Architecture, Place and Society

This unit aims to investigate the relationship between architecture, place and society and to explore the meaning of cultural and social sustainability in architectural design. The unit assumes that designers will increasingly work in places where cultures are unfamiliar at home or in a global context, and that an ability to understand, and interpret, diverse cultures, and the way design occurs in diverse locations, is an important area of knowledge for designers. A key aspect of social sustainability is the practice of social responsibility, and the unit explores how this may occur, including involving people in the design process. On completion of this unit students will be able to demonstrate: an ability to better understand the connections between architecture place and society, and the social, cultural, political and economic factors affecting sustainable environments; skills and knowledge in participatory processes necessary for effective communication about environmental design issues; increased critical awareness about social responsibility in relation to the practice of architecture and the design of the built environment, and an ability to exercise this awareness. This unit will provide architecture students with knowledge of the relationship between culture and architecture, as well as practical knowledge of the social aspects of design practice. It is intended that students from other disciplines will develop a critical awareness of the built environment as a form of cultural production, and the possibilities for their participation in its production.