ARCH1000 Architectural History and Theory 1 Assignment 1 Brief 2026 | UNSW

ARCH1000 Assignment 1 Brief: Architectural Appreciation

Weighting: 20%
Duration: 3 weeks
Submission Location:  Moodle (Turnitin – Similarity Report available)
Late Penalty: 5 percentage points per day

Assessment Details

You will produce drawings and text articulating a human being’s appreciation of a building. The assignment includes 3 tasks, each comprising text and accompanying sketches.

Purpose

The assignment develops your knowledge of historical design ideas and communication skills corresponding to the course learning outcomes below. It aims to give an appreciation of the implications of past movements, practitioners, and projects for current challenges.

Learning Outcomes Assessed

• CLO1 : Demonstrate foundational architectural enquiry skills through research, interpretation and reflection.
• CLO2 : Analyse the ideas, themes and theories relevant to the history of Western architecture
• CLO3 : Communicate historical architectural concepts, principles, strategies and themes through sketches and text.

Acceptable Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Assessment

You may use standard editing and referencing software, but not generative AI. Examples of software permitted – Microsoft Office suite, Grammarly.

If the use of generative AI such as ChatGPT is detected, it will be regarded as serious academic misconduct and subject to the standard penalties, which may include 0 fail for the assessment.

Assessment Requirements

It is expected that you work on 1 task per week. Each is worth 1/3 of the assignment.

Sketches are to be made free hand.

Word limits: 100 words/task. Annotations on sketches do not contribute to the word count.

Page limits: 2 sheets of A3 paper/task.

Footnotes and a bibliography are not required for this assignment.

Task 1: The Art Gallery of NSW (Vernon, Sydney, 1904-6)

This task is to be shown to your tutor in Week 2.

You could start work on the task before the tutorial in week 1, as then you can ask your tutor questions.

The task concerns The Art Gallery of NSW. The part of the building that you will be studying is made of sandstone. It was designed in the early 20th century by the architect Vernon.

On 2 sheets of A3 paper, produce sketches of the exterior of The Art Gallery of NSW with annotations.

You may address some of the following issues:

a) The overall composition of the old part of the building. Study the relationship of the main west facing front (with the Ionic portico) to the side front, facing to the south. Note how the classical orders are deployed on these two fronts.

b) On the south front, consider the disposition of columns and their connection to the walls. Also note the strong base of the building, and the manner in which its robust character seems to belong to the earth. The refined columns rise from this base.

c) When examining the main front, study the composition from various viewpoints. When approaching the building along the footpath beside the street, note the shifting relationship between the portico and the overall façade. Also stand back in the park to look straight to the portico.

d) Focus on the portico. It can be valued as a welcoming gesture, indeed, a gift to the city. One does not have to enter the building to recognise this statement of civility. It tells people that there is a place to pause in the shade.

e) Study a single classical column of the portico. Make detailed sketches of the base, flutes, capital and entablature. Label these, and additional parts of the order. (It is an Ionic order). Watkin’s chapter on Greece includes an important diagram of the orders, where the different parts are labelled. You need to relate this diagram to the actual portico on the Art Gallery. In your sketches, also attempt to represent the play of daylight on the order.

Reference (essential)

Watkin, A History of Western Architecture (6^th ed.) London: Laurence King, 2015. (Earlier editions can be used, as they include the basic chapter on Greek architecture).

Readings from Watkin book: It is best to read a chapter quickly. If you find this difficult, you may focus on certain pages of Chapter 2. These include: Hellenic Culture 23-26; The Rise of Ionic 3140’ The Second Century BC- Sacred and Secular building 47-49; Town planning 49-52;

This text will assist you in writing comments to complement the sketches for your drawing.

References (not essential)

i. Summerson, The Classical Language of Architecture, London: Thames and Hudson, 1980
ii. Rykwert on the origins of the orders, in his book, The Dancing Column: on Order in Architecture. Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press, 1998

Task 2: Rome – The Arch of Constantine

This task is to be shown to your tutor in Week 2.

On 2 sheets of A3 paper, produce general and detailed sketches of the Arch of Constantine in Rome with annotations. Analyse the relationship of the piers and arches to the attached columns. Consider the interlocking of parts. A brief text is to be added to the drawings. Your comments should be based on reading Watkin’s chapters on both Greek and Roman architecture. You will need to address the ways in which the Roman wall system (which can include the articulation of piers and arches) accommodates the Greek conception of columnar orders.

Reference (essential)

Watkin, A History of Western Architecture (6^th ed.) London: Laurence King, 2015. (Earlier editions can be used, as they include the basic chapter on Roman architecture).

Readings from Watkin book, The Rise of Rome 57-59 – From there on there are single pages with explanation about important temples / public buildings around Rome 60, 63-64, 65, 71; Hadrian’s Villa 74-75; Pantheon 76; Temple of Venus 78-79; Rome Town Planning 83-85; and The Arch of

Constantine 87

Task 3: Alberti’s San Andrea  

This task is to be shown to your tutor in Week 3.

On 2 sheets of A3 paper, combine sketches and texts to analyse the exterior and interior of Alberti’s San Andrea. With regard to the exterior, draw both the Arch of Constantine (which we considered earlier) and the main front of the Alberti building. Explore similarities and differences between the two structures. Also, examine the relationship between the exterior and interior of San Andrea.

Reference (essential)

Watkin, A History of Western Architecture (6^th ed.) London: Laurence King, 2015. Chapter on the Renaissance

References (not essential)

Wittkower, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, first published 1948.

Watkin, A History of Western Architecture (6^th ed.) London: Laurence King, 2015. Chapter of the Renaissance

Wittkower, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, first published 1948.

Rykwert, N. Leach and R. Tavernor, On Alberti and the Art of Building, 1998.

Feedback Strategy

Initial feedback is provided in tutorials. Feedback for the completed assignment will be given within 2 weeks of submission in the form of rubric ratings and written comments, accessed in Moodle.

If you are concerned about progress and unsure about continuing the course, please contact your tutor and ask for early feedback.

The aim of the tutorials is for your tutor to provide general comments each week on drawings for tasks leading to the assignment in class.

Criteria for Success

The assignment is assessed on the following criteria:

• Analysis and Interpretation (70%)
• Visual Communication (30%)

ARCH1000 Assignment 1 Rubric

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