An art piece comprised of wooden furniture combined with metal grids sits in a windowed room.

SAIC

Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects

Graduate Curriculum & Courses

Master of Architecture

SAIC offers a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) accredited Master of Architecture (MArch) degree: a full, 3-year MArch and a 2-year, accelerated MArch track for students with an undergraduate, pre-professional bachelor's in architecture or architectural technology.

  • Program Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of six years to complete the degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence.
    • Transfer credit: Generally transfer credits are not accepted. All requests for transfer credits are reviewed individually by the director of the department at the time of admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
    TermCredit Hours
    First Year Fall15
    • AIA 5110 Arch/Inarch: Grad Studio 1 (6)
    • AIA 5113 Arch/Inarch: Construction Systems (3)
    • AIA 5123 Arch/Inarch: Structures 1 (3)
    • ARTHI 5102 Global History of Architecture, 1750–1900 (3)
    		 
    First Year Spring15
    • AIA 5120 Arch/Inarch: Grad Studio 2 (6)
    • AIA 6221 Arch/Inarch: Structures 2 (3)
    • ARTHI 5122 Critical Terms in Modern Architecture (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Fall15
    • ARCH 6110 Architecture: Grad Studio 3 (6)
    • AIA 6112 Arch/Inarch: Nodes/Networks (3)
    • Art History (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Spring15
    • ARCH 6120 Architecture: Grad Studio 4 (6)
    • AIA 6123 Codes, Specs, Joints (3)
    • Art History (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Third Year Fall15
    • ARCH 6210 Architecture: Grad Studio 5 (6)
    • AIA 6212 Arch/Inarch: Choreographed Systems (3)
    • AIA 6213 Arch/Inarch:Thesis Strategies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Third Year Spring15
    • AIA 6220 Arch/Inarch: Grad Studio 6 - Thesis (9)
    • AIA 6222 Arch/Inarch: Practice Economies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Participation in four Graduate Critiques—Participation in Critique Week is mandatory for the final four semesters of study at SAIC. 
    Participation in AIADO Graduate Exhibition 
    Total Credit Hours90

  • Program Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence.
    • Transfer credit: Generally transfer credits are not accepted. All requests for transfer credits are reviewed individually by the director of the department at the time of admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
    TermCredit Hours
    First Year Fall15
    • ARCH 6110 Architecture: Grad Studio 3 (6)
    • AIADO 6112 Arch/Inarch: Nodes/Networks (3)
    • Art History Elective (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    First Year Spring15
    • ARCH 6120 Architecture: Grad Studio 4 (6)
    • AIADO 6123 Codes, Specs, Joints (3)
    • AIADO 6221 Arch/Inarch: Structures 2 (3)
    • ARTHI 5122 Critical Terms in Modern Architecture (3)
    		 
    Second Year Fall15
    • ARCH 6210 Architecture: Grad Studio 5 (6)
    • AIADO 6212 Arch/Inarch: Choreographed Systems (3)
    • AIADO 6213 Arch/Inarch: Thesis Strategies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Spring15
    • AIADO 6220 Arch/Inarch: Graduate Studio 6 - Thesis  (9)
    • AIADO 6222 Arch/Inarch: Practice Economies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Participation in four Graduate Critiques 
    Participation in Graduate Design Exhibition 
    Total Credit Hours60

Master of Architecture with a Track in Interior Architecture

SAIC offers two Master of Architecture (MArch) with a Track in Interior Architecture degrees. Both are professional degrees accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). Unique among architecture graduate degrees, SAIC’s two MArch with a track in interior architecture options recognize and underscore the significance of architectural design where form, structure and enclosure are considered in proximity to materials, objects, human needs and experience. Housed within an interdisciplinary educational community, the degrees provide a provocative and intellectually stimulating context for exploring the social, cultural and technological implications architectural spaces designed from the inside out.

Interior Architecture is a growing professional field where architects have an increasing impact. In the MArch programs, we teach through hands-on inquiry, experimentation and exploration to develop the skills and critical knowledge necessary for the development of new spatial ideas and invention in the field of interior architecture.

The curriculum is centered on the series of project-based studios supported by courses in building structures, building technology, professional practice and electives in architectural history and theory. MArch students are encouraged to develop and expand their practice by taking courses in other departments across SAIC, as well as by applying to AIADO’s External Partnership courses. In their final year, students complete a rigorous comprehensive design studio and pursue a self-directed design thesis under the supervision of faculty in the department.

  • The 3 year, 90-credit option is a carefully choreographed studio sequence, offering students the skills and sensibilities required of the contemporary interior architect, while grounding them in the histories and theories that are specific to the design of interior spaces. Each semester includes a conceptual cluster of classes with a 6-credit design studio, a 3-credit technical support studio, and 3-credit seminars.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of six years to complete the degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence.
    • Transfer credits: Normally transfer credits are not accepted. All requests for transfer credits are reviewed individually by the director of the department at the time of admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
    TermCredit Hours
    First Year Fall15
    • AIADO 5110 Arch/Inarch: Grad Studio 1 (6)
    • AIADO 5113 Arch/Inarch: Construction Systems (3)
    • AIADO 5123 Arch/Inarch: Structures 1 (3)
    • ARTHI 5102 Global History of Architecture, 1750–1900 (3)
    		 
    First Year Spring15
    • AIADO 5120 Arch/Inarch: Grad Studio 2 (6)
    • AIADO 6221 Arch/Inarch: Structures 2 (3)
    • ARTHI 5122 Critical Terms in Modern Architecture (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Fall15
    • INARC 6110 Interior Arch: Grad Studio 3 (6)
    • AIADO 6112 Arch/Inarch: Nodes/Networks (3)
    • Art History (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Spring15
    • INARC 6120 Interior Arch: Grad Studio 4 (6)
    • AIADO 6123 Codes, Specs, Joints (3)
    • Art History (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Third Year Fall15
    • INARC 6210 Interior Arch: Grad Studio 5 (6)
    • AIADO 6212 Arch/Inarch: Choreographed Systems (3)
    • AIADO 6213 Arch/Inarch: Thesis Strategies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Third Year Spring15
    • AIADO 6220 Arch/Inarch: Grad Studio 6 - Thesis (9)
    • AIADO 6222 Arch/Inarch: Practice Economies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Participation in four Graduate Critiques—Participation in Critique Week is mandatory for the final four semesters of study at SAIC. 
    Participation in Graduate Design Exhibition 
    Total Credit Hours90


