Elective courses available:

ARCH4020/CIVIL4020: Bedford Seminar: Advanced Building Structures (Civil)

This interdisciplinary seminar consists of students from both the School of Architecture and Civil Engineering department. Presentation of a variety of structural typologies bears direct relation to practical experience and the necessity for constructive interdisciplinary discourse. Specific structural typologies are examined through historic and contemporary project examples that are critically deconstructed and critically analyzed with respect to their basic engineering principles and architectural concepts. Students will be exposed to the collaborative methods inherent within the architect/engineer relationship. The course consists of lectures concerning each topic, case studies and presentations of relevant projects, an interdisciplinary design project and discussion of the projects and presentations with respect to interdisciplinary discourse. Content and delivery may vary by instructor. Staff W 12-2 pm. Cr. 3. Taught with CIVL4020. Prerequisite: Arch2230 Structures 1.

ARCH4750.01: Sustainable Building Design Metrics

A review of current and anticipated metrics associated with sustainable building design will be reviewed as well as construction practices in the building industry will be discussed. We will review how sustainable design practices can mitigate the climate change in a positive way. An understanding of energy terminology is useful for this course. Lectures, discussions, field trips and assigned reading will be utilized to explore the subject matter. Holmes. M 6-8 pm. Cr. 2

ARCH4840.01 Architectural Acoustics 1

Providing an overview of the essentials for architectural acoustics design of performance and public spaces, including concert halls, theaters, museums, classrooms, sports arenas, courtrooms, and religious buildings. The course may be used as a concentration in an architecture student’s professional electives, or the beginning of a master’s degree in acoustics. Covering basic principles of sound, room acoustics, sound absorption in rooms, sound isolation and privacy, acoustics of mechanical systems, and sound quality. After Architecture Acoustics 1 & 2, students should be prepared for a basic entry-level position in either acoustics in architecture, or in acoustical consulting. Todd Brooks. F 2 – 5:50 pm. Cr 4. (can be used towards a minor in Acoustics).

ARCH4959.01: Geographic Simulacra

In the search for formal precision, architects employ geologists’ techniques to simulate topologies and objects. Taking a step beyond mere precision, this seminar explores re-imagined topographies by re-calibrating high-resolution scanned models. With the use of animations, particles, and physics engines, we will investigate the generation of abstract, yet fine-grained representations. Ryo Imaeda. R 10- 11:50. Cr. 2

ARCH4961.01: Duchamp Seminar: Anarchism Umped

Explore the life, work and influence of Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), inventor of the ready made and father of conceptual art. By examining his ideas and those of his peers we will critically map his influence on 20th century art and architecture. Speculated as “the world’s first feminist artist” by curator Helen Molesworth, Duchamp continues to impact art discourse, 44 years after his death. Readings, response papers, field trips (to the Philadelphia Museum of Art) and discussions with two of the world’s leading Duchamp authorities, Francis Naumann and Michael Taylor. Michael Oatman. R 9 – 11:50 am. Cr 2.Michael Oatman. M 7 – 9:50 pm. Cr. 2.

ARCH4962.01: Architectural Ceramics

Similar to the historical trajectory of clay to ceramics, the history of masonry has can be traced from the proliferation of a modular unit. This hands-on workshop aims to merge low and high tech approaches to develop critical and creative investigations of different casting techniques and materials with a focus in mold design and making. The core research will concentrate on developing three-dimensional building units that challenge the idea of what a “brick” could be. While students will explore hand-building techniques and the possibilities of unfired clay for quick modeling, the workshop’s main emphasis will be on slip casting methods, as a way to think about “vessel space”, the void shaped by the mold and the continuous surface of the slip material. Basic knowledge on digital fabrication is recommended but not required. Gustavo Crembil. Cr. 2.

ARCH4010.01 Seminar in Sensory Culture

The course is a disciplined study of the human senses drawn from biology, cognitive science, physiology, perceptual psychology, literature, philosophy, and the arts. The seminar will develop an understanding of humans and their environments as mediated by the human sensorium that is consistent with and supports design practices. Ted Krueger. R 10 – 11:50. Cr. 2.

