Stephanie Surjan

Learn the fundamentals of freehand architectural sketching to document and interpret the built environment through essential drawing techniques, including orthographic, axonometric, and perspective. Through guided walking tours of downtown Chicago, students will explore the city's iconic urban fabric, developing skills in on-site observation and visual documentation.
As they sketch key landmarks and urban spaces, students will gain insight into Chicago¿s architectural legacy, shaped by visionaries such as Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The course also highlights the city¿s evolving skyline through the work of contemporary architects and firms, including Jeanne Gang (Studio Gang), Dirk Denison, Legat Architects, Moss Design, and bKL Architecture.
By the end of the course, students will have a deeper understanding of architecture as a visual language and will be equipped with the foundational skills to record and analyze the built environment thoughtfully.

This course introduces the foundational tools and techniques of architectural representation using software platforms such as Rhino and Revit. It is intended for students with little or no prior experience in architectural software.

Students learn the conventions of architectural drawing, including plans, sections, elevations, scale, and basic three-dimensional representation. The course emphasizes the relationship between two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional models, and introduces digital workflows for drafting, modeling, file organization, and drawing output.

Class work includes lectures and demonstrations; readings; and iterative exercises to build understanding of concepts and skills with software. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.

This course teaches advanced operations with the tools of architectural representation. Students learn parametric and generative modeling strategies, advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows, and methods for moving between software platforms such as Rhino and Revit at multiple phases of a design project.

The class introduces the use of real-world site data, including location and sun settings, to support environmental analysis and design decisions. Emphasis is placed on coordinating digital models, producing drawings, renderings, and basic animations, and clearly communicating design intent and process.

Class work includes lectures, demonstrations, readings, and iterative exercises. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.

This 6-credit (two day) design studio focuses on the role architecture plays in shaping public life. Students address the cultural, political, and material concerns that shape buildings through the development of a design proposal with a clear theoretical grounding and distinct topical focus. Teaching focuses on understanding architectural program and circulation; materiality and structure; and site and context. Students respond to topical briefs put forward by their teacher that incorporate knowledge from areas of architectural practice such as preservation, interior design, or urbanism; use advanced representation techniques to achieve a professional level presentation, and complete a portfolio and resume along with their design work. Class work includes architectural research; precedent study; and site analysis; all informing the completion of a design proposal with a complex program. This course requires 12 credits (two semesters) of Architecture Foundation Studio to register. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specifications and runs the department software template including Rhino and Revit.