SAIC
Undergraduate Overview
Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects Undergraduate Overview
The Department of Architecture, Interior Architecture, & Designed Objects (AIADO) is a place where students can explore design and experiment across boundaries.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio (BFA) is an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to prepare students for life as a 21st-century artist and designer. Students are encouraged to take courses in any medium of field of study relevant to their practice. Small class sizes, a commitment to personal attention, and support for free expression define the undergraduate experience.
AIADO offers pathways through the BFA that combine sequenced, project-based design studios with electives that build skills and expand knowledge in design. As a BFA student, Pathways offer you a guide to the prerequisites for advanced studios in the BFA, preparation for further graduate study, and support developing your own design portfolio.
AIADO offers combined coursework with Departments including Fashion Design, Fiber and Material Studies, Sculpture, and Ceramics; allowing students to build strong connections to other areas of the School. BFA students are encouraged to apply to the Department’s External Partnership courses with collaborators in industry and culture. Students participate in the undergraduate spine, including the Sophomore Seminar, Junior Professional Practice Seminar, and Capstone experience in their final year. BFA Students work in the School’s workshops, libraries, and museum collection, making the most of the resources of the School and the city.
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With courses on architectural design, representation skills, and architectural history and theory, the Architecture Pathway focuses on architecture and its impacts on public life while allowing students to experiment in areas such as technology and building performance, urbanism and social practice, and the visualization and communication of information.
The Architecture Pathway is an excellent preparation for graduate study in Architecture.
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The Interior Architecture pathway focuses on the experimental design of interior spaces at various scales. Students work across disciplinary boundaries in developing design ideas that are future oriented and addresses the role and impact of interior spaces in the 21st century. The Interior Architecture courses equip students with a progressively broad range of knowledge and skills to become spatial innovators in an exciting field that bridges architecture, object and service design. The pathway is also an excellent preparation for graduate study.
Students who complete the Interior Architecture pathway meet criteria for the NCIDQ examination given by the Council for Interior Design Qualification. For the most up-to-date criteria, go to the CIDQ website.
BFA in Fine Arts Studio_Interior Architecture Pathways [PDF]
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Borrowing critically from product design, systems design, furniture design, and interaction design, the Designed Objects Pathway focuses on the critical and creative rethinking of the systems, tools, furnishings, and products that we use or interact with in our everyday lives.
Investigations into how objects extend human potential and inspire imagination are balanced with studies in the responsible and imaginative use of new technologies, materials, and production processes. A concern for sustainability provides an opportunity to explore alternative visions of how we live, work, communicate, and play.
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The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree provides you a broad education that balances thinking and making, academic rigor, and experimental play. The BFA curriculum integrates academic and studio education--the classroom and the studio inform and enhance each other.
Studio 69 - CP 1010 Core Studio Practice I (3)
- CP 1011 Core Studio Practice II (3)
- CP 1020 Research Studio I (3)
- CP 1022 Research Studio II (3)
- SOPHSEM 2900 (3)
- PROFPRAC 3900 (3)
- CAPSTONE 4900 (3)
- Studio Electives (48)
PROFPRAC and CAPSTONE are now required for new incoming students beginning in the 2015-16 academic year.
Art History 15 - ARTHI 1001 World Cultures/Civilizations: Pre-History—19th Century Art and Architecture (3)
- Art History Elective at 1000 level (3)
- Art History Electives (9)
Liberal Arts 30 - ENGLISH 1001 First Year Seminar I (3)
- ENGLISH 1005 First Year Seminar II (3)
- Natural Science (6)
- Social Science (6)
- Humanities (6)
- Liberal Arts Electives (6)
General Electives 6 - Studio, Art History, Liberal Arts, AAP, or EIS
Total Credit Hours 120 * BFA students must complete at least 6 credit hours in a class designated as "off campus study." These credits can also fulfill any of the requirements listed above and be from any of the divisions (Art History, Studio, Liberal Arts, or General Electives).
BFA With Distinction—SAIC Scholars Program: The SAIC Scholars program is a learning community of BFA students pursuing rigorous study in both their academic coursework and their studio pathways. There are two opportunities for interested students to apply to the SAIC Scholars Program: at the time of admission to the school, and after they have completed 30 credits of study at SAIC. Students pursuing the latter option are required to formally submit an application to the Undergraduate Division. Once admitted to the SAIC Scholars Program, students are required to successfully complete a minimum of six designated scholars courses. Students who complete the program will graduate with distinction.