     

  • Students with undergraduate pre-professional bachelor's degrees in architectural studies, architectural technology, or interior design may be accepted into the two-year, 60-credit accelerated program. Students admitted into the Option 2 program may also be lacking one or two specific topical architectural classes, and if so will be required to take those classes at SAIC.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence.
    • Transfer credits: Normally transfer credits are not accepted. All requests for transfer credits are reviewed individually by the director of the department at the time of admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
    TermCredit Hours
    First Year Fall15
    • INARC 6110 Interior Arch: Grad Studio 3 (6)
    • AIADO 6112 Arch/Inarch: Nodes/Networks (3)
    • Art History Elective (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    First Year Spring15
    • INARC 6120 Interior Arch: Grad Studio 4 (6)
    • AIADO 6221 Arch/Inarch: Structures (3)
    • AIADO 6123 Codes, Specs, Joints (3)
    • ARTHI 5122 Critical Terms in Modern Architecture (3)
    		 
    Second Year Fall15
    • INARC 6210 Interior Arch: Grad Studio 5 (6)
    • AIADO 6212 Arch/Inarch: Choreographed Systems (3)
    • AIADO 6213 Arch/Inarch: Thesis Strategies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Spring15
    • AIADO 6220 Arch/Inarch: Graduate Studio 6: Thesis  (9)
    • AIADO 6222 Arch/Inarch: Practice Economies (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Participation in four Graduate Critiques 
    Participation in Graduate Design Exhibition 
    Total Credit Hours60

Master of Design in Designed Objects

The Master of Design in Designed Objects (MDDO) is a two-year, 66 credit hour program with a carefully sequenced course-based curriculum, built for students who seek immersion in the critical and technical skills specific to the extended practice of object design.

  • Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence.
    • Transfer credit: Generally transfer credits are not accepted. All requests for transfer credits are reviewed individually by the chair of the department at the time of admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours
    TermCredit Hours
    First Summer Intensive 6  
    • DESOB 5050 Refresh: Summer Intensive (6)
    		 
    First Year Fall15  
    • DESOB 5150 Studio 1: Reset (3)
    • DESOB 5152 Research Methods Lab (3)
    • DESOB 5164 Material Intelligence Studio Seminar (3)
    • ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Arch. and design (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    First Year Spring  15  
    • DESOB 5160 Studio 2: Discover (6)
    • DESOB 5162 Prototyping Methods Lab (3)
    • ARTHI 6120 Critical Issues in Designed Objects (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Second Year Fall 15  
    • DESOB 6150 Thesis Studio 1: Initiate (6)
    • DESOB 6152 Material Futures Studio Seminar (3)
    • Art History Elective (3)
    • Elective or Internship (3)
    		 
    Second Year Spring 15  
    • DESOB 6160 Thesis Studio 2: Manifest (6)
    • DESOB 6162 Positioning Methods Lab (3)
    • Elective (3)
    • Elective (3)
    		 
    Participation in four Graduate Critiques 
    Participation in Graduate Design Exhibition 
    Total Credit Hours66

MFA in Studio

The MFA in Studio Program offers an expansive educational model in which designers engage history, critical thinking, and work across disciplines.

  • SAIC's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio, Architecture is a 60 credit hour program is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing your individual needs as a student.

    Following admission through the department, you will design your two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC. You are encouraged to seek out curricular advising as needed from a variety of available sources including the dean, graduate dean, graduate division chair, department heads, academic advising, the graduate admissions office, and your peers.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: You have a maximum of four years to complete your MFA in Studio degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Students will have access to studios for four semesters only.
    • Transfer credits: You must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in residence at SAIC. You can request up to 15 transfer credits at the time of application for admission, which are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credits are permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Art History requirement: MFA students are required to take ARTHII 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design. Art History courses must be at the 4000-level and above.
    • Undergraduate studio courses: Graduate students are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000-level and above) per semester without permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000-level are allowed only with permission.
    • Full-time status minimum requirement: 12 credit hours is required to maintain full-time status as a graduate student.
    TermCredit Hours
    Studio—MFA 6009 Graduate Projects, Seminars and/or maximum of 12 credits of 3000-level and above studios39  
    Art History12  
    • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design(3)
    • Art History Courses, 4000-level or above (9)
    		 
    Electives—any course in any area at 3000 level or above9  
    Participation in four graduate critiques 
    Participation in ONE of the following as appropriate to artistic practice:* Graduate Exhibition, AIADO or Fashion Exhibition, Graduate Performance Event, Graduate Screenings 
    Total Credit Hours60 

  • SAIC's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio is a 60 credit hour program is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing your individual needs as a student. Following admission through a department, you will design your two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC. You are encouraged to seek out curricular advising as needed from a variety of available sources including the dean, graduate dean, graduate division chair, department heads, academic advising, the graduate admissions office, and your peers.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: You have a maximum of four years to complete your MFA in Studio degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Students will have access to studios for four semesters only.
    • Transfer credits: You must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in residence at SAIC. You can request up to 15 transfer credits at the time of application for admission, which are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credits are permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Art History requirement: MFA students are required to take ARTHII 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design. Art History courses must be at the 4000-level and above.
    • Undergraduate studio courses: Graduate students are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000-level and above) per semester without permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000-level are allowed only with permission.
    • Full-time status minimum requirement: 12 credit hours is required to maintain full-time status as a graduate student.
    TermCredit Hours
    Studio—MFA 6009 Graduate Projects, Seminars and/or maximum of 12 credits of 3000-level and above studios39  
    Art History12  
    • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design(3)
    • Art History Courses, 4000-level or above (9)
    		 
    Electives—any course in any area at 3000 level or above9  
    Participation in four graduate critiques 
    Participation in ONE of the following as appropriate to artistic practice:* Graduate Exhibition, AIADO or Fashion Exhibition, Graduate Performance Event, Graduate Screenings 
    Total Credit Hours60 

