2020 SUMMER PREPARATORY PROGRAM

 

 

2020 SUMMER PREPARATORY PROGRAM

Mandatory Orientation Session

Friday, June 12

 

COURSE ROSTER

 

ARCH 500-901: **ONLINE** SUMMER PREPARATORY DESIGN STUDIO (2 course units)

Dates:  Friday, June 12 - Friday, August 14, Monday through Friday, 2:00-6:00pm

Location:  Online

Instructor:   Larry Mitnick, Danielle Willems

Description: The Summer Preparatory Studio offers an intensive drawing and design experience to candidates for admission to the Graduate Program in Architecture who have not completed the necessary design studio prerequisites or who are required to have additional design experience to qualify for matriculation prior to the beginning of the Master of Architecture Professional Degree Program in September.  Students enrolled in the Summer Preparatory Design Studio will complete a total of 31 credit units over the entirety of the program.  Enrollment in this program does not count towards the Master of Architecture degree.  The intent of the drawing component of the course is to familiarize the student with primarily black and white mediums (pencil, charcoal, ink, etc.).  Drawing exercises are designed to sharpen the student's ability to see selectively and to transform image to paper through both line and tonal renditions in freehand sketch form.  Exercises will also familiarize the student with basic drafting skills necessary for architectural communication and provide an introduction to computer-aided design through application and integration of the intensive Rhino and Illustrator tutorials given during the Digiblast section of the course.  The design part of the course presents a rhythm of basic three-dimensional design studies and simple architectural studio investigations.  These are intended to build fundamental skills and acquaint the student with the architectural issues of form/space, conceptualization, transformation of scale, simple functional and constructional problems and a sensitivity to context. Registration is through Penn in Touch.

     

ARCH 791-901: **ONLINE** DIGIBLAST  3D Modeling and Fabrication (non-credit)

Dates:  Monday, August 3 through Friday, August 14, Monday through Friday, 10am-5pm

Location:  Online

Instructor:  Ezio Blasetti, Danielle Willems

Description:  The non-credit course will cover digital modeling and work flow. The course will prepare students for techniques used in PennDesign’s 500 and 600-level MArch and MSD-EBD design studios.  Registration is through Penn in Touch.

 

ARCH 794-901: **ONLINE** PHYSICS FOR ARCHITECTS (non-credit)

Dates:  Monday, June 15 through Friday, August 14, Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 12:00-1:30pm 

Location:  Online

Instructor:  Richard Farley

Description:  The non-credit course will cover the following: mechanics, heat, light, sound and electricity. The course will satisfy the physics pre-requisite condition for matriculation in September.  Registration is through Penn in Touch.

 

ARCH 793-901: **ONLINE** HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE (non-credit)

Dates:  Monday, June 15 through Friday, August 14, Monday through Friday, 9:00-11:00am

Location:  Online

Instructor:  Kevin Berry

Description:  The non-credit course will cover Western architecture from ancient Egypt to the modern age and will satisfy the history pre-requisite condition for matriculation in September.  Registration is through Penn in Touch.

 

ARCH 792-901: **ONLINE** MSD-AAD WORKSHOP (non-credit)

Dates:  Monday, August 10 through Friday, August 21, 9am-5pm

Location:  Online

Instructor:  Brian De Luna, Caleb White

Description:  This is a non-credit course for entering Master of Science in Design: Advanced Architectural Design concentration. The Digital Methods workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to four elements critical to the workflow of the graduate studios at PennDesign: 3D modeling, scripting, visualization and fabrication. Short daily lectures situating digital technologies in contemporary design practice are followed by hands-on tutorials in Maya and Rhinoceros. The first half of the workshop provides an operative knowledge of the many geometry types, modeling techniques, scripting languages and simulation tools available for studio work. Visualization techniques are also introduced, and students will learn to efficiently produce presentation-quality renderings, animations and technical line drawings from digital models. Students also learn protocols transferring data between various design software packages and how to for create data compatible with PennDesign's digital fabrication equipment.

 

ARCH 799: **ONLINE** MSD-EBD WORKSHOP (non-credit)

Dates:  Monday, August 10 through Wednesday, August 21, 9am-5pm (Including Saturday and Sunday)

Location:  Online

Instructor: TBD

Description:  This is a required, non-credit course for entering Master of Science in Design: Environmental Building Design students. The workshop provides an introduction to digital modeling and scripting techniques for environmental performance analysis. Students also learn protocols for transferring data between various design software packages and how to create data compatible with the School of Design's plotting and digital fabrication equipment

 

ARCH 800: **ONLINE** MSD-RAS WORKSHOP / INTRODUCTION TO 3D PROGRAMMING (non-credit)

Dates:  Monday, August 17 through Wednesday, August 26, 9am-5pm

Location:  Online

Instructor:  Ezio Blasetti

Description:  ARCH 800 is a two week required introductory course for matriculating MSD-RAS students. This course introduces computer programming (Python, Grasshopper, etc.) within a 3D modelling/simulation environment, and introduces students to Penn's ARI Robotics Lab.

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TECHNOLOGY

Each student entering the M. Arch. Program is required to have a personal laptop computer which will be used every day in the Digi-Blast workshop, as well during every studio during your time at the Weitzman School of Design.  As a Weitzman student, you are eligible to receive discounts towards the purchase of computers and equipment through Computer Connection, located on the 2^nd floor of the Penn Bookstore.  You may also purchase a computer directly through Campus Express. You may view available equipment on the Weitzman School of Design website and will receive an email with additional ordering instructions when the configurations are ready (www.design.upenn.edu/computing). Please remember that it can take up to 3 weeks for your computer to arrive after ordering it via Campus Express. You are strongly encouraged to call or go directly to Computer Connection to place your order by the middle / end of May. 

Remember that you need to purchase a computer that is capable of running the various 2D and 3D software applications used in Architecture.

Computer Connection
Penn Bookstore
2nd floor
3601 Walnut Street (Corner of 34th and Walnut Streets)
Philadelphia, PA  19104
215-898-3282
http://cms.business-services.upenn.edu/computerstore/

If you purchase a computer through other means please review the recommended configurations carefully to ensure maximum performance as suggested by the Weitzman School of Design.  Some primary specifications are:

Minimum of 16GB RAM minimum; 32 to 64GB would work best.

64bit OS – Windows 10 is the recommended operating system.

Either an Nvidia Quadro, or ATI FireGL Video card with 2GB or more.  Nvidia Quadro cards have had the best compatibility and performance track record in our environment over the past 10 years.

The Dell Precision line of laptops are workstation quality and recommended for the applications used at Weizman.

MAC computers will need to have both operating systems installed as all programs taught will use a Windows platform.  MACs running a dual operating system should have a minimum of 16G of RAM and can use software such as VMware or Boot Camp which enables moving from the MAC side to the Windows side.  Remember that you will have to maintain two operating systems, and most software is written for Windows technology.

 

SOFTWARE LICENSES

It is a requirement that all incoming students own / purchase a personal copy of Adobe Creative Suite Students can download O365 from Campus Express at (https://prod.campusexpress.upenn.edu/). Click the Log in button and log in using your Pennkey ID and password.  Students are strongly encouraged to purchase a personal copy of Rhino.  You can purchase Rhino directly from the Computer Connection for $95.00.  Having personal copies of these software packages will facilitate uninterrupted use on or off campus.  While software applications are available in our labs, the labs are often reserved for classes. 

Please visit www.design.upenn.edu/computing for more information about computing purchases.  E-mail ithelp@design.upenn.edu for further questions.

*Meyerson Hall is located at 210 South 34^th Street (34^th & Walnut Streets)