BFA with Liberal Arts Thesis Program Curriculum: BFA requirements including 9 credits of specific Liberal Arts electives as follows:
- SOCSCI or HUMANITY 3900 Academic Research and Writing (3)
- LIBARTS 4800 Undergraduate Thesis: Research/Writing I (3)
- CAPSTONE 4900 Liberal Arts Undergraduate Thesis: Research/Writing II (3)
- Participation in Undergraduate Thesis Symposium in Senior Year
- Completion of thesis, approved by both Thesis II instructor and Chair of Liberal Arts
Total credits required for minimum residency 60 Minimum Studio credit 42
Student Work
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Course Listing
| Title | Catalog | Instructor | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Designed Objects | 1001 (001) | Cassandra Scanlon | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Introduction to Architecture/Interior Architecture | 1001 (002) | Jaak Jurisson | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Introduction to Designed Objects | 1001 (002) | Sara Prado | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Arch/Inarch: Design Drawing | 1002 (001) | Aaron Neal | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Arch/Inarch: Design Drawing | 1002 (002) | Jaak Jurisson | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Arch/Inarch: Ugrd Studio 2 | 2002 (001) | Keefer Dunn | Mon/Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
ARCH/INARC Studio 2 is a two-day core design studio that expands the architecture and interior architecture design skills and research capabilities explored in Studio 1. Design projects of increasing complexity and scale are generated, critiqued and refined. Research includes contemporary architecture, site research, urban context, and critical design issues of theory and construction. Students utilize hand sketching, digital visualization, photography, and physical modeling to present design project work with expanding sophistication. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO software template.
PrerequisitesPre:ARCH/INARC 2001 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Arch/Inarch: Ugrd Studio 2 | 2002 (002) | Hennie Jurie Reynders | Mon/Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
ARCH/INARC Studio 2 is a two-day core design studio that expands the architecture and interior architecture design skills and research capabilities explored in Studio 1. Design projects of increasing complexity and scale are generated, critiqued and refined. Research includes contemporary architecture, site research, urban context, and critical design issues of theory and construction. Students utilize hand sketching, digital visualization, photography, and physical modeling to present design project work with expanding sophistication. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO software template.
PrerequisitesPre:ARCH/INARC 2001 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Arch/Inarch: Light and Space | 2003 (002) | Uthman Olowa | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Light is a miraculous condition both conceptually and physically in the fact that it is a medium which can not be touched or held, etc. Light in combination with space creates containers for the production of what can only be described as auras. The ephemeral conditions which light produces actually changes and alters the spaces we inhabit daily. The course Light & Space is designed to develop and expand both artistic and architectural sensibilities for students in the exploration of natural and artificial light as a medium. This one day a week studio is structured around a series of lectures about the comparison between Architects and Artists through exercises involving both physical and digital models within the city of Chicago. The exercises will introduce students on how to construct and assemble spaces in order to control light and the effects it has on inhabitants of architectural surroundings. The instructors of Light & Space present a series of case study comparisons between architects and artists as a means to open the possibilities for extreme experimentation within the studio setting. Students final project of the semester is the curation of the collection of imagery designed and rendered via all exercises, but open ended for each individual student?s interpretation and personal expression of social, political, and gender issues, etc. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Sketching for Designed Objects | 2005 (003) | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
|
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Designed Objects Studio One | 2020 (001) | Erik Newman | Tues
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Sophomore-level or above. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Designed Objects Studio Two | 2030 (001) | Annalee Koehn | Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPre Req: DES OB 2020 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Sustainability Studio | 2035 (001) | Peter J Zerillo | Tues
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Sophomore-level or above. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Digital Modeling: Rhino | 2124 (001) | Peter J Zerillo | Mon/Wed
6:45 PM - 9:15 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Digital Modeling: Solidworks | 2126 (001) | Angie Lullie | Tues
3:30 PM - 9:15 PM In Person |
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.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| architectural design as a cultural practice | 2900 (001) | Aaron Neal | Thurs
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
Description
What does a designer do? This course understands architectural design as a creative practice, embedded within rich cultures of disciplinary knowledge and professional responsibilities. As a creative practice, design becomes more than problem-solving and client management and embraces complex logics of possibility. The work of contemporary architects and related designers, such as Teddy Cruz+Fonna Forman, Brian C. Lee, Virgil Abloh, AGENdA , Jennifer Bonner, Shohei Shigematsu, and Li Hu and Huang Wenjing (OPEN), among others, will provide a reference point for our work. Students will experiment with practice scenarios, designed from and through their work, and the work of others in the class and in the field. Course projects will include a portfolio and a series of design writing experiments that will result in a critical essay, a designer's statement, and an academic map that will help students align SAIC's BFA programs with their interests and ambitions.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Short Form | 2900 (002) | Thurs