  • SAIC's Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio is a 60 credit hour program is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing your individual needs as a student. Following admission through a department, you will design your two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC. You are encouraged to seek out curricular advising as needed from a variety of available sources including the dean, graduate dean, graduate division chair, department heads, academic advising, the graduate admissions office, and your peers.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications

    • Completion schedule: You have a maximum of four years to complete your MFA in Studio degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Students will have access to studios for four semesters only.
    • Transfer credits: You must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in residence at SAIC. You can request up to 15 transfer credits at the time of application for admission, which are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credits are permitted after a student is admitted.
    • Art History requirement: MFA students are required to take ARTHII 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design. Art History courses must be at the 4000-level and above.
    • Undergraduate studio courses: Graduate students are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000-level and above) per semester without permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000-level are allowed only with permission.
    • Full-time status minimum requirement: 12 credit hours is required to maintain full-time status as a graduate student.
    TermCredit Hours
    Studio—MFA 6009 Graduate Projects, Seminars and/or maximum of 12 credits of 3000-level and above studios39  
    Art History12  
    • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design(3)
    • Art History Courses, 4000-level or above (9)
    		 
    Electives—any course in any area at 3000 level or above9  
    Participation in four graduate critiques 
    Participation in ONE of the following as appropriate to artistic practice:* Graduate Exhibition, AIADO or Fashion Exhibition, Graduate Performance Event, Graduate Screenings 
    Total Credit Hours60 


     

  • The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program at SAIC is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing your individual needs as a student. Following admission through a department, you will design your two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC. You are encouraged to seek out curricular advising as needed from a variety of available sources including the dean, graduate dean, graduate division chair, department heads, academic advising, the graduate admissions office, and your peers.

    MFA 6009 Graduate Projects

    MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advising, an ongoing individual dialogue with a wide range of full-time and part-time faculty advisors, is at the heart of the MFA program at SAIC, encouraging interdisciplinary study across the curriculum. You are required to register for one MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advisor each semester, and we highly recommend you register for two.

    In the registration process, you may elect to earn 3 or 6 hours of credit with each advisor. This option is designed to allow for maximum flexibility in designing your program. You can earn as few as 3 and as many as 6 credits with each advisor each semester, thus dedicating a maximum of 12 credit hours to your studio activity. The number of credits you earn has no correlation with the length or frequency of the advising sessions or to faculty assessment of student work.

    The remainder of credits required for the full-time 15 credit hour load may include graduate seminars and academic or studio electives. MFA students are urged to take graduate seminars, and an introductory seminar in their department of admission is highly recommended. In addition, the MFA student may choose from all the art history, studio, and academic offerings across the curriculum (including undergraduate offerings above 3000 level) in any given semester to customize their degree experience.

    Graduate Critiques

    As one of the principle means of assessment each semester, you will be required to participate in Critique Week, a week-long schedule of critiques during which classes are suspended.

    Fall semester critiques are organized by department with panels representing the discipline. This provides you with an opportunity to understand the department’s expectations, have your work reviewed from a disciplinary point of view, and to reiterate the expectations for graduate study.

    Spring semester critiques are interdisciplinary, with panel members and students from across SAIC disciplines. Interdisciplinary critiques allow for a broad range of responses to your work, and are intended to assess the success of your work for a more general, albeit highly informed audience. Critique panels include faculty, visiting artists, and fellow graduate students.

    Graduate Exhibition or Equivalent

    At the conclusion of your studies, you will present work in the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition, other end-of-year events at SAIC, or the Gene Siskel Film Center—or arrange with the graduate dean or division chair for an alternative thesis of equal professional quality. Each year more than 200 graduate students exhibit work, screen videos and films, and present time-based works, writings, and performance to a collective audience of 30,000 people.

    Students wishing to install work around prevalent themes, strategies or stylistic affinities can participate in a juried and curated section of the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition. A faculty and staff committee conducts extensive studio visits and as a collaborative project with student participants, organizes and installs the show in designated space at the exhibition.

    Undergraduate Courses

    MFA students are advised to understand the expectations of their faculty when enrolled in undergraduate studio classes. Although graduate students are an asset to the group dynamic, faculty requirements for graduate students in undergraduate classes are variable. The student is responsible for understanding the faculty member's expectations about completion of assignments, attendance, and any other criteria for earning credit. To assure that graduate students are working at degree level, they are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000 level and above) per semester without permission of the dean of graduate studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 level are allowed only with permission.

Course Listing

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

Introduces the meaning and making of architecture and interior architecture through individual and group design projects. Students learn design processes by experimenting with materials and exploring architectural and interior architecture representation, and measure the implications of their work on broader cultural contexts. Students work on design projects using the latest software and digital tools, and develop techniques for integrating analog and digital design and fabrication processes. Students research historic precedents and contemporary culture and design to inform their work. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1045

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1256

Description

This course introduces students to the creative scope of the Designed Objects program, and the ideas, skills, and methods used in the process of designing objects. Students will learn about the design of objects by studying their form, function, assembly, materiality, use, value and significance (both subjective and objective). Emphasizing thinking through making; students students build their visual vocabulary and develop an understanding of the design process. The goal of this class is to help students imagine the possibilities of the object design field and identify their aptitude for becoming an object designer. The course will explore the intentionality of object design, exploring the works of a ranging from James Dyson to Ron Arad to Zaha Hadid. Readings and screenings will vary but typically include Mu-Ming Tsai's Design Thinking and Gary Hustwit's Objectified. Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of several minor exploratory projects and two fully fleshed out finished Objects (mid-term and final). This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1379

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1256

Description

Introduces the meaning and making of architecture and interior architecture through individual and group design projects. Students learn design processes by experimenting with materials and exploring architectural and interior architecture representation, and measure the implications of their work on broader cultural contexts. Students work on design projects using the latest software and digital tools, and develop techniques for integrating analog and digital design and fabrication processes. Students research historic precedents and contemporary culture and design to inform their work. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1046

