2011 ARCH 1412 Syllabus

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Instructors: Josh Nason // Chris Taylor (coordinator)

DESIGN STUDIO ONE

"Rigor of beauty is the quest. But how will you find beauty

when it is locked in the mind past all remonstrace?"

To make a start

out of particulars

and make them general, rolling

up the sum, by defective means--

Sniffing the trees,

just another dog

among a lot of dogs. What

else is there? And to do?

The rest have run out--

after the rabbits.

Only the lame stands--on

three legs. Scratch front and back.

Deceive and eat. Dig

a musty bone.

William Carlos Williams, from the Preface to Paterson. (New York: New Directions Books, 1963).

Course Information

ARCH 1412, Architectural Design Studio I, sections 1-12 and 501-512.

Credits: 4 semester credit hours

Meeting Times: Tues/Thurs, morning sections 9:30am to 12:20pm, afternoon sections 2:00pm to 4:50pm

Location: Architecture Building, 4th Floor studios

Catalog Course Description

Introduction to the principles and methods used at various stages of design analysis and synthesis processes. Skill developments in the abstraction, transformation, composition, of two- and three dimensional design. 4 Credits, Undergraduate.

NAAB Criteria

Fundamental Design Skills: Ability to effectively use basic architectural and environmental principles in design. (Criteria A6 / 3.13.6)

Ordering Systems Skills: Understanding of the fundamentals of both natural and formal ordering systems and the capacity of each to inform two- and three-dimensional design. (Criteria A8 / 3.13.5)

Course Content

Introduction to the culture, language and methods of architecture through performance based studio production.

Course Purpose

Students graduating from Texas Tech University should be able to construct, present, and defend critical and aesthetic judgments of works in the creative arts. The course is open to all majors interested in making architecture.

This course satisfies the three-hour Texas Tech Core Curriculum Requirement in the Visual and Performing Arts. The objective of the visual and performing arts in a core curriculum is to expand the student’s knowledge of the human condition and human cultures, especially in relation to behaviors, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as the visual and performing arts, students will engage in critical analysis, formal aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation for arts as fundamental to the health and survival of any society.

Course Definition

Spring 2011 Course Goals

This course seeks to:

Initiate learning the syntax and language of architecture.
Establish a momentum of studio culture while developing the foundational vocabulary and methods for making architecture.
Define aspirational standards for craft and material sensibilities.
Create the ability to form clear architectural propositions and make qualitative assessments of design work.
Cultivate a spirit of inquiry and action.

Learning Outcomes

Upon satisfactory completion of this course, students will be able to:

Understand and describe through writing and verbal communication the introductory language of architecture.
Create precise, clear, and instrumental design drawings.
Create precise, clear, and instrumental design models.
Maintain and manage a constructive studio ethic of production and critique.

Methods of Assessment

The expected learning outcomes of this course will be assessed through:

Studio projects including physical drawings, models and writing assignments.
Electronic documentation of works produced posted to the course web site on the college wiki.
Verbal presentation and discussion of projects developed in the studio.

Studio Operation & Structure

This studio is open to all students interested in architecture. As the first studio before acceptance into the professional degree program it provides a pivotal opportunity for students to evaluate their inclinations and produce a body of work to be used in their application to the college. It also holds the promise of leading in powerful directions for people who use the knowledge gained to pursue other fields of study. As the first architectural design studio in a long sequence of courses culminating in a professional degree in architecture--a journey from Farm to Market--it seeks to establish baseline levels of commitment and production necessary to excel in architecture. Your performance, what you make and how you engage the culture of the studio, will be the significant measure of your assessment in this class. Learning to make architecture requires action, persistence, and dedication.

As a point of beginning this class is less about the literal making of buildings as final products and more about creating a foundation of architectural thinking and skills that will continue to grow and build over the duration of the curriculum. Architectural education is an ongoing and transformational process.

The course will be taught by two faculty and administered by a group of teaching assistants. Students are responsible to and should digest feedback from the entire group of faculty and teaching assistants. Part of developing a critical understanding of architectural discourse is mastering the ability to engage a wide range of constructive critical feedback and use it to produce a position of your own. Great architecture is not made from direct reactions to singular needs of program, culture, or environmental conditions. Great architecture is made from the synthesized voice of the architect operating directly through material. The importance of cultivating and developing your voice--in words, lines, and material--can not be understated.

