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2012 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).


Contents

Course Information

Spring 2012 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


Instructor Information

Chris Taylor (coordinator)

Office: Architecture Building, Room 709
Phone: 806-742-3169 x253
Email: chris.taylor@ttu.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:00 - 2:00pm & by appointment

Josh Nason

Office: Architecture Building, Room 805
Phone: 806-742-3169 x249
Email: joshua.nason@ttu.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2:00 - 3:00pm & by appointment


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 Purpose

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


Course Goals

This course seeks to:

  1. Introduce students to the foundational vocabulary, syntax and application of the language of architecture.
  2. Establish a momentum of studio culture while developing the foundational vocabulary and methods for making architecture.
  3. Define aspirational standards for craft and material sensibilities.
  4. Create the ability to form clear architectural propositions and make qualitative assessments of design work.
  5. Cultivate a spirit of inquiry and action.


Learning Outcomes

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

  1. Create precise and instrumental diagrammatic design drawings.
  2. Create precise and instrumental diagrammatic design models.
  3. Comprehend and communicate through drawing, building, writing and speaking the foundational language of architecture.
  4. Establish and foster a constructive studio ethic of active production and critical reflection.
  5. Establish and maintain a documentation system for managing work in process and completed in analog and digital form.


Assessment

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

  1. Evaluation of design drawings produced in response to assignments.
  2. Evaluation of design models produced in response to assignments.
  3. Evaluation of performance on studio projects including drawings, models, writing, and verbal presentations.
  4. Evaluation of constructive participation in studio discussions and critiques.
  5. Evaluation of work submitted physically and digitally to the course web site on the college wiki. That detail instructions such as naming conventions and organization are followed.


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 the 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. As the introductory design studio it begins with the premise that you have yet to be formally introduced to how the language of architecture is constructed. Learning this new spatial language will require precise commitment to vocabulary, syntax and application. 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 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, teaching assistants, and your peers. 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 immediate 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, site, and inhabitation. The importance of cultivating and developing your voice--in words, lines, and model making--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. 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.
Work and live by the 2012 ARCH 1412 Truisms ~ Studio Ethics. Individual performance is significantly increased by working in the studio. Manage the time and focus of your work wisely. This is a profoundly demanding course and will require significant working time in addition to course meeting times.


Methodology

Operating from a common base or datum, students will locate points in space and construct regulating lines to organize tectonic and stereotomic elements that define spatial conditions through additive and subtractive construction processes. These processes will cycle repetively to insure saturation and produce a palimpsest of investigation spanning two and three dimensions. The evolving compositions of words, 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:

  1. WORD ~ writing
  2. LINE ~ drawing
  3. SPACE ~ modeling

Text References

Required Text: The Thinking Hand: existential and embodied wisdom in architecture by Juhani Pallasmaa (London: Wiley, 2009). ISBN 978-0-47077929-3
Specified chapters must be read to complete assignments listed on the course schedule and prior to seminar sessions. The text is available at Varsity Bookstore in Lubbock and through online vendors accessible through the ISBN link above.
Additional studio references can be found at 2012 ARCH 1412 References, which will evolve and be expanded throughout the semester. The college links page may also 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 2012 ARCH 1412 Studio Materials for a complete listing of supplies required for the studio.


Policies

Should any changes in the syllabus be required during the course of the semester in-class announcements and/or electronic postings will be made to alert all participants.


ADA Statement

Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note: instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, please contact Student Disability Services in West Hall or call 806.742.2405, and see University Operating Policy 34.22.


Academic Policies

Review and abide by course 2012 ARCH 1412 Truisms ~ Studio Ethics. Students are required to comply with the College Academic Policies, Attendance Policy, Architecture Building Policies, Student Code of Conduct, 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 studio Truisms all students are required to comply with the studio rules. In short they are:
  1. The inconvenienced person in the studio is always right.
  2. No digital communication or media display in the studio, including text messaging, social media websites, televisual programming, and phone calls.
  3. Studio must be kept healthy and safe.
  4. All rules ~ TRUISMS ~ apply in the studio always, 24 / 7 / 365.


Attendance

As specified in the College 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. Tardiness will be recorded as 1/4 of an absence. All absences are considered unexcused with the exception of those due to religious observance specified in University Operating Procedure 34.19 and officially approved trips or University Business regulated by University Operating Procedure 34.04.
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 tools and materials 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.

Assignments

All assignments are due as indicated on the course schedule prior to the beginning of class. Not having work to present (models, drawings, printouts, papers) or documentation materials posted to the course wiki 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 both forms. All digital documents must adhere to the following naming convention:
2012_ARCH_1412_lastname_firstinital_projectnumber_articlenumber.ext
ie: 2012_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. Follow the guidelines within each assignment.


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 = 10%
Project 1 = 25%
Project 2 = 25%
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 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 significantly impact your education.
No extra credit is available in this course.
Given the performative and sequential nature of this course, late or missing assignments can not be made up; a “0” (zero) grade will be recorded.



2012 ARCH 1412 Studio Home

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