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

This course introduces students to the creative scope of the Designed Objects program, and the ideas, skills, and methods used in the process of designing objects. Students will learn about the design of objects by studying their form, function, assembly, materiality, use, value and significance (both subjective and objective). Emphasizing thinking through making; students students build their visual vocabulary and develop an understanding of the design process. The goal of this class is to help students imagine the possibilities of the object design field and identify their aptitude for becoming an object designer. The course will explore the intentionality of object design, exploring the works of a ranging from James Dyson to Ron Arad to Zaha Hadid. Readings and screenings will vary but typically include Mu-Ming Tsai's Design Thinking and Gary Hustwit's Objectified. Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of several minor exploratory projects and two fully fleshed out finished Objects (mid-term and final). This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1387

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1255

Description

Introduces the meaning and making of architecture and interior architecture through individual and group design projects. Students learn design processes by experimenting with materials and exploring architectural and interior architecture representation, and measure the implications of their work on broader cultural contexts. Students work on design projects using the latest software and digital tools, and develop techniques for integrating analog and digital design and fabrication processes. Students research historic precedents and contemporary culture and design to inform their work. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1047

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1230

Description

Introduces the meaning and making of architecture and interior architecture through individual and group design projects. Students learn design processes by experimenting with materials and exploring architectural and interior architecture representation, and measure the implications of their work on broader cultural contexts. Students work on design projects using the latest software and digital tools, and develop techniques for integrating analog and digital design and fabrication processes. Students research historic precedents and contemporary culture and design to inform their work. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1056

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1255

Description

This course is a comprehensive introduction to two-dimensional architectural and interior architectural representation. Students learn hand-drawing and digital techniques to produce orthographic, axonometric, isometric, and perspectival projections in individual and group projects. Students move between two- and three-dimensional representation, developing robust skills for design drawing. Typically the course will review the work of architects and designers throughout the history of architecture representation. Readings will vary and focus will be concentrated on understanding and putting into practice the mechanisms of drawing. Course work consists of building techniques and practice of drawing. Classes will develop incremental skills through assignments and projects that culminate into complex drawings and representations. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1049

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication

Location

Sullivan Center 1255

Description

Comprehensive introduction to three-dimensional architectural and interior architectural representation and fabrication. Through individual and group projects, students learn hand-modeling and digital fabrication techniques, and become super-users of the School?s shops and Advanced Output Center. Students work on design projects using the latest software and digital tools, and develop techniques for integrating analog and digital design and fabrication processes. Students move between two- and three-dimensional representation in the development of robust skills for design communication. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1040

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Digital Imaging

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

This two-day core design studio is the introductory course in the Arch/Inarc core studio sequence. Students learn architecture and interior architecture design processes including precedent research, formal analysis, schematic design, and design development, all using the latest software and tools. This course exemplifies the rigorous model of the architecture studio. It encourages design experimentation and provides an analytic framework for developing an advanced understanding of how drawing and model making shape design processes. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: ARCH/INARC 1001 or DES OB 1001

Class Number

1050

Credits

6

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1406B

Description

This two-day core design studio is the introductory course in the Arch/Inarc core studio sequence. Students learn architecture and interior architecture design processes including precedent research, formal analysis, schematic design, and design development, all using the latest software and tools. This course exemplifies the rigorous model of the architecture studio. It encourages design experimentation and provides an analytic framework for developing an advanced understanding of how drawing and model making shape design processes. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: ARCH/INARC 1001 or DES OB 1001

Class Number

1051

Credits

6

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1406A

Description

This course will provide the student with the skills to create design concept sketches (ideation/thinking) that will communicate with the viewer and visualize the design concept as a design object using sketch renderings to define and communicate the object's form and function. Instructions will focus on freehand marker sketching for ideation/thumbnails, shading, form development and rendering, followed by orthographic projection (measured technical drawing) and two-point perspective. Each of these skills will be demonstrated in class and on a one to one basis during the semester In each class I will share design drawings from my collection that show a history of sketching styles for presentations using Prismacolor Pencils and NuPastels to markers, along with marker drawings for clients that I and other designers have created in product, packaging and display projects. These presentations will also be used to lecture on the history of design drawing styles and techniques. Students will be given three design projects in which they will go through the design process of starting with ideation sketches, followed by design selection, renderings and an orthographic drawing of the final design. The first project focuses on the development of forms, the next two projects have an emphasis on ideas and drawing skills. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1380

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1241

Description

This course will provide the student with the skills to create design concept sketches (ideation/thinking) that will communicate with the viewer and visualize the design concept as a design object using sketch renderings to define and communicate the object's form and function. Instructions will focus on freehand marker sketching for ideation/thumbnails, shading, form development and rendering, followed by orthographic projection (measured technical drawing) and two-point perspective. Each of these skills will be demonstrated in class and on a one to one basis during the semester In each class I will share design drawings from my collection that show a history of sketching styles for presentations using Prismacolor Pencils and NuPastels to markers, along with marker drawings for clients that I and other designers have created in product, packaging and display projects. These presentations will also be used to lecture on the history of design drawing styles and techniques. Students will be given three design projects in which they will go through the design process of starting with ideation sketches, followed by design selection, renderings and an orthographic drawing of the final design. The first project focuses on the development of forms, the next two projects have an emphasis on ideas and drawing skills. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1393

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1407

Description

This one-day studio focuses on colors infinite influence on the human experience and the lived environment. Color interpretation and cultural connectivity will enable students through rigorous representation techniques, and experiments develop a personal color sensibility. Color palettes are examined to distinguish critical and creative thinking in design. Color Theory is studied to identify atmosphere and spaces that affect each of us both psychologically and physiologically. Principles of color usage is explored, how it effects form, light and material. Some relevant topics we will study include Color and Culture, how people experience their environment through the senses, time, emotions and spatial awareness. Color and Light inseparable partners in the process of perception forming part of the overall design of space. Color, Material and Structure (CMS) are experienced through two important senses, sight and touch. The effectiveness of CMS in design depends upon its relationship to form, also recognizing that materials and finishes, whether glass, granite or paint, contribute color to all space. Some scholars we will study include Josef Albers, Albert Munsell, and Joann and Arielle Eckstut. The deliverables for the class are precedent research, in-class assignments, relevant readings, Mid-term Project presentation and Final Studio Project presentation at the site presented to the clients.