ARCH4964.01: Projecting Light

The relationship between light, projective geometry and drawing existed since antiquity. Different aspects of light are examined in mini-labs through their literary origins parallel to physical and optical explorations with light. The concluding project is a light construction that explores a thesis about projection in physical form. Yael Erel. T 10 – 11:50. Cr. 2.

ARCH4965.01: Influence of Islamic Architecture in Spain and its Influence in Modern and Contemporary Architecture

The Alhambra of Granada, one of the major monuments of Islamic architecture and the most splendid of its kind in the Mediterranean World, has held for centuries a legendary fascination for travelers, artists and writers through centuries. Departing from the analysis of this palace and its medieval acropolis, we will walk through other architectural examples in the Iberian Peninsula and will learn to identify how the ways of understanding space, landscape and scale in these buildings have been translated and manifest in modern Peninsular architecture. Elena Perez-Guembe. R 12 – 1:50. Cr. 2.

ARCH4966.01: Portfolio Development

The portfolio is a critical document standing on its own as both a representation of an architect’s (or graduating architect’s) body of work as well as a projection of the depth and breadth of its authors imagination. More often than not you will depend on the impact and clarity of your portfolio as the primary vehicle for gaining future opportunities, whether in a top tier design office, an academic institution or when applying for commissions. Many of these opportunities are evaluated on the portfolio alone with no space for leveraging the public presentation skills of a seasoned graduating architecture student. More than a mere collection of projects, the portfolio demands a finely crafted set of editorial strategies that encompasses an array of visual representation skills, editorial skills, graphic design, book design and the subtle art of persuasion through non-verbal communication. This seminar requires you to reassess your work and develop a global editorial strategy where you position your entire body of work in the framework of an architectural thesis. Drawings will be remade, renderings will be reworked and regenerated, layouts scrutinized and the conceptual underpinnings of any given project will be interrogated for its value and contribution to the larger narrative you will create around your work. The course will not seek to develop a complete portfolio, rather to identify a top level editorial approach and layout in connection with an in depth reassessment and re-presentation of a number of projects. This process will allow you to develop the editorial approach of your portfolio and to clarify the expectations of each page, each project, through the in- depth reassessment of individual projects. Lonn Combs. R 12 – 1:50 pm. Cr. 2.

ARCH4968.01: How to Predict the Future?

Based on the theory of Universal Darwinism we will analyze main forces of the universe: biological, cultural and technological. Selfishly competition between them describe the changes that occur on our planet. The analysis of this forces allows us more precisely and predictable understand dynamic of transformations that happen before our eyes, and our role in it. Zbigniew Oksiuta. M 12 – 1:50. Cr. 2

ARCH4971.01 Mechanical Piñata

Through the years, the exterior form of the traditional piñata has changed and evolved with trends and interests. In this seminar, we will be looking at found objects with loosely architectural elements, which will be defamiliarized through methods of estrangement. These objects will be reassembled and reconfigured to produce a new form that will eventually become the ‘piñata’. William Virgil. W 10 – 11:50 am. Cr. 2.

LGHT4230.01 Lighting Design

A design studio that explores the roles of light in architecture and its application by design. Students conceive, evaluate, and synthesize solutions that contribute to successful lighting and architectural design. Brons. TF 2–4:50 pm. Cr 4. (Recommended for 4th and 5th year architecture undergraduate students – also can be used towards a minor in Lighting).

LGHT4770.01: Lighting Technology and Application

This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the components of advanced lighting systems and enables them to critically explore applications of those components. Through lectures, readings, assignments, and application projects, students acquire working knowledge of the relevant products and techniques for lighting application and develop solutions to lighting problems. Students will undertake practical applications of advanced lighting technologies and develop skills in the application of photometric data, use of manual and computer-based lighting calculations, and the development of lighting specifications. Freyssinie. TF10–11:50 am. LRC Gurley Bldg. Cr 4.

LGHT4840.01: Human Factors in Lighting

An introduction to lighting and human factors, including classical literature and contemporary studies and development of skills needed to conduct and evaluate human factors research. Fall term annually. Mariana Figueiro. MR 10–11:50 am.