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM In Person |
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Description
How might one see their creative practice from novel or surprising perspectives? What methodologies reliably yield diverse viewpoints on one’s work and process as an artist, designer, or scholar? This sophomore seminar invites students to engage with a versatile toolkit of short-form practices (epigrams, aphorisms, proverbs, taglines, haikus, titles, captions, jokes, epitaphs, diagrams, charts, cartoons, icons, pictograms, caricatures, logos, maps) to develop a kaleidoscopic repertoire of sketchbook-based frames of thought. Through a discipline of playful short-form probings we will foster critical perspectives that inform and support our creative practices, connecting with each other in an open forum and working to align the curriculum and resources of SAIC behind a self-directed course of study.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Designing Your Future | 2900 (003) | Anjulie Rao | Tues
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM In Person |
Description
This seminar introduces students' to design problem definition, design process and the logic behind design problem frameworks. The arguments are grounded through an understanding of design criticism and by looking at foundational historic and contemporary convergences in critical design thinking. The seminar is specifically conceived in conjunction with the second year core design studios and as the first part of a thread of knowledge aimed at substantiating the central role of design thinking in the undergraduate curricula.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Storytelling for Designed Objects | 2900 (026) | Cassandra Scanlon | Thurs
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
Description
What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Sophomore Seminar offers strategies for students to explore, reflect upon, and connect common themes and interests in the development of an emerging creative practice that will serve as the basis of their ongoing studies at SAIC and beyond. Students will examine historical and contemporary influences and contextualize their work in relation to the diverse art-worlds of the 21st Century. Readings, screenings, and field trips will vary each semester. Presentations by visiting artists and guest speakers will provide the opportunity for students to hear unique perspectives on sustaining a creative practice. One-on-one meetings with faculty will provide students with individualized mentorship throughout the semester. During interdisciplinary critiques, students will explore a variety of formats and tools to analyze work and provide peer feedback. The class mid-term project asks students to imagine a plan for their creative life and devise a self-directed course of study for their time at school. The course concludes with an assignment asking students to develop and document a project or body of work demonstrating how the interplay of ideas, technical skills, and formal concerns evolve through iteration, experimentation and revision. Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Alterfutures Studio | 3032 (001) | Jessica Charlesworth | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
AlterFutures Studio is a studio course in which students question received expectations about ‘the future’ and use design, writing and visualization methods to propose compelling alternatives. The course will allow students to think through, articulate, and bring to life, critical and provocative narratives for alternative futures. By studying the tools and approaches of speculative and critical design, and design fiction, alongside literary and cinematic forms of futuring, the course builds awareness in, and enables practice of, contemporary techniques used to communicate alternative futures. AlterFutures Studio will be made up of three projects to be presented in a culminating course critique with complimentary readings and discussions each focusing on a particular subject matter and approach relating to emerging technologies and potential impacts on society and culture. The works of designers and artists Dunne & Raby, Superflux, Atelier Van Lieshout, and Lucy Orta, Noam Toran, Extrapolation Factory, and Cohen Van Balen will act as primary points of reference for our explorations in this course. Students will create physical prototypes and use VR tools to develop artifacts and worlds that express their ideas.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Multiples Studio | 3034 (001) | Jess Giffin | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This interdisciplinary studio class investigates the intersection of printmedia, artists? multiples and packaging as an entry point into making and thinking about multiples as a format for studio production. The history of artists? multiples (loosely defined as small-scale editioned or multiply produced three-dimensional works) includes many examples that use, or appropriate, printed elements and packaging in some way. This history, along with our daily experience of packaging (the many boxes, folders, labels, pamphlets, flyers and cartons found in nearly every aspect of contemporary life) offers a wealth of connections to consider and work from. Students will be introduced to a range of printing and paper construction techniques within the Printmedia studio. These include plate-based lithography (with hand-drawn, digital and photo options) and pattern layout for packaging along with other selected tools and techniques. In addition, students will have the opportunity to use SAIC labs such as the Service Bureau and digital fabrication centers. Examples, short readings, and a visit to the Joan Flasch or other related collections will support project development and discussion. Students can expect to complete three to five projects and participate in two critiques.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Shaping Light | 3048 (001) | Gregory Mowery | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Light is a material that can be shaped to express ideas, create experiences and increase the communicative potential of objects and spaces. Through a combination of lectures, demos, fields trips and most of all, hands-on lab work, students develop a degree of self sufficiency in the design, construction and prototyping of illuminated objects, physical graphics and environmental lighting. Students learn basic electronic and electrical circuit design, lamp specification and experiment with illumination technologies including incandescent, LED and cold cathode (neon).
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| CNC Fabrication Techniques | 3060 (001) | Luis Rodriguez Rosario | Sat
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: DES OB 2124 or DES OB 2126 or AIA 3917 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Furniture 1: Chair Studio | 3118 (001) | Erik Newman | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Sophomore-level or above. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Furniture 2: Prototyping for Furniture | 3155 (001) | Lee Weitzman | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPre-req: DES OB 2118 Furniture 1: Chair Studio |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Architecture: Ugrd Studio 4 | 3900 (001) | Odile Compagnon | Tues/Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This two-day core undergraduate design studio focuses on the role of the designer in public life, and the role architecture plays in shaping public life. Students address the legal, ethical, cultural, and political concerns that shape architecture practice through the development of a design project. Students use rigorous representation techniques, achieving a professional level of presentation. Students are expected to complete a professional portfolio and resume, along with their design work. This studio examines issues of program, structure, and building skin to identify how public architecture represents itself as a cultural and political artifact. Rather than understanding architecture as autonomous from its social, cultural, and political environment, the studio posits that architecture must be integrated into the world, be informed by and transforming the social and technical systems that enable our built environments. Students will review and study design approaches to expand their understanding of possibilities about new spatial dynamics informed by emerging social relationships, hybrid conditions and the social shaping of technology. Readings, textual and visual case studies and site visits will vary, but always provide the background and theoretical grounding for the site and project analysis and final project development and portfolio presentation. Project work is a cumulative archive of the process of problem analysis and design exploration that are translations of observations, facts and ideas ? all being made visible through diagrams, drawings and models. Parts of the semesters work will be conducted in groups, in group discussions and workshops and/or site visits; and which will all contribute to individual project work and portfolio development to be presented in a final critique. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Runway Meets Runway: Fashion Accessories and Designing Objects You Wear | 3900 (001) | Stephanie Sims | Tues
3:30 PM - 9:15 PM In Person |
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.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Designed Object Portfolio Development Studio | 3900 (001) | Mollie Edgar, Tobey Albright | Thurs
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
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/
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Designed Object Portfolio Development Studio | 3900 (001) | Mollie Edgar, Tobey Albright | Thurs
3:30 PM - 6:15 PM In Person |
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/
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Architecture: Ugrd Studio 4 | 3900 (002) | Nathan Rennich, Adel Machacca | Tues/Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This two-day core undergraduate design studio focuses on the role of the designer in public life, and the role architecture plays in shaping public life. Students address the legal, ethical, cultural, and political concerns that shape architecture practice through the development of a design project. Students use rigorous representation techniques, achieving a professional level of presentation. Students are expected to complete a professional portfolio and resume, along with their design work. This studio examines issues of program, structure, and building skin to identify how public architecture represents itself as a cultural and political artifact. Rather than understanding architecture as autonomous from its social, cultural, and political environment, the studio posits that architecture must be integrated into the world, be informed by and transforming the social and technical systems that enable our built environments. Students will review and study design approaches to expand their understanding of possibilities about new spatial dynamics informed by emerging social relationships, hybrid conditions and the social shaping of technology. Readings, textual and visual case studies and site visits will vary, but always provide the background and theoretical grounding for the site and project analysis and final project development and portfolio presentation. Project work is a cumulative archive of the process of problem analysis and design exploration that are translations of observations, facts and ideas ? all being made visible through diagrams, drawings and models. Parts of the semesters work will be conducted in groups, in group discussions and workshops and/or site visits; and which will all contribute to individual project work and portfolio development to be presented in a final critique. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Architecture: Ugrd Studio 4 | 3900 (002) | Nathan Rennich, Adel Machacca | Tues/Thurs