Class Number

1052

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1241

Description

Architectural preservation, art conservation, archiving and collecting, even environmental protection: all these practices share a desire to preserve things of value, but how do we decide what's valuable? Using the laws, policies, and practices of architectural preservation as a starting point this studio will ask and propose answers to the question: what's worth preserving? Students will explore how preservation practice overlaps and complements the work of different museums, archives, and collections that define value and how they protect it; and propose strategies for assembling and maintaining their own collections in whatever media they choose. Course readings will focus on the history and contemporary practice of preservation, conservation, and collecting, including texts by Ariella Aisha Azoulay, Daniel Bluestone, Amanda Cachia and Alice Wong, the De-Colonial Collective on Migration of Objects and People, Shannon Mattern, and Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Leah Samples, The South Side Home Movie Project. Course work will include weekly readings and in-class discussions and lectures. Students will work individually throughout the course to research how different institutions assemble and protect their collections, identify a subject of personal interest for preservation, and propose a preservation strategy for it in any medium of their choice.

Class Number

2312

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Art/Design and Politics, Community & Social Engagement, Public Space, Site, Landscape

Location

Sullivan Center 1255

Description

This core skills studio teaches how to generate impactful visual materials to effectively communicate interactions with objects, digital interfaces and within virtual spaces. Students will learn professional communication tools for prototyping screen-based interfaces, vector illustration, typographic and visual composition, and data visualization. As well as aiding design development, the tools covered will enable the successful communication of storyboarded scenarios, design research, and finished proposals for physical and screen-based presentation. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

2157

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication

Location

Sullivan Center 1241

Description

As the beginning course in the Designed Objects department, students will have an opportunity to explore different methods of working in order to begin establishing a practice that works best for them. Students will be building a strong foundation of skills and techniques needed to navigate an informed design process and successfully complete a design brief. In this hands-on class, students will learn how to find inspiration for an idea, develop that idea into a concept, and use that concept to design and fabricate a high-level, final prototype. Basic research theories and methods are introduced which are then applied towards studio projects. Fabrication and prototyping techniques are also incorporated in order to test out ideas and discover new ones. Students advance through definition, research, ideation, sketching, and modeling phases toward two? and three?dimensional representations (digital and physical) of their work that are orally defended during group critique. Readings and lecture content will vary and will focus on examples of historically relevant and contemporary designers, artists, studios, and design movements; as well as design practices that highlight different motivations of the designer. In addition to the two main projects that focus on different methods of approaching design? where students will be producing high-level prototypes, this workshop-style class consists of one-day projects and exercises designed to introduce techniques and skills such as technical drawing and sketching, form-finding, prototyping, and inspiration research, among others. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1381

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1255

Description

As the beginning course in the Designed Objects department, students will have an opportunity to explore different methods of working in order to begin establishing a practice that works best for them. Students will be building a strong foundation of skills and techniques needed to navigate an informed design process and successfully complete a design brief. In this hands-on class, students will learn how to find inspiration for an idea, develop that idea into a concept, and use that concept to design and fabricate a high-level, final prototype. Basic research theories and methods are introduced which are then applied towards studio projects. Fabrication and prototyping techniques are also incorporated in order to test out ideas and discover new ones. Students advance through definition, research, ideation, sketching, and modeling phases toward two? and three?dimensional representations (digital and physical) of their work that are orally defended during group critique. Readings and lecture content will vary and will focus on examples of historically relevant and contemporary designers, artists, studios, and design movements; as well as design practices that highlight different motivations of the designer. In addition to the two main projects that focus on different methods of approaching design? where students will be producing high-level prototypes, this workshop-style class consists of one-day projects and exercises designed to introduce techniques and skills such as technical drawing and sketching, form-finding, prototyping, and inspiration research, among others. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1397

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

'You are not the user. As objects become 'smart,' a designer should not only think about its form but also think about how others will interface with it. These days, a user can interact directly with an object, talk to an object, or interact remotely through a smartphone or hub. It is also important that the designer has a general understanding of the technology that makes an object ?smart? and how that can be used to construct a desired experience. Through presentations and discussions, this studio-seminar rapidly introduces methods to understand objects, technology and their relationship with users. Projects in this class can also explore how an app can be used to enhance an object and not replace it. Weekly presentations will focus on various interface technologies or user interface (UI) development methods and examples that will be explored in the assignments. Work examples will consist of both historic and current objects as well as samples of professional work. Suggested readings: 'Enhanced Objects' by David Rose, 'Don't Make Me Think Revisited' by Steve Krug, and the writings of Donald Norman. Over the course of the semester, students can expect to produce at least two different interface projects. Weekly assignments will explore various steps in a UI development process such as persona development, flow diagramming, graphic design, iconography, typography, concept simulation, and user testing. The assignments and projects will be reviewed and critiqued with the class. Please note that this is not a programming class, and the projects only require the development of a simulated interface.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1388

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1407

Description

We will work with the processes by which product designers develop compelling objects that communicate ideas, values, functions and purpose. Projects are designed to study the language of form through an analysis of user interaction, the implications of material choice, finishes, and craftsmanship on the success of a product concept, and how these choices support and promote function, desirability and perceived value. There is also an emphasis on expanding student material exploration and making techniques for optimal results, and the value of iterative prototyping in a successful design process. The course will address universal product design issues and methods, starting with defining and understanding the project, considering form and function, appropriate material selection, construction techniques, finishes, iteration, and well-crafted final products. We will cover concepts such as semiotics, ergonomics, families of objects, multi-functional products, and emphasize clear communication of finished design ideas through schematics, and graphic representation using descriptive photography. Relevant contemporary design examples are provided as reference for each project, and students will spend additional time researching contemporary designers such as Front Design, Raw Edges, Nendo and Ron Arad. Students will be introduced to high-end professional design sources in a business setting through a field trip to the Merchandise Mart. The course is built around 3 main projects, each with instructional presentations, Design research assignments, ideation and sketching, group discussions, and iterative prototyping, resulting in the creation of a final product and printed graphic document, all presented and discussed in a group critique. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Pre Req: DES OB 2020

