Public Space design

Public Space design

Christopher Stienon

Fordham

Urbanism

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

This activity is for a course on urbanism that examines the context and principles of good urban design. This assignment began with a walking tour of Midtown Manhattan to visit several prominent public spaces including Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Bryant Park, Union Square, etc. The students were to experience these places and then select one they liked and hype it in the form of short video (like TikTok), a blog post, or podcast, etc. Based on their observations, they were subsequently asked to select a space they didn’t like and reconceive it using features and elements from the places they liked. These were presented to the class in the form of single image of a shadow box / stage set.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The purpose of the activity was two-fold. It gave the students a sense of the scale of the city and places within it (which was later used as a scale comparison with looking at other cities), and it pushed them to look at the character of place and the factors that made them this way. For example, was a space noisy or quiet, active or empty of people, shaded or sunny, small large, etc. The idea was to get the students to look at how the character of place affects human behavior.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

This assignment was given at the beginning of the semester before examining the history of cities.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

There is no preparation needed. The first part of the assignment was to follow a walking tour of several public spaces in Midtown Manhattan, starting at Grand Army Plaza next to Central Park and proceeding down Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center and crossing to Times Square and following Broadway all the way to Union Square.
The students were asked to look at all the open spaces to understand how they are physically different and what was contributing to the character of place. The students were to select a space they liked and hype it. That is they could create a photo essay, a blog or a TikTok video – or any medium that described why the space they liked was so appealing – and then hype it – that is, describe why the space was successful and attractive. Why should someone want to go there?
The second part of this assignment asked the students to then select a space they didn’t like and reconceive it using the elements from the space they liked. The students were to create a shadow box / stage set rendition of their proposal and present it in class.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The VALUE rubric touched on Analysis and Design. The activity was assessed by how well the students were able to communicate and describe what they were seeing and identify contributing factors to the quality of place (analysis). For example, Bryant Park was frequently cited as a successful public space because it was less crowded and quiet, it felt separate from the rest of the city yet there were activities and people within the park. The creation of a shadow box to illustrate a proposed redesign of a particular place they didn't initially like was assessed by how well they could take an idea or an observation and translate it to a different setting – and could these ideas be clearly communicated.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

The assignment was well received, and I will use it again, but I will introduce the project to the students differently the next time. I'll need to emphasize that this is not simply a documentation of a site visit, but an actual analysis of why a space is attractive. It may entail an entire lecture devoted to the design of public open spaces so they understand what these contributing factors actually are before having them undertake the assignment.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

As with all assignments, there are students looking for the simplest and fastest way to complete the work, so some students simply turned in a series of unedited video clips taken as they went from place to place and talked about what they were seeing along the way. If they did this in a group, then each student had more or less the same set of images. This was not entirely bad since there was at least evidence that they visited these spaces, but it was far short of focusing on the details of a particular place.

But the students who pushed a bit did some fantastic work. The result was an assortment of TikTok videos, podcast scripts and recordings, newsletters and blog posts – all capturing elements of the city; the lights, the sounds and the action.

With the second half of the assignment several students listed Times Square as there least preferred space, so there were several proposals for a Bryant Park or Union Square themed makeover of Times Square or 42nd Street. There was a general sense of playfulness and experimentation with these proposals and presentation.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Increasing Students’ Intercultural Knowledge and Competency

Increasing Students’ Intercultural Knowledge and Competency

Elizabeth Parks

Architectural Technology

Design IV

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

As part of their design of a new museum building located on the CityTech campus, students are asked to select a theme for their collection that is drawn from their own culture. This gives them an opportunity to perform research to select exhibits and then to share what they have learned with their classmates.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The goal is to increase their own understanding of their cultural heritage and to develop an attitude toward what they have learned. The process of developing an attitude introduces an external framework to their knowledge and they can use that framework to drive the strategies they employ in their design process. The studio setting of the classroom allows the process and the results to be shared with all the members of the class.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The design of the museum is completed in approximately 11 weeks during a regular semester.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

When the project is introduced the students are told that they will chose the theme and content of the museum exhibits. They are asked to reflect on their cultural backgrounds and come up with a theme drawn from their experience or understanding. They are asked explicitly "What do you want to teach visitors to your museum?" For some students the choice is high-stakes, but the selection of a theme is not graded. The theme will influence the design strategy that they use in the creation of the building, and it is hoped that the passion they feel for their theme will further engage them in the design process. However, even students who have a more neutral stance toward their theme are able to successfully complete the project.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

The students are asked to reflect on their projects, the process and the outcome. And they are asked to respond to the reflections of their peers. The revised assignment, using cultural -based themes for the design, is being taught in the Summer 2020 session and will be integrated into the Fall 2020 semester as well. For the summer session the reflections will be graded as part of the class participation, with a low stakes impact on their grade. The results will be reviewed for Fall 2020.

