussion Board:
The MyUni Discussion Board may be used directly for some assessment tasks. It may alos be used to interact with other students and tutors and is an essential tool to discuss information and increase your understanding of issues.

Lecture Recording:
Lectures will always be viewable online, and will usually be delivered 'live' at the scheduled lecture times. Efforts will also be made to record all lectures, and these recoidings will be made available in electronic format through the MyUni system for students to review on their own time and make notes. However, please note that while these audio recordings are a useful resource, they should not be considered as replacement for regular lecture attendance. Some lecture sessions may be delivered on Zoom and will attempt to be as interactive as the medium permits. Furthermore, technical issues cause delays in the availability of recordings which might affect your ability to complete ongoing tasks, not to mention technical failures which might result in certain recordings being unavailable.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Weekly course contact will consist of two lectures as well as a small-group tutorial session, substituted by supplementary skill-development workshops in some weeks. (See 'Synopsis' on MyUni for a concise week to week overview of all course activities and assignment submission dates over the semester.)

Assessment consists of compulsory participation in live and online tutorial discussions based on assigned readings, an online visual quiz, and an essay engaging both written and graphic skills of analysis and communication.

Coursework relies equally on pre-class preparation, during class engagement, and post class extension. It is structured in this way to enhance the student-learning value and efficiency of limited contact time with lecturers and tutors. As a student, you are therefore expected to complete the pre-class reading and writing tasks before the weekly lectures and tutorials.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University expects full-time students (ie. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote at least 48 hours per week to their studies. Accordingly, students undertaking this 3 unit course are expected to devote 12 hours per week to contact activities and self-guided studies.

Based on this framework here are some figures that might assist workload management:

Total workload hours: 12 Hrs per week x 13 weeks = 156 Hrs
Total contact hours: 3 Hrs per week x 12 weeks = 36 Hrs
Total self-guided study: 156 Hrs – 36 Hrs = 120 Hrs

These 120 hours should be used towards preparation of weekly tasks and for completion of the various assignments associated with the course, including development of various skills required to complete the same. Please organise your time wisely.

Learning Activities Summary

SYNOPSIS of Lectures, Tutorials, and Submissions
W Lectures (2hrs/wk) Thursdays 9:00-11:00am, online
Tutorials (1 hr/wk) Thursdays

W1 Introduction to History Theory 1
From ‘Tree’ to ‘Tapestry’: Some ‘Modern’ theories of the History of Architecture
A Model of Modernity?: The Flatiron Building (ca. 1901)
*No tutorials this week

W2 Mechanisation in Design Thinking
Form & Function:
From the Chicago School to the Bauhaus

W3 Process & Method:
Form, Craft and Fordism
Other traditions in Modernism:
Organicism, Transcendentalism, Expressionism and the ‘Spirit of the Modern Age’

W4 Ideology and Power:
From ‘Total Design’ to Totalitarianism, 1917-1933
Reactions to Radicalism: Fascist and Stalinist design, 1933-47

W5 Modernism and Internationalism in the twilight of the European colonial Empires
Individualism vs. Universalism in the Modern Movement

W6 Formalisms and affinities between Modern Art and Modern Architecture
New forms & metaphors in ‘post-war’ modernism

Teaching break: No contact

W7 Slide Test
(to be taken during lecture session) peer assessment & discussion

W8 Postmodernism (1): The Critical Turn
Introduction to Major Essay Assignment

W9 Workshop on Essay Planning Structure and logical progression
(Guest Facilitator: Michael Lazarou)
Reading a contemporary architectural work critically through the lenses of Theory and History
(Guest lecturer: Athanasios Lazarou)

W10 Architecture in Europe and America after 1968
Postmodernism (2): The Cultural Turn

W11 Tendencies in the Architecture of the ‘Global-South’ Since 1973
Deconstruction & Reconstruction in the 90s

W12 Postmodernism (3): The Emotional Turn
Memory, Spirit and Invention In the early 21st century

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

The assessment detail is summarised in the synopsis and will be posted in MyUni.

Assessment Detail

Details of various assessment tasks and assignments are available from MyUni through the Assignments & Tasks Section.

Marking & Feedback (General)
• Final results for the course will only be available through Access Adelaide and students SHOULD NOT contact the course coordinator or the tutors for the same.
• Most assignments will be marked within 3 weeks of the submission and the interim grades will be made available through the My Grades system. Students are expected to inform the Course Coordinator if there are any errors with the marks entered on the system.
• The best examples of student Journals will be included in the All-In Exhibition to be held in mid of June alongside the best works from other courses and year levels.
• The student with best overall grade for the course will receive the David A.L Saunders Prize for History and Theories of Architecture, including a monetary prize & certification on transcript.

Submission

Submissions (General):
- All submissions must include Student Name and Student ID Number.
Submissions without both Student Name and ID Number will not be considered for marking, and will receive zero marks as per guidelines.
- Please adhere to submission deadlines and follow instructions provided.
- Students must not submit work for an assignment that has previously been submitted for this course or any other course without prior approval from the Course Coordinator.
- On occasion, the lecturer/tutor may wish to retain students’ work for future reference and the relevant student will be informed at such a time.

Late Submission:
- The school will NOT accept late submissions and any such assignment will receive zero marks. This also applies to electronic submissions.
- Printing delays & hard disk crashes will not be entertained as legitimate causes for delay, so please ensure that the work is finished in advance.

Re-submission:
- Since the course already provides alternative assessment options for students to make up lost marks, the resubmission policy does not apply to any of the submissions in this course.

Good practice:
- Students should ensure that they regularly backup their work on multiple locations as hard-disk crashes are an unfortunate reality.
- When relying on community printing/scanning facilities, students should attempt to finish their work in advance to avoid unnecessary delays.
- Students must retain a copy of all assignments submitted (digital or hardcopy), as originals may be lost during the submission process.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
A register of suspected plagiarism incidents is maintained within the School and at the Faculty level.

A plagiarist is one who takes the ideas, designs or writings of others, with or without permission, and passes them off as his or her own. Plagiarism includes among other things any copying of all or part of another student’s essay, examination answer or design, or of text or an illustration from a published or unpublished book, website, article or paper, (etc.) without acknowledging the source. It also includes copying architectural, landscape and other design drawings, regardless of how they were obtained. In effect plagiarism is theft of intellectual property, and students should be aware of the consequences of using unacknowledged work of others (including the work of other students), whether that work is text or graphics, or copied from hard copy or from electronic sources such as web sites. The School and the University regard academic dishonesty as a very serious offence. If it is determined that there are no extenuating circumstances within an occurrence of plagiarism it may lead to a student receiving zero marks for a course, without the option of a resubmission.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator