Explore UCD

UCD Home >

ARCT10070

Academic Year 2025/2026

Survey I: History and Theory of the Built Environment I (ARCT10070)

Subject:
Architecture
College:
Engineering & Architecture
School:
Architecture, Plan & Env Pol
Level:
1 (Introductory)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Samantha Martin
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

In its most basic sense, this module is a lecture course that introduces the history of the built environment from antiquity through to the medieval period. But it is much more than that. Its core premise is that the history of architecture is ‘not just history’, but instead a continuously developing visual language that borrows, adapts, shadows and even sometimes appropriates the work of other people and cultures.

This course begins with a series of problems and contexts that teaches the student how to observe, describe and analyse buildings, cities and landscapes. Through a mixture of lectures and workshops, we will examine key moments in the history of the built environment. We will not only look at the buildings themselves but also consider how, in many cases, they continue to influence and hold sway on architects in the present day.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Student Learning Outcomes
1. To develop familiarity with the general timeline of significant precedents in the history of architecture.
2. To understand the correlations between societies and their formal environments; the influence of geography, building technologies and cultural requirements on the development of the built environment.
3. To facilitate the exchange of ideas about architectural design through the analysis of examples discussed with specific terminology.
4. Ultimately, to deepen understanding of the meaning and significance of architecture in ways that will inform individual design processes.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

18
Autonomous Student Learning

90
Total

108

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Weekly lectures
Reading and critically summarising readings
Building Observation
Critical Writing
Building Research

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): An essay assignment where students will choose a building to observe out of a list provided. Through images of their own choosing they will write a concise and well-edited written description. Week 7 Graded No
20
 No
Exam (In-person): Students will answer three questions. Two longer questions will drawn from lecture content. One shorter question will be unseen and but related to the lecture content. End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Graded No
75
 No
Reflective Assignment: Academic Integrity Exercise: Students will watch UCD Library's tutorial on 'academic integrity' around referencing and plagiarism. Students will complete quiz and gain a certificate. Week 11 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
5
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback is provided to each student on Brightspace. Possibility for verbal feedback individually on Zoom.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: Weeks 2-12 Wed 11:00 - 12:50
Print this page
Fill in the following details:
Enter the body of your query here.

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.