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

I was inspired by several students from earlier semesters, who chose to use very personal themes instead of the History of New York , which was part of the original project brief. Those students were engaged very productively in the design process which resulted in very interesting projects. Summer 2020 is the first semester that the cultural theme has officially been part of the project description. I was initially leery about asking students to be ambassadors for their cultures but the response has been very positive so far. About half the students have chosen emotionally charged themes involving topics of colonization, immigration, segregation, and stereotypes. Others have a more neutral position toward the material, but recognize that proposing a museum dedicated to Nubian culture is a statement in its own right.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

The following is a link to my portfolio on open lab which contains the presentation of the revised assignment created as part of a Gen Ed Living Lab workshop during the Spring 2020 semester.
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/eparks-portfolio/teaching-portfolio/syllabi-assignments/

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/eparks-portfolio/teaching-portfolio/syllabi-assignments/

Structure for Architects – Student Video Lessons

Structure for Architects – Student Video Lessons

Ramsey Dabby

Architectural Technology Dept / City Tech

Structures 1

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Activity Description
The overriding mission of the college experience is to help City Tech students succeed in the classroom and beyond, by imparting an enthusiasm for lifelong learning. This enthusiasm can be dampened for City Tech’s multicultural population by the cultural obstacles many students face. The concept for this proposal is to enhance the student experience for a course titled “Structures” in the Architectural Technology Department, by stimulating an enthusiasm for this particular area of their studies. The idea encompasses a visual and intuitive approach within the classroom, combined with place-based learning outside the classroom. Aside from conveying technical knowledge, the intent is to create student awareness of cultural barriers that will help them navigate the complexities of today’s world.

Barriers
In a multicultural setting such as NYC in general and City Tech in particular, cultural divides abound. They can be obvious like nationality and religion, or more subtle like age and personality. They can also occur within the profession between its white collar “architectural” and blue color “construction” sides. Caught up in day-to-day problems, we (both students and instructors) tend to overlook these divides that create tensions and stresses in relationships.

Background
Structures is a branch of architectural study dealing with the engineering side of how buildings stand up. Architectural students, as conceptual thinkers, tend to be intimidated by the technical aspects of engineering and tend to “turn off” to their engineering courses. Added to this inherent aversion are the cultural barriers many City Tech students face such as language, family responsibilities, and deficient social support systems. For many, this also includes having to learn a new system of engineering units used in the US – the imperial system in place of their more familiar metric system. In short, the challenge is to address and overcome these cultural obstacles and create an enthusiasm for a course that holds the potential for dread in many architectural students.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

Goals
The goal is to engage students and create enthusiasm for a course in Structures that will serve to further their undergraduate technical knowledge and professional lives upon graduation. This will be done through strategies for both classroom and place-based learning.

Classroom Learning
Conventional structural textbooks tend to be wordy and lacking an intuitive approach to the subject matter. These textbooks present a challenge to City Tech’s multicultural architectural students. Course material will be communicated across cultural and linguistic barriers by conveying structural principles in a visual, intuitive manner through discussion, dialog, and physical “props”, rather than formal “lectures”.

A key component of classroom sessions will be a series of short, five-minute student videos highlighting the essentials of structural principles. Students will be teamed to prepare these videos in discussion format, among themselves and their instructor, supported by physical props. The precedence for these videos is an experimental one I had prepared, without rehearsal and just for fun, to which students enthusiastically responded, overwhelmingly endorsing the concept and asking for more like it.

Place-Based Learning
The classroom experience will be complemented by visits to architectural offices and construction sites, where students will not only will see the professions in action, but also observe the general cultural distinctions and personalities of the two sides of the profession. A goal of these visits to create an awareness that technical knowledge does not work in a vacuum, and that an understanding the interrelationships of personalities, influenced by culture, is an essential part of a successful professional experience.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The strategy is intended to be used throughout the semester. Classroom time will be approximately 10 minutes per session. Two place-based learning field trips will be conducted for a total of approximately 8 hours per semester.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

See above.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

Assessment will be conducted by student essays reflecting on questions such as “why do I like this?” and “what is it that helps me learn?”

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Lead discussion on ways to learn without cultural coding; record outcomes of discussions.

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

The experimental video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4d3eDq_7pw

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab

Cultural Background and Thermal Comfort

Cultural Background and Thermal Comfort

Jihun Kim

Architectural Technology

Site Planning & Environmental Systems

Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity

Reflecting on students cultural background on the thermal environment, microclimate data will be collected and analyzed to find the common range of comfort zone. The process includes the following. 1) Write a short essay on personal thermal environment in the childhood [temperature, humidity, solar exposure, clothing level], 2) Collect microclimate data as individual and illustrate the characteristics of the environment and the clothing types, 3) Visualize the collected data on psychrometric chart and assess for thermal comfort and satisfaction , 4) Analyze the result for the differences and similarities with other students and with ASHRAE standard, while reflecting on the essay on personal history on thermal environment.

Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?

The goal of the assignment is to provide an understanding of how a cultural background would influence thermal comfort of an individual while enhancing student’s capacity 1) to analyze and
2) visualize numerical data, 3) to communicate effectively, and 4) to work collaboratively.

Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?

The activity can be deployed in the first class or any class early in a semester. After a relevant background is introduced as a lecture format, students as individual spend 1 hour to measure microclimate data and 1 hour to analyze during the class. Each student writes a short essay outside the class for 1 hour and adds microclimate measurement for 1 hour. Visualizing the data on a psychrometric chart would take 1 hour. Totaling 5 hours in and out of the class, students present their outcome as individuals in the following week.

Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?

Handheld device to measure microclimate are required. ASHRAE standards for thermal comfort shall be prepared. Critical writing is associated with the analysis of numerical data.

Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?

A rubric shall be developed for the assessment. The criteria shall include Data Literacy (GenEd), Intercultural Knowledge (GenEd), Intercultural Knowledge and Competence (Gen), and Climate Analysis (Subject Matter from NAAB Accreditation).

Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?

Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.

Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab