Every building contributes to its surroundings, and this response is either contributive to the setting or otherwise. All built forms emit emotions through various characteristics and the buildings narrate their own story through them, in their own language. This triggering of an emotion by a building through its exterior onto its surroundings and through its interiors onto the user experience is the IMPACT an architectural entity creates. This impact, positive or negative, determines how the space is perceived by the user and greatly affects the credibility of the built form. And the seeds of the quality of these impacts are sown in the design process of the architect of that building.

The intent of this exercise was to assess the impacts a built form has on its surroundings through the lens of : Scale and mass, Style, Context, Uniqueness, Structural dynamics, Forms, Materials, Colours and textures, Architectural features, Sense of place, History, and the Exterior interior connect. The students were to choose a built form in their neighbourhood or town which had drawn their attention, and critically analyse the building and its impact, for its merits/demerits. Through personal visits and détail observations, students were to capture the various characteristics, appeals, distractions and emotions triggered by this architectural entity onto them and the surrounding settings, and prepare a powerpoint presentation consisting mainly of graphics, sketches, sections, and images to portray these IMPACTS.