Satya Basu

Descriptive Techniques: Media, Material, Place + Event: will provide a foundational survey and sampling of architectural representational conventions, hardware and software systems for analysis, visualization, materialization and iteration as well as an introduction to material processes and tool systems for design materialization, prototyping and iteration. Special focus will be given to examining emerging computational tools and media and their implication on the design of material things and places.

Readings will vary but will typically include excerpts from process instruction manuals (contemporary and archival). A structural element of this class is that it will run with a combined cohort made of 2 year option and 3 year option student groups - mixing established students with arriving students. The large class will have 2 or more assigned faculty and will explore independent and collaborative modes of learning. This will contribute to the program¿s learning culture.

Course work will consist of a survey of a variety of hardware and software based serial production processes useful for the development and communication of architectural concepts (3 to 5 digital systems, 6 to 9 material processes). Assignment work will be 80% individual response to project prompts and 20% collaborative projects. Readings meant to situate processes in a developmental history will be offered as a critical aspect of material / process learning.

Resilient Systems will provide an introduction to multi-level sustainability, including analysis of site, landscape and cultural context as a precondition to architectural conceptualization. Students will demonstrate ability to synthesize sustainable systems and approaches into design projects including green infrastructure, active and passive structural and mechanical systems, facility with material properties and performance, repairability + preservation design.

Readings will be compiled from selections focused on material systems and their cultural histories [eg: Constructing Architecture: Materials, Processes, Structures : a Handbook] and case study white papers from trade and professional journals.

A structural element of this class is that it will run with a combined cohort made of 2 year option and 3 year option student groups - mixing established students with arriving students. The large class will have 2 or more assigned faculty and will explore independent and collaborative modes of learning. This will contribute to the program's learning culture.

Assignment work will consist of a series of short, topical design projects where students synthesize knowledge of sustainable systems and approaches into propositional architectural drawings and models. One semester long project will be integrated and balanced with several short vignette projects.