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Unit of study_
MARC5430: Developing Architectural Briefs
2026 unit information
Formulating architectural briefs is an art. Identifying the problems that a built work might engage and solve, negotiating forces that are both contextual and generic. This intensive UoS will allow students to chart the forces that impact an architectural project, prior to design. These include forces that are contextual: constraints set by clients, budgets, sites, social functions of the building, local practices and funding, the specifics of a site and the involvement of other building specialists. Also included are forces that are generic: formal laws and regulations, institutional interests, state ideologies, cultural taboos and general social and political conditions. Through a series of workshops students will critique the architectural briefs developed for a series of projects and develop their own architectural briefs.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | Architecture |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Identify the factors that act on the architectural design of a public building and assess the extent to which a given brief addresses them.
- LO2. Evaluate multiple written and graphic sources in order to filter and synthesise information.
- LO3. Write coherent and convincing appraisals of buildings in respect to the architectural brief that they were made in response to, and illustrate and compose these appraisals into formal documents.
- LO4. Demonstrate ethical and cultural competence in architectural design by recognising the intended and unintended consequences of the articulation of an architectural brief.
- LO5. Devise an architectural brief for a public building that balances competing requirements for feasibility, desirability and innovation.
- LO6. Work productively in a tutorial/workshop setting to assess, reflect and provide feedback on one's own work process as well as that of others.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
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Intensive June - July 2025
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Block mode | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
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Intensive May - June 2026
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Block mode | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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