Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2012

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

This unit is a core unit that consolidates the information introduced in the previous semesters. It specifically addresses the issues relevant to the interior designer in practice and challenges you to deal with complex situations in an informed and critical manner. In this unit, your understanding of, proficiency and attitudes towards aspects highlighted in the earlier units should have developed to a competent standard by the end of the semester. New or more advanced concepts and issues introduced in this unit require you to demonstrate at least a basic understanding, proficiency and appreciation of them.

Aims

This unit enables you to apply your developing skills and knowledge; refine your design methods to undertake an informed and explorative design process; practice tackling problems that are ambiguous, ill-defined, and thereby, represent 'real-life' situations. You will also be given the opportunity to competently and innovatively tackle issues relevant to the contemporary and future world and develop a deeper understanding of specialised interior design environments.

Objectives

On completion of this unit you should be able to:

1. apply an understanding of key ethical and social issues relevant to specialised interior environments to the creation of socially sensitive and responsive environments for select user groups and community needs
   
2. demonstrate effective approaches to designing within a complex design context supported by an appropriate philosophical basis
   
3. approach and resolve a design problem holistically through the application of an appropriate design process from concept development, brief development, planning, through to three dimensional resolution

Content

This unit builds on the content and practices introduced in the previous units. In particular, it provides the opportunity to reconsider these principles when applied to more complex situations.
This unit will run as a semi-directed design studio examining aspects of the designed interior and advance upon fundamental theoretical concepts that relate to contemporary interior practice. You will be developing and advancing philosophical theory in contemporary design culture and exploring emergent ideas on modelling in both real and virtual environments. Areas covered will include:

• Specialised interior spaces


• Social, cultural, and environmental issues and their relationship to interior environments


• Design research and methodology


• Communication - verbal, written and graphic


• Research, practice, and interior design


• Ambiguous complex problems within interior design contexts

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Teaching Mode: Hours per week: 4
Lecture: 1
Studio/Tutorial: 3

Learning Approaches
The unit will involve you in lectures, tutorials, site visits and studio exercises. These activities will assist in the promotion of your learning and will include representing and testing of ideas and proposals for projects. The exercises and the involvement of you in practical exercises will encourage the integration of theory and practice.

DTB601 will have several tutor led themes each with a different focus, rather than everyone undertaking the same design problem. You will elect to join a theme and explore the ideas promoted. The unit will involve some lectures, seminars and tutorials. A particular emphasis will be placed upon fostering critical reflection and debate in the studio tutorials stemming from set readings and papers presented through each sub-theme.

Assessment

Assessment will be based on the projects introduced within a studio context. Individual projects will be assessed independently but will contribute to the final grade of the unit.

The overall aim of the assessment pattern is to foster design skills by acquiring knowledge of past practices and understandings of philosophy and theory, well as developing imaginative capacities in regard to interior design.
There will be three different projects undertaken throughout the semester. Assessment criteria and grading standards will be established at the beginning of the project with provision for your comment. The criteria will be circulated as part of the project information and you will be encouraged to use the assessment criteria as constraints for testing your ideas. Each will be allocated a weighting according to project and unit learning outcomes.Studio will be formative in the sense that you will be provided with ongoing feedback in through the studio activities incorporating identification of strengths and weaknesses and suggestions for further consideration.

Assessment name: Model
Description: Visual representation of theory applied through physical means
Relates to objectives: 1
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Early Semester

Assessment name: Design
Description: 2D representation
Relates to objectives: 2
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid Semester

Assessment name: Design & Simulation
Description: 3D digital representation
Relates to objectives: 3
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Late Semester

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

No Set Text
There are no set textbooks for this unit. Specific readings, reading lists and other resources will be available from the the DTB601 Blackboard Site. A range of resource materials appropriate for the specific project including a list of readings and texts will be recommended. You will be encouraged to reference materials from a range of sources from which you can draw conceptual, procedural, and substantive content to inform your design development.


Additional Costs
Costs associated with downloading and printing resource materials, and also with preparing assignments for assessment.

Risk assessment statement

You will undertake lectures and/or tutorials in the traditional classrooms and lecture theatres. As such, there are no extraordinary workplace health and safety issues associated with these components of the unit; however, you may be required to undertake lecturer-led and self-directed visits to sites. In this situation, a risk assessment for such trips will be completed before the task with all risks identified and managed with the appropriate control measures. You will be required to obey all safety guidelines and directions while attending field trips. If you feel you are at risk you should notify staff.

If the site is a construction site, you are required to attend a construction safety induction session and obtain a safety induction card. This safety induction session introduces you to the relevant workplace health and safety requirements of Queensland construction sites. A safety induction course is provided by the school at the beginning of the first semester. If you do not have, or cannot produce a safety induction card, you will not be allowed to undertake the site visits.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 30-May-2012