Spring 2013 [LIVE] Studio Syllabus

BRIEF

It is said that 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities by the year 2050. The speed and scale of this change is monumental, and while the past decade has seen a resurgence in urban development, the substance of what is deemed ‘urban’ in the U.S. largely consists of fragmented landscapes of unsustainable habitation that are grouped together and regarded as cities. The American Dream has been the driving principal for much of this development whose results have gone largely unquestioned by a population that champions individual freedom and upward mobility.

The studio asks if this model of development is outdated? Is it a contributing cause and not a solution to our economic uncertainty, warming globe, and political deadlock? Or is it the saving grace for a nation too inflexible to become truly egalitarian. Moving from these questions, this studio will examine the relationship between core American values and best practices of urban design in an effort to prepare for the challenges facing the U.S. in the coming century. Students will interpret the concept of “The American Dream” (past and present) through abstract and conceptual studies. Through design, planning, and management at various scales and applications including pedestrian and vehicular circulation, grading drainage and storm water management, urban building typologies, and land use strategies students will transform their concepts into a model for sustainable urban development. Students will then probe further by proposing informed urban building typologies and ecologies that aim to re-establish a sustainbale pattern of living, working, and leisure.

This studio will be focusing on the area immediately surrounding the North Quincy T Stop. The city of Quincy has the potential to become a leading example of sustainable urban development in the coming future. Its ethnic diversity and layered history make it a prime test case for radical urban reformation. Through diagramming, mapping, and an analysis of natural and cultural systems including principles of sustainability, students will create a blueprint of emergent urban opportunities and constraints. Students will then develop designs implementing materials, methods, and technologies that challenge their cumulative understanding of natural and urban form as it relates to “The American Experience”. The works of Ed Tufte, Richard Sennett, Alan Jacobs, Herman Hertzberger, and others will be used as inspired references to bring coherence and continuity back to the city.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Analytical And Presentation Skills
- Students will synthesize broadly defined abstract concepts and site observations into cogent design analysis
- Students will learn history, theory, public policy, regulation, and current criticism of Architecture, Landscape, and Planning

Design Process Development
- Students will learn and apply core principles of urban design to the macro/local scales of architecture and landscape
- Through disciplined rigor, students will evolve conceptual ideas into articulated positions on the built environment

Technical And Representation Skills
- Students will develop and advance their 3-D modeling and mixed-media representation skills
- Students learn to contextualize and express their design ideas through a well crafted narrative
Edward Burtinsky - Suburbs 1, North Las Vegas 2007

BAC STUDIO POLICIES

Communication
For most communication outside of class a studio web site will be created where assignments will be posted periodically and students can receive feedback on work produced in the interim between classes. E-mail is the preferred method for private communication, but phone calls are acceptable with discretion. The instructor will do his best to get back to students within 24 hours. Studio web site address is: www.rethinkingtheamericandreamstudio.blogspot.com (example)

Grading
Grades will be based on the quality and completeness of your work as defined by the Assessment Rubric accompanying this syllabus. You will receive an evaluation using this rubric on Week 8 and after our final review. You will be issued a BAC Mid-semester Evaluation on Week 8 as well.

Attendance
Students are expected to work a minimum of 12 hours outside of class each week unless otherwise instructed. You are expected to bring the products for the week’s assignments with you to class and any materials requested necessary for in-class activities. This Studio requires for students to be present for the full length of each class and to attend classes as per BAC policy. Failure to attend class will result in absences, which per BAC policy can result in an “NF” or a full grade drop. Excused absences will not count as an absence if the instructor is notified 24 hours before class. Please refer to the BAC attendance policy.

Documentation
At the end of the semester, you will be asked to produce a CD/ZIP file of all of your semester’s work. It is strongly suggested that you document your work incrementally over the course of the semester, rather than waiting until the last week and trying to do it all at once.

WEEKLY STUDIO OVERVIEW
* Guest Lecturer / Guest Critic
** Juried Review

1/22 Week 1: Class Introduction - Outcomes/Goals
- Overview of the class - learning outcomes and expectations (presentation: history/theory of urban design)
- In class discussion of the American Dream and how it relates to contemporary American values
[assignment] reading and reaction to ‘Toward and Urban Design Manifesto’ by Alan Jacobs, students will interpret the American experience as a collage (digital or handmade) that will be the social and cultural basis of their designs

1/29 Week 2: Introduction to Urban Analysis*
- Presentation on Urban/Natural Analysis, Interdisciplinary Practice, and Professional Ethics from guest lecturer
- Brief Introduction to site
- In class discussion of research and information gathering, students assigned to analysis topic groups
[assignment] initial site visit, begin site analysis, read and react to ‘Looking at Cities’ by Alan Jacobs

2/5 Week 3:Analysis Cont.
- Analysis pin-up/discussion
- Discuss site model collaboration
[assignment] continue analysis, prepare for review

2/12 Week 4: Site Analysis Review*
- Following review, students break into (2) groups for Urban Design component of studio
[assignment] meet in U.D. groups, discuss their design proposals/concepts

2/19 Week 5: The Language of Urban Design
- Presentation on Urban Design case studies / introduction to urban typologies & sustainable ecologies
- Groups present their design proposals/concepts
[assignment] continue to work with team members and evolve proposals
 
2/26 Week 6: U.D. Pinup*
- Mock prep for Urban Design presentation with guest critic, work in groups in class
[assignment] complete class site model, reading and reaction to ‘Good Urban Form’ by Kevin Lynch

3/5 Week 7: Introduction to Good Urban Form
- Presentation on the language of towns and cities/the public domain (DIY urbanism, mini-parks, etc.)
- Students share idea for building programs & choose individual architecture site for the duration of the studio
[assignment] prepare for juried review, students come to next class prepared with building programs in mind that embody ‘good urban form’

3/12 Week 8: Interim Review**
- Review and debrief, students meet with instructor concerning individual architecture for 2nd half of semester
[assignment] reading and reaction to ‘The Public Domain’ by Herman Hertzberger, students begin conceptual exploration of project (specifically the public/private relationship of their designs)

3/26 Week 9: Place and Articulation
- Presentation on human and social factors in urban scale landscape and architectural design (new urbanism, landscape urbanism, etc.)
[assignment] students begin diagramming studies that will begin to inform student’s building program, private/public, and interior/spatial relationships of their deisgns

4/2 Week 10: Synthesis of Diagrammatic Form Review*
- In class pin-up/discussion of conceptual diagramming
[assignment] through critical feedback, students synthesize their ideas for their designs into clear and concise diagrams that begin to suggest a formal language

4/9 Week 11: Constructing the Written Narrative
- Presentation on design narratives (various examples from OMA to BIG / design portion of instructor’s thesis)
- In class discussion where students will articulate how their designs respond to the larger urban context
[assignment] a one page written narrative summarizing the essence of the project. Students are expected to develop this into a guide for a 5 minute final presentation

4/16 Week 12: Principles of Generative Tectonics
- Desk crits/review of narratives
- Brief presentation on tectonic systems/language (materials, structure, ornament, etc.) in the urban context
[assignment] students begin measured drawings that incorporate a tectonic language into their designs

4/23 Week 13: Environmental (Plants and Ecosystems) Review
- Brief presentation on env. systems (both natural and artificial) as students begin to think about their role in the project
[assignment] students produce sketches/diagrams that consider the effects of environmental systems (heating,cooling,natural light, and vegetation etc.) on their designs

4/30 Week 14: Final Desk Crits
[assignment] continue working on presentation drawings, prepare narrative for mock review

5/7 Week 15: Mock Review*
[assignment] prepare all materials for final review

5/14 Week 16: Final Review**