Class Number

1382

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

This course provides an introduction to sustainable design, covering topics such as raw materials, energy, food, water, global and local production, global supply chain, green chemistry, and circular economies. Students will learn about the three pillars of sustainability and the fundamental concepts and principles of sustainability. The course will cover the importance of renewable resources and closed-loop systems to reduce waste in sustainable design. Students will explore renewable energy sources and energy-efficient technologies. The importance of food and water in sustainable design, global and local production systems, the precautionary principle, and the ethical sourcing of materials will also be covered. The course will examine green chemistry as a means of reducing the environmental impact of chemical processes. Finally, students will learn about circular economies and the importance of designing products and processes that promote the reuse and recycling of materials. By the end of the course, students will be able to apply their knowledge of sustainable design principles and practices to their projects in and out of school.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

2158

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design, Sustainable Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1241

Description

This furniture studio will critically engage the chair as an archetype. Chairs have long been a fascination of designers as they require a developed understanding of structure, material, and form. Importantly, chairs represent the cultural mores of the time in which they are produced and are inextricably linked to larger systems of power, technology, and economy. This course will explore the chair as a fluid, dynamic furniture category that is in a reciprocal relationship with culture, technology, and politics and will emphasize a hands-on approach to design and production. Readings from art and design historians and critics including Galen Cranz, David Getsy, Richard Sennett, Glenn Adamson, and Alice Rawsthorn will be integral to an expansive conversation about the chair. Class readings and discussions will also help contextualize different approaches to construction and fabrication at different scales of production. A wide range of both contemporary and historical design precedents will be explored ranging from traditional Shaker Furniture to Wendell Castle, Faye Toogood, Max Lamb, Egg Collective, Jasper Morrison, and Scott Burton. By the end of this course, students should expect to have completed technical drawings and a series of detailed scale models.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1398

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Furniture Design, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

This course is designed to be a fast-paced first step into the field of 3D CAD modeling, an arena where designers give shape to our daily experience of the world. If this is your first exposure to virtual 3D form development, you will find a flexible interface that facilitates a rapid learning curve from simple to complex. For those with prior CAD experience desiring a more intuitive, less restrictive creative experience, this course will provide the means to turn what you see in your mind and your sketches into exciting visual and precise physically accurate representations of your vision. Throughout the semester we will discuss historical and current events in product, fashion and architectural design. Typically, these shared conversations lead to discoveries that participants dig into and apply to assignments. A list of influential artists, designers and architects is provided along with suggested books and online references that enrich and add diversity and range to our discourse. Initially, the class works through a series of exercises and tutorials designed to bring familiarity and confidence to their experience with Rhino. Students will investigate methods for surfacing, modifying, rendering, and presenting ideas and concepts they create. As each tool and process becomes more familiar, new methods and strategies are introduced, and students are taught how to apply them to create accurate representative models of objects they design. In addition to gaining hands-on skills, we will explore form creation and the physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural factors that play into the development of a successful new product.

Class Number

1384

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

This course introduces students to SolidWorks, a powerful parametric software package used by product designers to model, indicate specifications, and visualize their design intent. Students will learn the software in the context of design by using it as a tool to develop form and scale, convey design intent with 3D renders, create specification drawings for manufacturing, and interface with 3d printers, CNC machines, and laser cutters for quick iterative prototyping. This course will focus on a series of tutorials followed by hands-on design projects that will provide intensive training in 3D modeling, 3D printing, and photo-realistic 3D rendering.This will allow the students to make judgements on which 3D tools to use at what stage to develop the most efficient models. The tools will be explained through examples and demonstrations, which will allow the students to practice the tools during class. Students are expected to complete 4 projects. The projects will include learning 2D sketch tools and creating relations through existing logos, modeling existing products with multiple components, developing an original design based on an existing brand or artist, and collaborating within a group on a system of objects.

Class Number

1394

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

From the grand scale of global policy to the individual scale of how we greet each other, the Covid19 pandemic changed us in myriad ways. Design also rose to meet this challenge. Designers, scientists, engineers, policymakers and others collaborated to address the unprecedented and largely unforeseen situations Covid19 presented. This course goes beyond design’s conventional end-user focused problem-solving approach, focusing instead on how to use design to develop impactful stories. Systemic change requires influencing decision makers - be they members of the public, CEOs or politicians. By engaging in the creative act of world-building, and embodying the results through made artifacts, spaces, or digital media, designers are able to make work that acts as platforms for fostering debate and, ultimately, change. Along with regular readings and discussions, students will develop a major design project that articulates their vision of a “post-pandemic future',

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1391

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Product Design, Sustainable Design

Location

Online

Description

What does it mean to design for other people? The third course in the Des Ob studio sequence considers how designers are able to understand others and then design for them. We will investigate the things that people do, the objects that they use, how they feel and what they might need, want or desire in order to understand and then design meaningful objects. Students have the opportunity to work with design research, advance their design skills and complete more involved projects. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template. The class introduces relevant research and visualization tools used to gather research insights and generate design ideas. Sketches, mock-ups and models are used to test discuss, and refine research insights, design ideas and propose final concepts. Students can expect to complete one to two projects over the semester and present their progress throughout the term.

Prerequisites

Pre-req: DES OB 2030 Designed Objects Studio Two

Class Number

1383

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1258

Description

This two-day core design is structured around three clear goals: identifying the issue(s) at stake for the project, understanding its connection both to architecture and society; exploring architectural strategies and their relationship to the overall ambitions of the project; and developing graphic tools to convey the relevance and quality of the design exploration. Students conduct research, increase the sophistication of their approach to design and formal analysis, and use rigorous representation techniques. The 40,000-sf project has educational, health, leisure, and cultural programs at its core, operating at the scale of the neighborhood and the city. The project is modeled after the nonprofit private institution SESC that operates with forty-three buildings in twenty-one cities of the municipality of S?o Paulo. Reference buildings from that network are Lina Bo Bardi?s SESC Pompeia (1986) and SESC 24 de Maio, designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha and MMBB Arquitetos. A series of case studies are used to illustrate outdoor and indoor programmatic and experiential approaches. This course builds on Arch/Inarc Studio 2 by introducing architecture projects of increasing complexity and scale, and requires presentations of increasing clarity and technical competence. The course will include pinups, discussions, critiques, and presentations. Assignments include case study analysis, site research, spatial exploration, program and user study, and interior space definition. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisiate: ARCH/INARC 2002.