Faculty will lead the general discussion and large group presentations of the studio. The teaching assistants will be responsible to specific pods of students and manage routine critiques, work submissions, attendance, and detail communication. The meta teaching assistants will be responsible to the whole studio and will facilitate large studio pin ups, presentations, wiki documentation, and large scale course needs. We also have the benefit this semester of having an independent study student who will be documenting the evolution and products of the studio.

Methodology

Operating from a common base, students will locate points in space and organize tectonic elements to define spatial conditions through additive and subtractive construction processes. These processes will cycle back and forth to insure saturation and produce a palimpsest of investigation spanning two and three dimensions. The evolving compositions of word, points, lines, and planes will define and describe architectural volume.

The studio will operate iteratively to develop a density of investigation across a sequence of projects. Each project and assignment response will engage three registers of media:

WORD / writing
LINE / drawing
SPACE / modeling

References

Required Text: Point Omega by Don DeLillo (New York: Scribner, 2010). ISBN 9781439169957

Must be read before 8 February 2011.

See 2011 ARCH 1412 References page for additional references that will evolve throughout the study. Also the college links page may provide interest and inspiration.

Studio Materials

An array of specific studio materials will be required for the successful completion of this course. Architecture is inherently about making and you should be prepared to commit the necessary resources of time and material in the completion of the work. This does not necessary mean that exorbitant sums of money need to be spent. Consider options carefully to acquire materials in the most efficient and economical manner (for example group purchasing or online/discount vendors). See 2011 ARCH 1412 Studio Materials for a complete listing of supplies required for the studio.

Policies

Academic Policies

Review and abide by course 2011 ARCH 1412 Truisms ~ Studio Ethics. Students are required to comply with the College Academic Policies, Attendance Policy, Architecture Building Policies, and the Retention of Student Work Policy.

Given the nature and intensity of Studio 1 it is very important all participants help create a constructive and appropriate culture in the studio. As an elaboration of the Truisms of the studio all students are required to comply with the studio rules. In short they are:

The inconvenienced person in the studio is always right.
No digital communication or media display in the studio, including text messaging, social media websites, televisual programming, and phone calls.
Studio must be kept healthy and safe.
All rules ~ TRUISMS ~ apply in the studio always, 24 / 7 / 365.

Attendance Policy

Students are responsible for attending all scheduled class meetings for the full class period. A total of four absences is considered excessive, requiring the student to drop the class or receive a grade of “F” in compliance with drop deadlines. All absences are considered unexcused with the exception of absences due to religious observance and officially approved trips (according to guidelines specified in the TTU Catalog).

Students are expected to comply with TTU Center for Campus Life rules for reporting student illness requiring absence from class for more than one week, or immediate family member deaths. Attendance is defined as participation in all studio/class activities including group and individual critiques, lectures, presentations, demonstrations, discussions, in-class assignments, and possible field trips. Attendance requires students to have their computer, tools, materials, and supplies available for all studio activities; any tardiness, leaving early, lack of participation, walking in and out of lectures, undivided attention, disruptive behavior, etc. will count as absences. Students are not allowed to work on assignments from other classes during studio.

Any required materials due on a particular class day are due prior to the beginning of class. Not having materials (models, drawings, printouts, papers) at the start of class will be considered an absence.

In studio courses all previously completed work should be available in the studio always so they can be referred to throughout the design and critique process.

Studio Work Archive File Naming

Everything created in the studio will exist both in analog and digital form. Creating a standard system of naming files and objects is essential to maintain order. Part of each assignment will be the submission of work in both analog and digital formats. All digital documents must adhere to the following naming convention:

2011_ARCH_1412_lastname_firstinital_projectnumber_articlenumber.ext

ie: 2011_ARCH_1412_taylor_c_1a_001.jpg

With the exception of ARCH all letters are lower case and the article number should always be in three digit format to allow for many items within each project.

Grading Criteria

Grade evaluations will be made by studio faculty in consultation with the teaching assistants. Work will be evaluated in terms of Intention, Development, and Resolution on a 0-100 scale. See College Grade Definitions for letter grade determinations. Project weighting for the semester will be:

Component	=	Percentage
Project 0	=	5%
Project 1	=	25%
Project 2	=	30%
Project 3	=	35%
Participation	=	5%
Total Grade	=	100%

Grading will be based on individual performance and the products produced over the course of the term. Everything relative to the studio production is part of the process. Grading will follow the criteria of the college Grade Definitions and detailed evaluations will be provided at the conclusion of each phase of the studio. Attendance is vital to success in this studio (be sure to review the Attendance Policy listed above). Participation in lectures and events outside class is also greatly encouraged and required as it has the potential to greatly impact your education.

2011 ARCH 1412 Studio Home

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