ARCH 7020 - Professional Practice (M)

North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

This course examines practice management and project management in the built environment professions, particularly architecture and landscape architecture. Topics in practice management include: ethical practice; the character and operation of practices; legal requirements; cash flow and profitability; running a business; professional memberships and registration; risk and professional liability; and personal career planning. Topics in project management include: project stages; procurement and feasibility; statutory requirements; management of time, cost and quality; and contracts and contract administration in private and public realms. Alternative and innovative pathways through the profession are also considered.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ARCH 7020
    Course Professional Practice (M)
    Coordinating Unit School of Architecture and Built Environment
    Term Semester 1
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Corequisites ARCH 7019 or LARCH 7019
    Incompatible ARCH 7014 or LARCH 7014
    Restrictions Available to M Arch (Cswk) and M L Arch students only
    Course Description This course examines practice management and project management in the built environment professions, particularly architecture and landscape architecture. Topics in practice management include: ethical practice; the character and operation of practices; legal requirements; cash flow and profitability; running a business; professional memberships and registration; risk and professional liability; and personal career planning. Topics in project management include: project stages; procurement and feasibility; statutory requirements; management of time, cost and quality; and contracts and contract administration in private and public realms. Alternative and innovative pathways through the profession are also considered.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Teodoro Verbi

    Name Role Building/Room Email
    Teo Verbi Coordinator Off campus teodoro.verbi@adelaide.edu.au
    Craig Lovering Lecturer/Tutor Off campus craig.lovering@adelaide.edu.au

    Contact Protocol: EMAIL ONLY
    Course Timetable

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

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    Knowledge and understanding:
    This course is designed to provide an insight into a number of topics relevant to graduate employment, professional conduct and the practice of architecture and landscape architecture.

    Lectures, tutorials and assignments are designed to encourage an awareness and basic knowledge of the nature of design practice, business and professional roles, organisational frameworks, management and legal procedures, business and project-based activities, in order to further develop and apply this knowledge in graduates early working lives.

    Skills:
    The continuing development of good professional, inter-personal and communication skills is widely recognised as important for all graduates, plus:
    1 Develop a basic understanding of the scope of professional practice
    2 Understand the building procurement process
    3 Acquired knowledge and skills sufficient for early stages of directed activity in an existing design practice, including the ability to design and document projects
    4 Developed intellectual and creative approaches and adaptability to form a basis for continued learning and development throughout professional life
    5 Communicating – the communication and documentation of designs for presentation to clients and other stakeholders, and for construction; the preparation of professional reports
    6 Managing – the management and operation of a design practice
    7 Professional ethics, environmental sustainability, cultural, social, economic responsibilities of the design professions
    8 The recognition of the contribution of the design professions to society
    University Graduate Attributes

    No information currently available.

  • Learning Resources
    Recommended Resources
    Australian Institute of Architects www.architecture.com.au
    Australian Institute of Landscape Architects www.aila.org.au

    Speaker Series:
    The School has a fortnightly lecture series where respected practitioners and academics from the field deliver a public lecture on contemporary architectural practice. In order to expand your knowledge of contemporary directions in design it is recommended that you attend these sessions. The sessions are scheduled for Tuesday 6pm at the Horace Lamb Lecture Theatre, and the exact detail of dates and speakers is available from the School website and the Front Office.

    Academic Support:
    The Professions Learning Centre (PLC) provides postgraduate coursework students of the Faculty of Professions free academic skills advice on critical analysis and structuring assignments, paraphrasing, referencing, oral presentation skills and other skills to assist with success at university. You are encouraged to take advantage of the service to enable you to improve your performance in your studies. To contact a Learning Advisor please send an email to professions.learningcentre@adelaide.edu.au.
    Online Learning
    All course communication via MyUni. Please check your course MyUni account regularly as all important Course-related announcements will be communicated via this means.

    Consultation will only be available during tutorials.

    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.

    Noticeboard/Handbook
    General information about the activities at the School is available online from the Student Noticeboard. Students can also access a copy of the Student Handbook on-line.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    Students in this course are expected to attend all lectures throughout the semester plus one tutorial class each week.

    Classes will be held weekly. Tutorial groups are listed with the course timetable. There is only one tutorial session and all students are expected to participate.

    Tutorials are an important component of your learning in this course. The communication skills developed in tutorials by regularly and actively participating in discussions are considered to be most important by the School and are highly regarded by employers and professional bodies.

    See timetable above.
    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 studying.

    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

    Lecture schedule

    Week Topic Lecture
    1 Introduction Starting out in design practice - a career or a calling?
    2 Teams Establishing your team, team structure and team rules
    3 Agreements Client proposals & agreements
    4 Return briefs Developing a brief
    5 Programming Project planning
    6 Cost Cost planning
    7 Procurement Tendering
    8 Contracts Building contracts
    9 Administration Contract administration
    10 Starting a design practice Preparing a business plan
    11 Employment Law Employment
    12 Collaboration Collaboration
  • Assessment

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

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

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task
    Task Type
    Weighting Due Learning Outcomes
    Create a CV Individual 20% 13 March 5
    Fee proposal Individual 10% 27 March 1, 2, 3
    Fee agreement Individual 10% 10 April 1, 2, 3, 5
    Building contract Individual 10% 8 May 1, 2, 3, 5
    Business plan Group 30% 29 May 4, 6, 7, 8
    Attendance Individual 10%
    Assessment Detail
    Tutorial Participation & Engagement
    Assessment: 10%
    This grade is obtained through satisfactory attendance and engagement (but note, NOT ATTENDANCE ONLY) with the learning environment at all scheduled lectures and tutorials. Engagement will be assessed by the course co-ordinator. (Absences without a Medical, Compassionate or Extenuating Circumstances Application submitted and approved within 1 week of the absence or as soon as students can reasonably submit them, bearing in mind the constraints of their illness, will result in a record of Absent.)

    Assignment 1 (individual submission)
    Title: CV
    Assessment: 20%
    Due Date: At the end of the tutorials on 13 March
    Summary: Develop a CV including a letter of introduction to a prospective employer.
    Assessment Criteria: This assignment will be assessed on structure, content, style and presentation.

    Assignment 2 (individual submission)
    Title: Client Proposal
    Assessment: 10%
    Due: At the end of the tutorials on 27 March
    Summary: Write a fee proposal based on a project (to be advised) as context.
    Assessment: This assignment will be assessed on structure, content, style, presentation and research.

    Assignment 3 (individual submission)
    Title: Client Agreement
    Assessment: 10%
    Due Date: At the end of the tutorials on 10 April
    Summary: Prepare the client agreement based on the fee proposal prepared in Assignment 2 as context.
    Assessment: This assignment will be assessed on structure, content, style, presentation and research.

    Assignment 4 (individual submission)
    Title: Building Contract
    Assessment: 20%
    Due Date: At the end of the tutorials on 8 May
    Summary: Prepare a building contract based on the project provided in Assignment 1 as context.
    Assessment Criteria: This assignment will be assessed on structure, content, style, presentation and knowledge.

    Assignment 5 (group submission)
    Title: Business Plan
    Assessment: 30%
    Due Date: At the tutorials on 29 May
    Summary: Now that you have successfully completed your very first project, develop a business plan for your new design studio. Form groups of say 4 with at least one member from the opposite discipline.
    Assessment Criteria: This assignment will be assessed on structure, content, style, presentation and research.

    Due to the current COVID-19 situation modified arrangements have been made to assessments to facilitate remote learning and teaching. Assessment details provided here reflect recent updates.

    Assessment has not changed but is now online
    Submission
    See previous sections above for submission details.
    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
  • 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.