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This two-day core undergraduate design studio focuses on the role of the designer in public life, and the role architecture plays in shaping public life. Students address the legal, ethical, cultural, and political concerns that shape architecture practice through the development of a design project. Students use rigorous representation techniques, achieving a professional level of presentation. Students are expected to complete a professional portfolio and resume, along with their design work. This studio examines issues of program, structure, and building skin to identify how public architecture represents itself as a cultural and political artifact. Rather than understanding architecture as autonomous from its social, cultural, and political environment, the studio posits that architecture must be integrated into the world, be informed by and transforming the social and technical systems that enable our built environments. Students will review and study design approaches to expand their understanding of possibilities about new spatial dynamics informed by emerging social relationships, hybrid conditions and the social shaping of technology. Readings, textual and visual case studies and site visits will vary, but always provide the background and theoretical grounding for the site and project analysis and final project development and portfolio presentation. Project work is a cumulative archive of the process of problem analysis and design exploration that are translations of observations, facts and ideas ? all being made visible through diagrams, drawings and models. Parts of the semesters work will be conducted in groups, in group discussions and workshops and/or site visits; and which will all contribute to individual project work and portfolio development to be presented in a final critique. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 2900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Scenography | 3920 (001) | Odile Compagnon | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
In this course, students will be introduced to techniques by which they can design environments (spaces, performances, exhibits, architecture, interiors, landscapes) with strong potential 101 narrative, storytelling, memories Borrowing from the theater, to animation, puppetry, stop motion or urban spectacle, the course will teach ways in which lighting, movements, interactivity, space hierarchy can make nonfigurative concepts accessible to wide audiences, A digital approach will be merged with analog fabrication and scaled prototyping of props and physical environments. Chicago will serve as text book, Field trips to performances , outdoor spectacles, screenings , exhibition will be the teaching tools to understand light, scale, interaction between participants Readings and videos by Peter Brook, Jeremy Till, Olafur Eliason, Patrick Bouchain will set the stage for conversations about minimalism, technology, and the importance of details when telling a story through space. Four short design assignments. inspired by the readings and field trips, will teach students the basics of orthographic projection, scale, additive and subtractive color mixing, materials, computer assisted design, and encourage them to apply their own making and designing skills to creating environments that resonate wilh a strong voice.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Furniture 3:Advanced Furniture (SP) | 4026 (001) | Casey C. Lurie | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
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. Students are admitted via a portfolio application reviewed by the faculty.
PrerequisitesDESOB 4025 |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Emerging Worlds Studio | 4030 (001) | Eric Allan Hotchkiss | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
The goal of this class is to design services, tools, and objects that will shape a new reality of human experience. The class will explore how long-term trends in urban migration, automation, AI, big data, climate change, food, and mixed experience will transform our day-to-day lives. Through research and experimentation, students will investigate the realities and possibilities of these conditions and consider how they will change what we eat, how we work and relax, what we wear, how we gather, and how we travel. As a living laboratory, students will use a variety of media, including digital fabrication, virtual reality, and physical storytelling, to create new design tools, scenarios, worlds, services, objects, and experiences. To accomplish this, students will research the historical, political, technological, ecological, and cultural trends of a particular topic.
PrerequisitesAny 4 Designed Objects classes or grad student |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Interiority | 4050 (001) | Kimberly Ayala Najera | Thurs
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM In Person |
Description
This seminar will explore definitions and characteristics of interiority, historically and theoretically. It is not a survey of interiors but an exploration of the condition of interiority, physically, experientially and culturally. Physically, interiority is the product of boundaries and the tension of boundaries defined; experientially we spend the majority of our lives 'inside'. Culturally and psychologically, it implies habitation, the way we exist within inhabited space, how we negotiate boundedness and openness and the relationship between ourselves and spaces. The seminar will examine these conditions, looking particularly at the challenges to the notion of the interior offered by new technologies. The course will be conducted as an open seminar with presentations by faculty and students, and will form a basis for the self-development of critical and analytical skills in terms of exploring interior spaces, both literally and metaphorically.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Whatnot Studio | 4800 (001) | William Walton | Wed
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
The Whatnot Studio is a progressive educational platform in the Designed Objects department at SAIC that is focused on creative inquiry and iteration. This year-long course enables students to hone their voice as individual designers while working as a team to execute a thematic collection of highly refined and relevant work for public exhibition. The Whatnot Studio has exhibited work at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy and at Wanted Design in New York City. Select mid- and upper level undergraduate and graduate students are admitted to this course via portfolio review. Readings, recordings, screenings, and field trips vary annually depending on the course theme. Students should expect to produce one exhibition quality object and should also expect to work as part of a team to develop exhibition design and promotional materials. Please apply through slideroom: https://saicscholarships.slideroom.com/#/permalink/program/77943
