DI206-30 Spatial Agency
Introductory description
As Anthony Giddens (1987, p.216) notes, agency “presumes the capability of acting otherwise”. Spatial Agency provides designers with new ways of looking at the production of space and acting with agency for social good. It seeks to shift the design of the built environment away from disciplinary siloes and the patronage of clients, towards a more communitarian paradigm, built on the development of generic design skills.
Weekly activities seek to engage students with the ways that spaces can be understood, building practical skills and thus how spatial agency can be enacted. The aim is to act with transformative intent in a collaborative manner with and on behalf of communities. This can be achieved via activism or pedagogy, publications or tangible design, making stuff or making policy, or something else entirely, but all require an appreciation of how this impacts upon our collective spaces. This will happen via classroom and studio activities, with explorations of space in the real world.
Students will receive a number of pedagogical and dialogical approaches; their engagement with these ideas and practices will be assessed via a reflective portfolio, updated on a weekly basis. Finally, students will work collaboratively to produce a manifesto for spatial agency.
Module aims
The aim of this module is to provide students with a transdisciplinary approach to spatial design and management that encourages them to think about geographical 'space' as a more dynamic and populated environment than it might traditionally have been considered. Students will be working with the understanding of agency from their own perspective but also those of others in the human and more-than-human environment. Ultimately students will develop a working understanding of possible approaches that they can or do apply to practical projects and project development. This will be worked on as a collective requiring the articulation of a shared vision of spatial agency. Students will also be working with a strong ethical thread that explores histories and contemporary practice that has both reinforced or hindered the equity of people and things..
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
The module will cover a diverse range of approaches including (but not limited to) Space, Place and Agency – From The Poetics of Space to Doreen Massey via Giddens notions of Agency; The plan – reading maps from topography to demography; Representing space – skills for plans, buildings and landscape; Experiences of space – Anthropology and embodiment; Spatial knowledge – History and theory of spatial design; Complexity and contradiction – Heroic and ordinary architecture; Sustainable ethics and space – human and non-human spaces, with climate literacy; Community empowerment – The people and spatial design, activism and the right to the city; spatialising data – dialogical approaches and citizen science and dissemination – communicating space beyond the classroom.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Recognise, identify and record the scope and complexity of spaces.
- Critically reflect upon the different processes that drive the production of spaces.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how the design and management of spaces can be used to promote the agency of sustainable communities.
- Develop skills and multidisciplinary methods for the evaluation and design of spaces.
- Articulate a tangible pathway for how spatial agency can be practiced.
Indicative reading list
Bachelard, Gaston, and M. Jolas. The Poetics of Space. Penguin Classics, 2014.
Grosz, Elizabeth, et al. Time Travels: Feminism, Nature, Power. Duke University Press, 2005.
Highmore, Ben. Michel De Certeau: Analysing Culture. Continuum, 2006.
Kriz, Karel, et al. Mapping Different Geographies. Springer, 2010.
Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Blackwell, 1991.
Lorne, Colin. “Spatial Agency and Practising Architecture beyond Buildings.” Social & Cultural Geography, vol. 18, no. 2, 2017, pp. 268–287.
Massey, Doreen B., et al. Spatial Politics: Essays for Doreen Massey. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
Plumwood, Val. Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. Routledge, 1993.
Smith, Neil. Uneven Development: Nature, Capital, and the Production of Space. University of Georgia Press, 2008.
Thrift, N. J. Non-Representational Theory: Space, Politics, Affect. Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2008.
Werner, Marion, et al. Doreen Massey: Critical Dialogues. Agenda Publishing, 2018.
Research element
At the basis of the module is the investigation of geographical sites. This will involve formal geographical approaches as well as historical, archival and sociological research.
Interdisciplinary
This module calls on a diverse range of approaches including (but not limited to) architecture, design, sociology, philosophy, politics, anthropology and geography.
International
There will be examination of a range of sites from across the world, alongside research derived from international scholars.
Subject specific skills
Modelling space using CAD design software.
Learning and utilising terminology related to space, planning and architecture.
Transferable skills
Developing understanding of co-design/participatory design practices.
Communication skills (visual, verbal, textual).
Collaborative, group working skills.
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Seminars | 17 sessions of 3 hours (17%) |
| Fieldwork | 3 sessions of 3 hours (3%) |
| Private study | 90 hours (30%) |
| Assessment | 150 hours (50%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Students will be expected to develop their CAD skills and prepare for practical classes.
Costs
| Category | Description | Funded by | Cost to student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field trips, placements and study abroad |
Field work |
Department | £0.00 |
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Portfolio | 20% | 30 hours | Yes (extension) |
|
Students will build a reflective portfolio that will demonstrate the development of their spatial skills and understanding about the range of practices and approaches there are to space. This will include visualisation of space and data through learned skills, digital audio and visual material, ethical considerations, photography and annotation. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Professional Pitch | 40% | 60 hours | No |
|
This presentation requires the development of a collaborative response to the assignment brief. The presentation should build on learning developed in the module and should represent a collective approach to spacial agency. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Exhibition | 40% | 60 hours | No |
|
Students will exhibit a model, physical or digital, which responds to the design brief. The model should present their collaborative approach to spatial design, as set out during the professional pitch. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Formal and informal, class-based, live assessments and written feedback in line with rubric.
Courses
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 2 of UIPA-W201 BASc Design for Sustainable Innovation
- Year 2 of UDIA-H1L8 Undergraduate Design and Global Sustainable Development
- Year 2 of UDIA-H1L9 Undergraduate Design and Global Sustainable Development (with Intercalated Year)
This module is Optional for:
- Year 2 of UIPA-L8A1 Undergraduate Global Sustainable Development
- Year 2 of UIPA-L8A2 Undergraduate Global Sustainable Development (with Intercalated Year)
-
UVCA-LA99 Undergraduate Liberal Arts
- Year 2 of LA99 Liberal Arts
- Year 2 of LA92 Liberal Arts with Classics
- Year 2 of LA73 Liberal Arts with Design Studies
- Year 2 of LA83 Liberal Arts with Economics
- Year 2 of LA82 Liberal Arts with Education
- Year 2 of LA95 Liberal Arts with English
- Year 2 of LA81 Liberal Arts with Film and Television Studies
- Year 2 of LA80 Liberal Arts with Global Sustainable Development
- Year 2 of LA93 Liberal Arts with Global Sustainable Development
- Year 2 of LA97 Liberal Arts with History
- Year 2 of LA71 Liberal Arts with Law
- Year 2 of LA91 Liberal Arts with Life Sciences
- Year 2 of LA75 Liberal Arts with Modern Lanaguages and Cultures
- Year 2 of LA96 Liberal Arts with Philosophy
- Year 2 of LA94 Liberal Arts with Theatre and Performance Studies
-
UVCA-LA98 Undergraduate Liberal Arts with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA85 Liberal Arts with Classics with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA72 Liberal Arts with Design Studies with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA79 Liberal Arts with Economics with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA78 Liberal Arts with Education with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA88 Liberal Arts with English with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA77 Liberal Arts with Film and Television Studies with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA76 Liberal Arts with Global Sustainable Development with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA86 Liberal Arts with Global Sustainable Development with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA90 Liberal Arts with History with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA98 Liberal Arts with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA84 Liberal Arts with Life Sciences with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA74 Liberal Arts with Modern Lanaguages and Cultures with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA89 Liberal Arts with Philosophy with Intercalated Year
- Year 2 of LA87 Liberal Arts with Theatre and Performance Studies with Intercalated Year
- Available to external courses/students