SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
SUMMER/SPRING 2010 ELECTIVES
The
following electives will be available subject to sufficient enrollment.
SUMMER
Non
Credit Courses:
For rising juniors and Seniors
Architecture Career Discovery Program 1 Two-week
introduction to architecture for rising juniors and seniors includes morning
programs and introductory lectures in history and theory of architecture,
computing and simulation, freehand and extreme drawing, building ecologies,
building conservation, and construction systems. There will be field trips and
career counseling. Afternoons will have individually critiqued (tutored) design
studios, group and individual projects, reviews, and public presentations. Acts
as an opportunity for career discovery to decide whether a design education in
architecture is appropriate. Staff. July 11 23, 2010. 9:00 - 4:00 pm.
Architecture Career Discovery Program 2 Two-week
introduction to architecture for rising juniors and seniors includes morning
programs and introductory lectures in history and theory of architecture,
computing and simulation, freehand and extreme drawing, building ecologies,
building conservation, and construction systems. There will be field trips and
career counseling. Afternoons will have individually critiqued (tutored) design
studios, group and individual projects, reviews, and public presentations. Acts
as an opportunity for career discovery to decide whether a design education in
architecture is appropriate. Staff. July 25 August 6, 2010. 9:00 - 4:00 pm.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPRING
ARCH4060 Surface as Structure as Form (T) CRN53092 The seminar will consciously engage the
conceptual space and tension which has persisted for centuries between
architecture and engineering. Starting
with analysis of early reinforced concrete shell buildings by such
architect/engineers as Torroja, Nervi, Maillart, Candella, Dieste, Freyssinet,
students will speculate on advanced surface performances by integrating new
computational models in the fields of geometry, structural analysis, modeling
and fabrication. Andrew
Saunders. TF12:00 2:00 pm. Cr. 4. Limited enrollment 16.
LGHT-4770 Lighting Tech and Applications (E) CRN51076 This course provides
students with an in-depth understanding of the components of advanced lighting
systems and enables them to critically explore applications of those
components. Through lectures, readings, assignments, and application projects,
students acquire working knowledge of the relevant products and techniques for
lighting application and develop solutions to lighting problems. Students will
undertake practical applications of advanced lighting technologies and develop
skills in the application of photometric data, use of manual and computer-based
lighting calculations, and the development of lighting specifications. TF10:00 11:50 am. LRC Gurley Bldg. Freyssiner.
ARCH-4850 Architectural Acoustics 2
CRN52312 In the spring semester, students will have the opportunity to
design their own performance hall. This process will include continued studies
of acoustics measurements, simulated sound fields, community noise issues, and
professional practice in acoustics consulting. The course will also have
detailed lectures on concert hall acoustics, sound quality, and synthesized
sound fields. Students will be introduced to a variety of simulation software
and measurement equipment in the Acoustics Research Laboratory. After both
Architectural Acoustics 1 and 2, the student should be prepared for a basic
entry-level position in either acoustics in architecture or in acoustical
consulting. Prerequisite: ARCH 4840 or instructor approval. Todd Brooks. F 10
2 pm. Cr. 4.
ARCH-4940.00 Advanced Individual Projects
in Architecture and Environmental Design CRN50274 (IS) Individual projects and readings adapted to the needs
of individual students at the advanced level prearranged with faculty member.
Cr. 1-6.
ARCH-4961/CIVL4961 Bedford Seminar (T) CRN51699 This interdisciplinary
course with students in architecture and civil engineering. The lectures are
based on technology as a form generator with particular emphasis on structural
engineering and advanced structures. The course will examine how architectural
concepts can be generated with appropriate structural systems. Specific
projects will be examined and new projects will be explored by teams of
architects and engineers. The course will focus on fundamentals for quick
evaluations of ideas to develop schemes that satisfy specific project
requirements. The students will be exposed to the collaborative methods
inherent within the architect/engineer relationship. Limited Enrollment: 8 Arch
/ 8 Civil Eng students (selection based on seniority) Prerequisites: Architecture
Students Arch 2330 Structures 1, Arch 4330 Structures 2. Civil Engineering
Students Civil 2670 Intro to Structural Engineering. TW
6-9 pm meets 2 evenings per month (TBA). Bedford Visiting Professor, TBA .
Cr. 2.
ARCH-4962.OC
Material Sensibility CRN53228 (TAUGHT IN NYC / SOM) Material sensibility explores the
intersections between material effects, surface strategy, structural
performance and spatial dimensions. The
notion of sensibility refers to having awareness for and the ability to respond
to the potential for innovation through a material driven design process. Contemporary processes and techniques in the
design of architecture provide novel ways for creating and describing but often
more robust in the generative processes which do not accurately take into
account the tactile nature of architecture.
What can architecture offer besides a formal value? Can architecture exhibit beauty and
sensibility simultaneously? How does
this affect the way architects conceive of design responses and form solutions?
