Course Objectives

Catalogue Description

Design projects and exercises intended to familiarize the student with fundamental concepts of environmental design.  Emphasis on developing graphic skills and the capability for visual thinking that are essential to advanced studios.

Instructors

Peter Keyes, Associate Professor                      Office: 477C Lawrence            pkeyes@uoregon.edu

Philip Speranza,  Assistant Professor                 Office: 485 Lawrence          speranza@uoregon.edu

Time & Place:   MWF from 1:00-4:50 pm, Lawrence Hall Studios 274 and 275

Overview

Architecture 681 is the second of three introductory design studios.  It builds on the summer introductory studio, media and theory courses and connects to concurrent courses in spatial composition, media and building construction.  Arch 681 provides a second venue to explore essential architectural design principles and develop design, critical thinking, speaking, writing and graphic skills.  Working on one project for the duration of the quarter supports both rich conceptual iteration and subsequent project development. Studio assignments are cumulative, build in complexity, and are intended to align your growth as a designer with understandings of formal ordering systems, precedents, building materials and assemblies (light frame/heavy timber hybrid structures) and the urban context.

 

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Architecture 681 has the goal that students achieve the following:

• Ability to engage in an effective design process that entails cycling and iteration
• Ability to use research and design precedents effectively
• Ability to explain exterior and interior design decisions verbally and in concise narrative form
• Ability to use 2D and 3D media to clearly and evocatively present and document design ideas
• Ability to develop concepts that integrate site, human activity, structure and building materials

Project

The project is a small urban “maker” building on a site on the edge of Portland’s East Side Industrial Reserve.

Critical design issues

• The urban condition – how the design of an individual building contributes to a larger urban context.
• The multistory building – massing, internal organization of space and circulation in plan and section, designing façades.
• Configuring spaces to effectively support activities of a program with multiple components
• Utilization of structure and building construction to inform spatial order and architectural expression
• Room design – how to make an appropriate and beautiful room
• Sustainability – understanding the key opportunities and challenges specific to the project in a way that dramatically reduces or eliminates the need for fossil fuels and respects natural habitats

Critical process issues

• Conceptual thinking – utilizing imagery, models, drawings, and words to clearly articulate design intentions at each cycle of design.
• Conceptual and analytic diagramming
• Sketching and drawing (both by hand and computer) to explore spatial qualities of site, building, room in plan, section, elevation, and perspective.
• Making models (both physical and digital) to develop three-dimensional design explorations.
• Exploration of materials and color through media.
• Creating final presentations of high quality.

Instructional Methodology

The course sequence is organized as three interactive studios in which students engage in independent project-based learning.  Faculty support student explorations by informing students of resources, suggesting approaches and methods, and raising questions for individual use in recycling design work and for group discussion. Emphasis will be on a mutually supportive studio environment stressing collaboration and design development through recycling of ideas. Work must be developed and shared in the studio. Class meetings include a variety of communication and project-development formats including desk critiques, pin-ups, reviews, in-class discussions, team work sessions, lectures, and occasional field trips. Reviews will be organized so that students revolve through small groups over the course of the term. Design critiques will include feedback from peers as well as the three instructors.

Learning Environment

Weblog participation and related sketchbook work for diagramming ideas is required. The weblog posts will provide two mechanisms for learning:

1) the collection and organization of work in a single shared-learning space and

2) the use of comments between students for peer-to-peer-learning and to enhance writing ability.

The sketchbook is a place for notes, in-situ drawing, and drawing to test ideas. You should diagram and draw. Examples will be provided.  A diagramming method of thinking / visualizing in the mind (including graphic differentiation) and then concisely drawing the idea in 3D will be presented.

Course Folder

A course folder:  Arch 681-Keyes is located in the AAAFILESERVER.  Instructions for accessing the studio folder are available on the AAA website.   http://aaauoregon.edu/computing/course-folder. The studio will use a weblog to communicate and post assignments.

Attendance

ARCH 681 students are expected to attend all studio meetings, be on time, and stay for the entire session. Unexcused absences are not permitted. Students with three (3) or more unexcused absences are required to meet with their instructor before returning to studio. Excused absences (such as illness or personal emergency) must be reported to the instructor prior to the missed class if at all possible. Verification of illness forms can be obtained from the Student Health Services.  Students are expected to work on studio related activities only during studio time, and should not be monitoring social media, watching videos or surfing the internet during class.

Student Work –  E-Portfolio

At the end of the term students will add this project to their E-portfolio.  All original drawings and models completed as part of course requirements may be retained permanently by the Department.  Students whose work is selected for the Department archives will have the opportunity to photograph or otherwise reproduce the work for their portfolios.

Project Ownership, Publication and Publicity

Work created for credit and/or using the facilities of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts belongs jointly to the school and the student. The AAA reserves the right to document and display all original work for the purpose of documenting student performance as mandated by the National Architecture Accrediting Board [NAAB]. Fur­thermore, the school reserves the non-exclusive right to use images or likenesses of the work for publicity and display in print and electronic media as well as to submit such work for competitively reviewed exhibitions or to various award programs. The School and its representatives [including faculty and staff] have the non-exclusive right to use such work as illustrations in scholarly and/or technical publications and presentations.

Grading | Evaluation

Pass / No Pass.  To receive a grade of pass all students must complete all assignments and final project requirements by the scheduled due dates.  Work must demonstrate satisfactory progress in the development of architectural design skills. Evaluations will be conducted in a required end-of-term exit interview with the studio instructor and documented in a completed evaluation form given to the student and placed in the student’s file.  The evaluation form can indicate a “marginal pass,” an advising note that does not go in student’s transcripts but is used to alert students to potential problems in their progress.  Students receiving a marginal pass in ARCH 681 are required to attend an advising meeting, called a “gate”, to determine whether they are ready to advance to the next studio level.  A mark of “incomplete” will be given only in accordance with University regulations for necessary excused absences such as documented medical emergencies.

Academic Integrity

Students should be familiar with University policies related to academic integrity and consequences for dishonest conduct.  All work submitted should be your own and all sources should be cited.  Questions about how specific assignments should be handled with regard to collaborative work, citations, or any other issues can be raised in class.  Principles of academic honesty and professional ethics also apply to any use of computers associated with the studio.  This includes observing all software licensing requirements and respecting copyrights of intellectual property published on the Internet.

Students with Disabilities

The University of Oregon is committed to providing inclusive learning environments.  Please notify your instructor if any aspects of this course result in barriers to your participation.  You may also contact UO Disability Services in 164 Oregon Hall, 346-1155 or disabsrv@uoregon.edu.  If you have a documented disability and require accommodations in studio, please meet your instructor to show your notification letter.