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Capstone: Radical Acts of Preservation | 4900 (001) | Jonathan Solomon | Fri
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Acts of preservation are ancient and practiced broadly across cultures, from fermenting food, to telling and retelling stories, to fabricating and repairing clothing and shelter. In art and design, radical acts of preservation not only maintain part of the past, but imagine and enact new connections between past, present, and future. This Capstone studio will explore a range of contemporary radical preservation acts including critical architectural preservation and art conservation projects; institutional critiques of libraries, museums, and archives; and preservation of multiple, intersectional, and even contradictory pasts in any medium. Course work will include readings, in-class discussions, and critiques. Students will work individually throughout the course to research precedents of radical preservation acts, identify a subject of interest for preservation, and enact a preservation strategy for it in any art or design medium of their choice.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: 3900 course |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Critical Artifacts | 4919 (001) | Hennie Jurie Reynders | Thurs
12:15 PM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
The seminar-studio allows for serious play, experimentation and for the deliberate entanglement of theory and practice. We are not looking for solutions, but rather for sophisticated tools in the translation and communication of concerns. We encourage a pluralistic research method where empirical knowledge, deep research, biopic investigations and speculative explorations are all equally valued. The coursework requires reading, writing, discussion and the creation of artifacts in any medium through rigorous thinking, making and sharing practices The seminar-studio is a truly interdisciplinary venue for those students interested in a critical research-through-design exploration dealing with spatial concerns grounded in body-space and object-space relationships - including ideas of temporality, gesture, identity, ownership, the social shaping of technology and structure and agency. Readings and case studies vary, but are typically grounded in the philosophical positions of Bruno Latour, Peter Sloterdijk and the writings of Jeremy Till. We attend the occasional lecture and/or exhibition. Project work emphasize the translation of ideas from text to two-dimensional, three-dimensional and four-dimensional work. The final project outcome can be in any medium and often exists as three-dimensional artifact, an installation or in a new-media format. The studio's final work is exhibited and opened to critique from an external panel of critics.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Parametric Constructions: Revit | 4950 (001) | Stephanie Surjan | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
Students will learn how to use Revit as a tool to investigate different stages of design development within Architecture. Topics will include BIM (Building Information Modeling), managing a fully parametric design, understanding categories, families and types and outputting drawings for presentations. The semester will be broken up into four categories: Space Planning, Building, Landscape and Output. Each class will follow a tutorial and include a show & tell of student?s work in progress for a collective conversation of Revit and design strategies. Students will embark on their own projects while following a program and sqft script. This structure will allow for additional topics to be explored collectively as issues both within design and software arise. Deliverables will be due at the beginning of each class and a Group Project will be introduced midway through the semester. A Final Project with a Competition style layout will be plotted and pinned up on the last day. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.
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Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentArea of StudyLocation |
| Contemporary Issues in Design: UNCOMMON GROUNDS | 4954 (001) | Berenika Boberska | Tues
6:45 PM - 9:30 PM In Person |
Description
Landscape futurism in the Anthropocene calls for inventive explorations of apparent contradictions such as unnatural natures, fugitive botanies, culture/agriculture, technology/shamanism, landscape interiority and future pasts. This course will cover research of altered landscapes as well as cultural artefacts, tools and spatial practices across different geographies and timescales to inform a radical re-imagining of the ancient idea of environmental Commons, focusing on histories, spaces, future objects and folklores.
PrerequisitesPrerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll. |
Class Number |
Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
| Physical Connections Across Time and Distance | 5018 (001) | Charles Pipal | Mon
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM In Person |
Description
This studio course is a project-based class, offering students the opportunity to engage preservation practice through real-world engagement. In the past, practicum projects have included such topics as 'Construction Project Management', 'Integrating Green Technology into Practice', and 'Rebuilding the White City: A Study of Extant Fabric of the Columbian Expo of 1893'. Depending on the course project, expert guest speakers will be engaged, and site visits and research will be conducted. Typically students have several smaller assignments and one large final project. Since this is a project-based class, students may have the opportunity to work in smaller, multidisciplinary groups.
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Credits |
DepartmentLocation |
Freshman and Transfer Deadline: June 1
Jamie Lynn Lewin, In An Instant, 2022, yarn on plastic canvas