College of Arts and Sciences
UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR IN ARCHITECTURE
Undergraduate Level Course Descriptions
Course Register
Semester Offered= (A)Fall (B)Spring (C)Either (D)Both (L)Summer
Studios
201: Visualization I: Drawing and Design (A) [1 cu]. An introductory drawing and design studio exploring two-dimensional image-making as the foundation for visual communication and representation. In projects employing observed and imagined subject matter, conventional media and drawing techniques are used to investigate making and seeing.202: Visualization II: Drawing and Communication (B) [1 cu]. Prerequisites: ARCH 201. A continuing drawing and design studio exploring two-dimensional visual communication through advanced composition and media technique. With an emphasis on individual intent and analysis, imagination and craft are incorporated into projects investigating the relationship between culture and content, media and image, narrative and object, and historical and contemporary issues of representation and design.
301: Design Fundamentals I: Perception (A) [2 cu]. Prerequisites: ARCH 201, ARCH 202. An introduction to principles of visual perception and the language of visual form. Students explore the relationship between the two-dimensional images and their corresponding three-dimensional interpretations in plan, section, elevation, axonometric, one-point perspective, and two-point perspective. Moving back and forth between these dimensions leads to the development of a working design method.
302: Design Fundamentals II: Structure and Metaphor (B) [2 cu] Prerequisites: ARCH 201, ARCH 202, ARCH 301. An introduction to two-and three-dimensional design. Students explore the relationship between form and meaning, investigating the relationship between visual structure and metaphor, acquiring creative problem-solving skills in abstract and concrete processes, developing a sense of material and craft, and learning to communicate verbally and graphically.
401: Architectural Design I (A) [2 cu] Prerequisites: ARCH 201, ARCH 202, ARCH 301, ARCH 302. An introduction to fundamental topics in architecture and landscape architecture. Issues of mapping, placement, scale, and construction are explored through studio design exercises, site visits, and discussions. Course work focuses on the preparation and presentation of discrete design projects that emphasize the acquisition of representational and analytical skills, and the development of imaginative invention and judgment.
402: Architectural Design II (B) [2 cu] Prerequisites: ARCH 201, ARCH 202, ARCH 301, ARCH 302, ARCH 401. A continuing exploration of architectural design. Content and technique in representation and construction are explored through various studio design exercises.
Theory Courses
411: Poetics of Landscape Architecture (A) [1 cu] Issues, topics, themes and forms of landscape architecture are explored through case studies of important historical and contemporary landscaped sites, drawn from different periods and cultures. Students develop their own critical concepts, rhetorical skills, and research potential through the study of a site of their own choice as well as of organized sites.412: Poetics of Architecture (B) [1 cu] A study of architecture as the representation of the archetypal models of Arcadia and Utopia. A study of the complex relationships between artifice and nature as a means of revealing the ultimate sources of architecture and landscape architecture.
Elective Courses
440: Introduction to Computers in Architecture (B) [1 cu] This course provides an introduction to computer graphic technology in the context of current architectural practice. The primary software used is AutoCAD 2000 which is the most widely used architectural software and provides a good grounding for exploration of other programs. Topics include basic vector graphics, two dimensional drawing and drafting and basic three dimensional modeling. The course is organized around a series of structured exercises that illustrate basic principles and enable students to develop greater facility with the software. The final project will be a computer studymodel of the student's choosing which will be incorporated into a class wide project. There is also a field trip to the offices of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates to see the use of computers in their practice. No experience with Auto CAD software is required.462: Design & Development (B) [1 cu] Many factors affect architectural design, including architectural style, building technology, functional demands,, social needs, and the forces of the marketplace. The examples discussed focus on the places where we live, work, shop, and play. Topics include domestic design, planned communities, and new urbanism. The course consists of lectures, reading assignments, short essays, a group project, and an exam. Invited lecturers include architects, real estate developers, and homebuilders. Readings consist of a Bulkpack available from Wharton Reprographics. There are two books recommended for additional background reading. Douglas Frantz, "From the Ground Up: The Business of Building in the Age of Money," and Witold Rybczynski,"Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture."
490. Independent Study. (C) Faculty. Prerequisite(s): ARCH 201/202 and permission of the Undergraduate Chair.
491. Senior Thesis. (C) Faculty. Prerequisite(s): ARCH 201/202/301/302/401/402 and permission of the Undergraduate Chair.
499. Senior Honors Thesis. (C)
revised 22 December 2000