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The Domestic: Exploring through design those things both familiar and unfamiliar in our understanding of home, family, privacy, identity, and community. Examines both the most intimate and the most exposed aspects of dwelling. Emphasises the role of precedent in design and addresses scales ranging from the room to the block.

The Constructed: An introduction to architectural practice as a complex and collaborative enterprise. Offers the opportunity to explore materials, construction, fabrication processes, and detailing, through making. Requires students to understand the full range of drawings required to move from design concept to actual construction.

Explores the relationship between methods of architectural drawing and the three-dimensional communication of fabrication and assemblage. Central to this investigation is an understanding of how drawing is evolving in relation to new technologies.

Examines architectural and urban history and theory from the postmodern to the recent and contemporary.

Development of structural and construction principles and systems for small-scale and residential buildings. Characteristics and behaviour of common building materials. Building components and detailing. Outline of building codes, health and safety regulations and site operations. Active building services and technologies for residential housing, including heating, cooling, ventilation, water, waste, electrical services and vertical transportation. Application to design studio projects.

Climate, context and energy consideration in buildings. Heat transfer and energy balances. Thermal comfort through passive solar systems, materials and building services in small-scale and residential buildings. Integrating renewable energy sources in building design. Indoor air quality and natural ventilation. Air-tightness and moisture control. Daylight performance of buildings and visual comfort. Behaviour of sound and noise and their control for human comfort.

A critical understanding of urban social theory, social justice, social equity, gender issues, social diversity and equality, and who has rights to the city. Housing policies, markets, practices, and their relationship with urban sustainability, including transportation planning responses to social dislocation. Provides the ability to understand and undertake Social Impacts Assessments relevant for urban planning.

A critical understanding of the principles of urban land use economics, how property markets work and how properties are developed, valued and financed, as well as how urban planning strategies can facilitate, or impede, efficient property markets.

A critical understanding of the concepts and principles relevant to urban planning legislation, practice and decision-making, including the Resource Management Act 1991, Local Government Act 2002, Land Transport Management Act 2003, Climate Change Response Act 2019 and Urban Development Authority Act 2020.

Explores the social, economic and consultation and design and report writing skills, factors and tools required to undertake a medium scale re-generation community development project. Studio-based design provides prevention strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of social dislocation of existing communities and urban gentrification.

Enables students to undertake a detailed and in-depth consideration of a contemporary wicked problem currently or potentially challenging urban planning practice through a studio-based design exercise leading to a design solution. Potential wicked problems include the impact of climate change on urban form and communities or the challenges of creating resilient and sustainable communities in light of significant urban growth pressures.