URBPLAN 708 : Urban Design Studio

Creative Arts and Industries

2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

The principles and concepts of urban design and their application in urban planning practice.

Course Overview

This course provides an introduction to principles, methods and techniques of urban design. It aims to link the theoretical issues related to urban form with the practice of urban design. Multidisciplinary research on urban form, as a representation of power, knowledge, culture and society within and beyond urban communities, is essential for preparing urban design guidelines and proposals. While the primary focus will be on the physical and visual aspects of the city, the course will devote time to critical discussion of the major contemporary contexts of urbanism as well as of projects that develop and implement their theoretical positions. Through the application of various analytical tools to Auckland’s central waterfront, students will develop skills fundamental to carrying out projects concerned with physical planning and urban design. 

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 5: Solution Seeking

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Have acquired a visual and verbal design vocabulary which allows more articulate description and discussion of design issues (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3)
  2. Have learned the analytical tools and techniques necessary to develop design proposals and assess the implications of design decisions (Capability 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3)
  3. Have developed a greater awareness of the principles and methods of urban landscape management and urban design (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Reports 35% Individual Coursework
Presentation 10% Individual Coursework
Project 35% Group & Individual Coursework
Presentation 10% Individual Coursework
Reflection 10% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3
Reports
Presentation
Project
Presentation
Reflection

Teaching & Learning Methods

Teaching & Learning Methods. The course will be structured around two interrelated themes: the analytical methods used to study the urban landscape and the graphic techniques needed for urban design. The class will be divided into lectures and skill-development sessions. Lectures will introduce theories and analytical tools related to urban form in the context of contemporary culture and society. Skill-development sessions will provide an introduction to manual and digital graphic techniques, and the vocabulary of urban architecture. Class reviews and studio consultations of design projects will help students to learn and exercise the basic graphic language of recording, communicating and representing ideas in urban form analysis and urban design. 

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 20 hours of lectures, 20 hours tutorials, 20 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 90 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including tutorials/studios to complete/receive credit for components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including seminars/tutorials/studios will be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events including group discussions/tutorials.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

More support will be provided in the use of computer visualisation tools. More up-to-date urban design theory and practice will be introduced. 

Other Information

Extensions of Time

Late submissions will be considered on medical and special grounds, and when the application is made according to the procedure below. Coursework not received by the due date, and for which no extension of time has been approved, will receive the grade ‘DNC’ (Did Not Complete).

Requests for extensions of time must be submitted and approved before the due date unless there are exceptional circumstances. Students applying for an extension of time must obtain an Extension of Time Form for Coursework Submission on Canvas and complete the required details.

Pass requirements

To pass the course, students are required to submit all coursework; and a student needs to achieve a minimum of 50%.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 20/11/2023 10:38 a.m.