[This is a certified Communication-intensive (CI) Course which meets all of the requirements endorsed by HKU’s Senate, including (i) the teaching assessment of oral and digital communication ‘literacies’; and (ii) at least 40% of the course grade assigned to communication-rich assessment tasks.]

Course Description

‘Designs on the Future’ is intended to inspire thinking about the way we should construct our future living environments in order to find the most sustainable balance.  We will explore the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they apply to Hong Kong, addressing issues of  population and urbanization, materials resources, and human systems,as a way of understanding what is a sustainable future might look like.  We will also evaluate the different media and strategies that people have used / are using to advocate for more sustainable approaches to the environment and community.

Each week students are required to undertake up to one hour of online pre-class activities in preparation for mini-tutorials and an interactive F2F class workshop sessions which involve a wide range of group activities and exercises.   The pre-class components deliver the bulk of the course content, while the tutorials and workshop sessions help develop our understanding of sustainability issues, allow us to explore contexts and interconnections, and to apply the concepts to different scenarios.  We will be using Curios a purpose built socialised e-learning platform.  This is an interactive virtual 3D environment within which student groups can collaborate, present and evaluate their coursework.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the built environment in relation to its physical and socio-cultural context, and to develop and articulate ideas about the relationship between human beings, the environment and how human experience are expressed in their constructions.
2. Identify current issues relating to sustainable development and evaluate the extent to which these influence, and are influenced by, the landscape and built environment.
3. Be able to evaluate the strategies adopted by people in making sustainability arguments, and to be able to develop an effective proposal for action on a local sustainability issue.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

Second semester (Wed)

Study Load

Assessment: 100% coursework

Required Reading

Required readings will be advised at the outset of the course.

Course Co-ordinator and Teacher(s)