Your first semester

Your first semester in architecture or design will provide you with the foundational knowledge, technical skills and creative imagination to start your journey towards a career in design or built environment industries.

Click on the drop-down menu below to see the courses you will be required to complete in your first semester, as well as other handy information to help you prepare for classes.

Central to your learning each semester is the design studio, which offers a great opportunity to ask questions and seek feedback from tutors, lecturers and peers.

Architecture

You will be required to complete units in design, culture and communications.

ARCH1100 Architectural Design: Form and Space

This course introduces the foundations of architectural design through short exercises that engage issues of space and form in relationship to human scale, movement and inhabitation. Processes of deriving and refining responses to architectural questions are introduced. Physical and digital modelling and drawing are used to develop skills in observation, visualisation and representation.

Class contact

1 hour lecture
6 Practical / Laboratory hours

Coordinator

Antony Moulis

Materials for your first class

An open mind!
Hat and sunscreen
Water bottle
A3 cartridge pad / sketch book
A5 sketch book
Felt tip pens (mix of colours) and graphite pencils Scale rule
Greaseproof paper (from supermarket)
5m tape measure
Smart phone / camera
Measuring app for smart phone (eg. Apple "Measure" or GPS Fields Area Measure).

ARCH1140 Buildings in History and Culture

ARCH1140 develops knowledge of the principles and terms of architectural description, and how architecture and vernacular spatial practices function within a wider culture. Knowledge and skills are applied through the analysis of buildings from different historical periods and different cultural contexts. ARCH1140 also provides an introduction to the conventions of written communication in architecture.

Class contact

2 hour lecture
1 hour tutorial

Coordinator

Catherine Keys

Materials

Notebook / laptop for note taking

ARCH1160 Architectural Communication 1

This course provides an introduction to the concepts and techniques of architectural representation including architectural drawing conventions, two-dimensional drawing, digital image capture and manipulation, and three dimensional modelling. Students examine the interface between thinking, drawing (sketching) and drafting (technical documentation), and the exchange between working by hand and digital representation.

Class contact

1 hour lecture
5 Practical / Laboratory hours

Coordinator

Frederico Teixeira

Materials for your first class

A3 cartridge pad
A5 sketch book
Set of graphite pencils (8 minimum)

Design

Plan ahead

For your Bachelor of Design, you must attain 48 units. The majority of courses are worth 2 units with the final design course worth 4 units. A standard workload is 8 units per semester.

There are two methods of specialisation in the BDes program: Single Major and Dual Major. You need to think carefully about your choice, as it will affect the number and type of electives you can select. In the BDes, you start courses based on your majors from Semester 1 of first year, so it's important to seek academic advice if you're unsure of what major/s to choose.

Single Major

Review study plans for each major for more detail.

Dual Major

Contact your Academic Advisor if you're interested in doing a dual degree so that we can create a study plan for you.

DSGN1100 Design: Interaction

This course introduces the process of design from concept to outcome through critical thinking and experimentation. It broadly focuses on the way that design creates interactions between people and contexts towards cultural and economic innovations. Techniques of observation, analysis and representation will be used alongside methods of iteration and reflection to address identified issues or problems. Learning is undertaken in a collaborative studio setting where students will develop a sensibility for the visual and spatial in design.

Class contact

1 hour lecture
3 Practical / Laboratory hours

Coordinator

Frederico Teixeira

Materials for your first class

A3 cartridge pad
A5 sketch book
Set of graphite pencils (8 minimum)