Class Number

1053

Credits

6

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1406A, Sullivan Center 1406B

Description

This two-day core design is structured around three clear goals: identifying the issue(s) at stake for the project, understanding its connection both to architecture and society; exploring architectural strategies and their relationship to the overall ambitions of the project; and developing graphic tools to convey the relevance and quality of the design exploration. Students conduct research, increase the sophistication of their approach to design and formal analysis, and use rigorous representation techniques. The 40,000-sf project has educational, health, leisure, and cultural programs at its core, operating at the scale of the neighborhood and the city. The project is modeled after the nonprofit private institution SESC that operates with forty-three buildings in twenty-one cities of the municipality of S?o Paulo. Reference buildings from that network are Lina Bo Bardi?s SESC Pompeia (1986) and SESC 24 de Maio, designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha and MMBB Arquitetos. A series of case studies are used to illustrate outdoor and indoor programmatic and experiential approaches. This course builds on Arch/Inarc Studio 2 by introducing architecture projects of increasing complexity and scale, and requires presentations of increasing clarity and technical competence. The course will include pinups, discussions, critiques, and presentations. Assignments include case study analysis, site research, spatial exploration, program and user study, and interior space definition. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisiate: ARCH/INARC 2002.

Class Number

2365

Credits

6

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1407

Description

Digital output has revolutionized the way we conceive of making. This course explores ways of integrating the CNC (Computer Numeric Control) milling machine into art/design fabrication processes. Enabled by 3D modeling the class explores how and when to utilize the CNC machine in addition to more traditional approaches to making. This class consists of demonstration, discussion, and open shop time to develop CNC based projects. We discuss CNC technology and tooling, materials, as well as the aesthetic of CNC output. This project-based course develops CNC proficiency, and will enable students' ability to design for digital output. Due to the learning curve necessary to effectively utilize the CNC, this course (or AIADO 5004 ) will serve as a prerequisite to access the CNC. Rhino is our primary interface for CNC output and RhinoCam is utilized for tool-path generation. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template. Current industrial applications of CNC production will be discussed as well as other resources that can be utilized in conjunction with the CNC mill. The beginning exercises introduce students to the various milling types. Later projects allow the exploration of form development through prototyping. A final project incorporates the CNC mill into student's working practice.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: DES OB 2124 or DES OB 2126 or AIA 3917

Class Number

1385

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

This digital-analog studio affords modeling and prototyping for furniture and other objects at environmental scale. Students construct prototype objects for living while learning a diverse range of technical and process options for making at scale in materials including wood, metals, plastics, fabrics and foams. Focus on fluid improvisation in prototyping designs both by hand and using CNC and other integrated fabrications technologies. The course explores the systems work of Enzo Mari and Gerrit Rietveld to understand simple construction and scaffold mechanisms for creating quick prototypes. We watch an array of craft and wood engineering videos to understand manufacturing and fabrication techniques, and how prototyping takes place in furniture businesses. There are three major assignments, each yielding a unique piece of furniture. Naturally, the scope and scale of the projects increase as the semester moves forward. Additionally the course includes two day-long charettes to deliver specific skills and two field trips, to a furniture manufacturer and to a furniture show room.

Prerequisites

Pre-req: DES OB 2118 Furniture 1: Chair Studio

Class Number

1399

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Furniture Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

In this class you will engage in a wide variety of professional practice activities to help prepare you for life after SAIC. In this course, each student will focus on advancing the design (layout, graphics, narratives, flow) of their portfolio so that it best conveys their individual design skills, experience and interests. Students will produce materials appropriate for delivery of their work across multiple formats (print, digital, web, etc), will learn how to edit/ arrange their materials to suit the specific context of application, and will create consistent design elements that can be shared across the full range of professional materials from portfolio, website, business cards, and other promotional materials. The course emphasizes hands-on, real- world professional activities and opportunities for emerging designers. More information about Professional Practice and the Academic Spine curriculum can be found on the SAIC website: http://www.saic.edu/academics/departments/academicspine/

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: 2900 course

Class Number

1867

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1406B

Description

Runway Meets Runway is an excursion into the intersection of fashion and object design via the accessories and technologies that we wear, carry on and carry with. Working equally in the Fashion Department and AIADO, the students use investigation, iteration and innovation to design and fabricate a collection of accessory designs using analog and digital tools from worlds of both fashion and of product design. This Junior Seminar course includes visits to studios of professional designers to supplement individual developments of objects, lines and looks. Students will develop a web presence appropriate to their emerging practice. Sample Class Activities: Built around the idea that culture is something we carry, carry on, carry with, and carry out, the students will conceive a 'galactic proposal', design and produce the objects, then integrate them into a social media campaign that introduces them as young independent designers to the outside world. Emphasis is placed on developing a professional mindset and mission to all aspects of their work. Students are introduced to this though guest professionals in design, fashion, materials experts, and social media gurus. The class is built around making a signature collection through studio work. The class will also explore- Strategies for developing a collection, Basics of a signature brand Understanding market categories, Positioning and differentiation through presentation, Material/ technique demonstrations (both analog and digital), Vendor field trips, Roles of Intellectual Property, Transforming a personal social media identity into a professional presence, Branding objects, How to meet impossible deadlines, Studio photography on a shoestring budget -through demos, field trips, invited guests, intense studio nights, and the knowledge and expertise of faculty with deep experience developing individual design practices.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: 2900 course

Class Number

1868

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1406A

Description

The ability to present one?s work clearly and effectively is a critical skill for designers. In this course each student will focus on advancing the design (layout, graphics, narratives, flow) of their portfolio so that it best conveys their individual design skills, experience and interests. Students will produce materials appropriate for delivery of their work across multiple formats (print, digital, web, etc.), will learn how to edit/arrange their materials to suit the specific context of application, and will create consistent design elements that can be shared across the full range of professional materials from portfolio, to website, to business cards and other promotional materials. Course lectures, exercises, and assignments are enhanced by presentations by professionals. Readings will vary but typically include graphic design and layout approaches by scholars including Ellen Lupton and Kevin Henry. Skype presentations by art and design professionals have included Jill Singer of Sight Unseen, Nick Ozemba of In Common With, and Jean Lee and Dylan Davis of Ladies & Gentleman Studio. The course work will include the development of both print and digital portfolio materials including a resume, sample cover letter, business card, digital portfolio and website.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: 2900 course