Fareh Garba. Limited NYC/SOM students only. Cr. 2.
ARCH-4963
Production Installation Performance (PIP) CRN53229 An interdisciplinary opportunity grounded in
the project of creating a time-based art in physical dimension and space. The performance design concept and its
development shall be considered a commissioning: of a unique production based
on the premise that performance: movement, sound and its situation; place, set,
props be integral in the design and execution of the commissioned piece. Participants: limited enrollment of 20
including a balanced number of upper class undergraduate and graduate students
under the guidance of Rensselaer faculty and a commissioned performing artist.
Michael Oatman. T 2:00 6:00 pm GR206.
ARCH-4964.EXC
Modular Thinking CRN53225 (China Program Students Only). Cr. 2.
ARCH-4965
Advanced Architectural Modeling CRN53230 The course will focus on advanced modeling,
visualization, and fabrication techniques. Topics covered will include 1) advanced
NURBS, mesh, and SubD modeling; 2) visualization workflow 3D render passes,
HDRI lighting and 2D post-production work; 3) parametric modeling for complex
surface fabrication contouring method, paneling method, and component
population method. Ted Ngai. W 10
12:00. Cr. 2 . Limited to 16 students.
ARCH-4966
Chinese Arch & Urbanism CRN53224 (China Program Students Only). Cr. 4.
ARCH-4967 Design Philosophies: Towards a New Technique
CRN53093
This course will explore and critique the philosophical, intellectual, and
aesthetic texts that have influenced recent design and theoretic trends in
contemporary architecture, practice and criticism. Focusing primarily on the
seminal texts that influenced the design and theoretical trajectories of the
most influential minds in architecture over the last fifteen years, a
comprehensive critique of the current trends in architectural design theory
will emerge. Each student will be
expected to make a presentation and write a paper on the subject of the
course. Jefferson Ellinger. M 10:00
12:00. Cr. 2. Limited to 16 students.
ARCH-4968
ARCH-4969
Analogical Models: Contemporary Art Theory and Practice CRN53231 The discipline of architecture is anything but
pure and is arguably a hybrid-like construct of disparate bodies of knowledge.
In the current moment and immediate past, architecture has looked primarily
towards technological or philosophical space as a vehicle for the advancement
of architectural thought. A
close and nuanced examination of contemporary art theory/practice yields a vast
and dynamic field of possibilities for the re-thinking of architectural
production. Through a close examination of key contemporary artists and theoretical
arguments the seminar will examine the possibility of rethinking architectural
space through the frame of critical art practices.
ARCH-4970 Morphogenetic Structures CRN53232 This course
explores developments of complex and dynamic forms in context of their
structural feasibility. Evolution of
topologies are of special interest. The form finding investigation and
evaluation will include lab testing of physical models in conjunction with
computer simulation and optimization processes.
In addition fragility of the forms will be conceptually assessed. This
is a project based course that will also allow for deeper explorations of
architectural designs driven by student interests. Prerequisites are ARCH 2330
and ARCH 4330.. Ivan
ARCH-4974-EXC
Chinese Lang & Culture CRN (
ARCH-4975-EXC
Calligraphy Painting CRN53226 (China Program Students Only). Cr. 2.
ARCH-6110 Design Explorations 1 CRN53217 Case studies Investigations into architectural knowledge using case study methods. Selective architectural works will be deconstructed are analyzed in order to uncover the knowledge invested in them. Case studies will be Individual buildings are subjected to modes of inquiry that will reveal their deep content from conception to realization, including the mental frameworks of the designers, the methods of representation, the technological knowledge employed, the methods of production, and the ingrained cultural values. Students to develop methods of inquiry that will enable them to pursue similar investigations of any architectural work. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor approval TBA Cr. 4
ARCH-6330.OC Built Ecologies 2 CRN53219 In this
seminar, students develop and analyze an ecologically sensitive built system
related to their thesis topic with particular attention to the architectural,
social, and political implications of the work and their inter-relationships.
An awareness of the political and economic forces that are instrumental in the
development of contemporary built ecologies creates opportunities for
innovation in the cultures of making. Course taught in New York City. Cr. 3.
ARCH-6890
Aural Architecture CRN53221 In this course, design processes in
architectural acoustics will be studied from a psychoacoustical perspective.
Different concepts to create physical and virtual acoustic spaces will be
discussed based on perceptual design goals. Topics include ecological
psychoacoustics, sound quality, auditory virtual environments, and auditory
computational modeling. Jonas Braasch.
TBA Cr. 2
ARCH-6940 Advanced Individual Projects in Architecture
and Environmental Design (IS Independent Study) CRN50910 Individual projects and readings adapted to the needs of
individual students at the advanced level.
IS must be prearranged with faculty member. Cr: 1 6.
(T) = Topic Course, (E) = Elective Course, (IS) =
Independent Study