guideline of exams
TRANSCRIPT
ABPL20030 (702‐242) FOUNDATIONS OF ARCHITECTURE
Examination advice
Semester 1, 2011
Question 1: Visual examination Question 1 will contain a series of images derived from the lecture slides and tutorial readings. You will be required to answer a total of 20 questions. You do not need to memorise every building shown throughout the semester. We will provide you with a shortlist of buildings in week 12 to help you focus your revision. The types of questions will vary and there may be more than one question accompanying each image. You will be expected to identify such things as:
• the name of the building
• the name of the architect/s (surname is sufficient)
• the style of the building
• the building type
• the location of the building (the name of the country is not sufficient, you must name the city, town or district, e.g. Mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Deir‐el‐Bhari)
• the date of the building, for which the decade is sufficient. Take the decade from the start date of the building if a longer construction period is listed. For example, the Mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut is dated c. 1473‐1458 BC, so you may approximate the answer to c. 1470 BC.
**This question is worth 20% of your final examination mark** Question 2: Short answers In Question 2 you will be asked to complete a series of 10 short answer questions worth 2 marks each. The content for these questions will be drawn from the lecture notes (included in the Subject Guide) and the tutorial readings. These will cover such information as:
• the author, title or important aspects of a significant architectural text
• the definition of specific architectural vocabulary or terminology
• the name of an architect, style, building type, construction technique or material
• the name, date and location of specific buildings (N.B. date accurate to within the correct decade and with an exact location, as per the instructions to question 1)
Examples for this section might be:
Name two (2) major differences between Greek and Roman temples. What does octastyle mean?
**This question is worth 20% of your final examination mark**
Question 3: Short essay In this question you will write a short essay responding to one (1) question from a list of six (6). The content for these questions will be drawn from lectures and tutorials. You will be able to support your answer to your chosen question by using building examples from the shortlist provided, but may also include additional examples as appropriate.
An example of a Question 3 short essay question might be: “Explain the role of antiquity in the development of Italian Renaissance architecture. You must make reference to specific architectural treatises and include examples of at least three buildings to support your answer.”
**This question is worth 25% of your final examination mark**
Question 4: Thematic essay In this question you will write a thematic essay responding to one (1) question from a list of eight (8). As the question is thematic it requires you to demonstrate your skills in critical thinking, analysis and interpretation. Five of the themes will match those of the subject and will be: Space, Settlement and the City; Spaces of Religion; Spaces of Community and Public Life; Dwelling: Privacy and Rule and New Spatial Concepts & Sites of Continuity. The other three themes will: encourage comparisons between Eastern & Western approaches to architecture, discuss the relevance of history to contemporary architectural practice and/or reflect upon the representational function of architecture. You may define your own specific area of discussion within the theme. It is expected that your essay will be argued from specific examples (buildings, architects, texts etc.) and details rather than generalisations. Governing criteria for marking this question will be:
• a well‐chosen area of discussion that relates well to the theme • arguments based on well‐chosen, specific examples • your ability to use correct terminology and provide specific details like dates, styles
and names of architects • your ability to analyse the chosen buildings in relation to the theme • your ability to be concise and relevant
An example of a Question 4 thematic essay question might be:
Eastern & Western Approaches to Architecture “Choose one western and one eastern example of a palace and discuss the following aspects: form, spatial experience, relationship to surroundings and representational function.” **This question is worth 35% of your final examination mark**
Timing: You have 2 hours in which to complete the exam, in addition to the 15 minute reading time before writing time begins. Make the most of your time and carefully plan your answers for Questions 3 and 4. As a guide to a sensible division of time for your exam you might allow 20 minutes each for Questions 1 & 2, 30 minutes for Question 3 and 40 minutes for Question 4, plus 10 minutes for checking and corrections.
N.B. All questions regarding examination content should be put to Philip Goad ([email protected]) or Helen Stitt ([email protected]) only.