Class Number

1853

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Digital Communication, Graphic Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1255

Description

Visionary Drawing combines research and studio practice in the exploration at drawings and images that are uniquely compelling and have the power to advance visionary proposals in the realms or art, architecture, film, and spatial invention. Examination of historic and contemporary sources will be combined with active studio practice in making drawings of visions, worlds, speculations and proposals for spaces, buildings, sculptures and future monuments. We will study an extensive variety and number or artists and architects ranging tram Mies van der Rohe to Henry Darger, Zaha Hadid to Hieronymus Bosch, the Crystal Chain to Boullee. Walter Demarta to the Bechers to Coop Himmel B(l)au The diverse range is deliberate and intentional. Course work will vary but will typically include readings, assignments of research, and regular Intense assignments of drawing and imaging projects.

Class Number

1041

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Comics and Graphic Novels, Digital Imaging, Graphic Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1241

Description

Investigates the new field of parametric design, which involves making 3D computer models that have embedded simultaneous equations that modify parts of the model when other parts are changed. Includes the sketching of potential parametric relationships at the beginning of the parametric design process. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Class Number

1042

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

Design for Nonhuman Kinds is a course series that asks students to think outside the human experience by decentering human perception and subjectivity. As we begin to recognize the limitations of anthropocentric making, this interdisciplinary series encourages design inclusivity and speculative thinking. Students will be required to expand their consideration of the ‘user’ to include nonhuman subjects such as plants and animals. Design for Nonhuman Kinds: Tools for Empathy challenges students to consider the differing perspectives of nonhuman beings and how to build an understanding of the world outside of their human senses. The natural world’s sensorium is much wider than our limited human capacities. We often need to build tools throughout our process to help us translate experiences that we simply cannot receive. Students will research nonhuman users and build tools and methods in the effort to gain a closer sensory understanding of a nonhuman subject. The goal is to understand user values, needs, desires, and motivations. How can we see, smell, feel, hear, like...? Understanding leads to empathy. User empathy is at the core of good design.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1400

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Art/Design and Politics, Product Design, Sustainable Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1240

Description

This studio examines the relationship between architecture, interior architecture, and construction across the centuries, and investigates the fabrication of buildings and interior environments. The course focuses on how architects and designers communicate their expectations for realizing built work in drawings and documents that direct conventional construction and control computer aided fabrication and manufacture. Students investigate the latest techniques 'digital and analog' for managing and executing the construction process. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Prerequisiate: ARCH/INARC 2002.

Class Number

1054

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1226

Description

Within a structured studio environment, advanced-level students develop, refine, and execute an individual furniture concept. Students progress from the conceptual design stage, through design development to the actualization of a work that can be tested for public review. Students are challenged to develop concise and persuasive arguments regarding the motivation, development, execution, and dissemination of their design project. Through the articulation and advocacy of their design work, students define their role as a dynamic catalyst operating within real-world social-, political-, monetary-, and cultural-economies. This is an advanced level studio course and as such will remain very open, each student taking the lead in the formulation of an appropriate strategy for realizing their own work. The instructor will work closely with each student on a one-on-one basis to help them identify and learn the design and making techniques required for their project. Our approach relies heavily on development through the immediacy of sketching, hands-on iteration, experimentation, and trial and error. This course traces the development of a single piece of furniture through the following steps, each an integral part of the process: ideation, drawing, model-making, prototyping, and final fabrication.

Prerequisites

Pre-req: DES OB 3155 Furniture 2: Prototyping for Furniture

Class Number

1396

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Furniture Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1242

Description

This class proposes to learn by looking at objects as “things”, that is, entities provided with power and affordances capable of influencing human behaviors and practices. In this view of objects as dynamic rather than passive agents, students are asked to design a technological device that misbehaves, thus betraying common expectations linked to its deployment. In doing so, together with the object, each student will re-design the ecological and socio-cultural network in which the object lives and operates. Using methods spanning from speculative to participatory design, the objective of the course is to engage with critical narratives that move beyond traditional problem-solving lenses, and towards the uncanny, ambiguous, adversarial. The resulting projects will be presented as an exhibit of “thick scenarios”, involving interactive objects, graphic representations and videos.

Prerequisites

Any 4 Designed Objects classes or grad student

Class Number

1395

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Collaboration, Product Design

Location

Sullivan Center 1258

Description

This two-day core design studio focuses on the architecture of large-scale multi-use complexes that combine complex social programs with contemporary workplaces, manufacturing, or other related programs. Students integrate their design knowledge, addressing the design potential of complex building systems, and issues related to atmosphere, climate, acoustics, lighting, and energy. Students use rigorous representation techniques, achieving a professional level of presentation. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

Prerequisites

Pre:Ugrd Studio 4

Class Number

1071

Credits

6

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Location

Sullivan Center 1256

Description

SAIC Design @ Homan Square combines professional practice design experience with community activism. Operating out of SAIC's facility in the Nichols tower at Homan Square, the course engages students in a focused dialogue on social project implementation in Chicago and provides the tools and frameworks to realize those projects. Functioning as a pro bono 'design consultancy' where the residents, small businesses and community groups of North Lawndale act as 'clients', each job is treated as a discrete project involving research, knowledge-sharing and design action. The projects will cover a two-semester cycle, with each semester being offered as an independent class. This course, running in the Spring semester, will emphasize the last three stages of the design thinking process; ideation, prototyping, and testing. course class will focus on proposing and implementing solutions that address the contextual research carried out in the first semester. These solutions will be presented to, and critiqued by, the 'clients' who are the main stakeholders, North Lawndale community leaders, as well as SAIC faculty. Recognizing that making is a research process that reveals new problems, the reflexive activity of proposing, making, presenting and critiquing solutions generates new knowledge as well as physical outcomes. It is this collective 'new intelligence' that is the primary goal of the course.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

2159

Credits

3

Department

Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects

Area of Study

Collaboration

Location

Sullivan Center 1258