Class Meetings
Section Number: D456
In-Person Meetings: Wednesdays 2:30pm – 5:50pm, Voorhees Room V-305
Faculty Information
Professor(s) Name: Robert Christo
Online office hours & information: TBD
In-person office hours & location: N/A
Contact Information:
- Email: RChristo@citytech.cuny.edu
- Phone: 617.460.5635 (please include your name in any text messages)
ARCH 1101 – Intro to Architecture
Course Description: The Introduction to Architecture course provides a foundation for students pursuing architecture degrees to develop a visual literacy of the built environment. Using New York City as a living laboratory, students explore concepts of design, composition, construction, and public space through their direct experience of buildings and sites. The course contextualizes how the influence of cultural complexity can shape the built environment through lectures, laboratory work, and field trips. By developing their skills of observing, sketching, drafting, reading, writing, and presenting, students will display an understanding of key concepts and competency in presenting their work verbally and graphically.
Course Structure: Lectures and lab work
Corequisites: ENG 1101 (ARCH1112 recommended)
Required Texts: Texts will be assigned during class. As an Open Educational Resource (OER), readings are available online at no cost to the students.
Recommended texts: Francis Ching, Architecture: Form, Space, and Order. Wiley Publishing. This is a good foundation text that students can also use in their design courses.
Attendance Policy: No more than 10% absences are permitted during the semester. For the purposes of record, two late arrivals are considered as one absence. Exceeding this limit will expose the student to failing at the discretion of the instructor due to lack of class participation and mastery of class material.
Course Goals & Objectives:
- Observe built environments in their totality and detail and convey observations in sketches and writing.
- Translate on-site measurements of a building into scaled drawings following basic graphic standards.
- Understand the basic concepts of composition and space as observed and experienced in the built environment and be able to express them in drawing, speaking, and writing.
- Develop a vocabulary specific to architecture and construction through reading, observing, and drawing, and become familiar with how architecture is discussed.
- Communicate observations and design ideas through various forms of representation and visual media.
- Collaborate as a team, learning to divide responsibilities and manage time.
- Present your work regularly among classmates, the professor, and in front of invited critics.
It is assumed that students entering this class have no background in architecture and no experience in drawing. Drawing assignments will begin with simple exercises that become more complex as the semester progresses. Students will be evaluated by their determination and improvement during the semester, and on their ability to grasp an understanding and ability to represent the built environment graphically, verbally, and in writing.
Course Requirements and Grading
- Sketchbook: Students will be required to maintain a sketchbook into which they will enter their daily sketching assignments, record their field trip observations, and develop their projects. Sketchbooks will be reviewed from time to time by the instructor for recommended improvement.
- Field Trip Reflections: Students are expected to finish assigned readings before their field trips and write reflection essays after each field trip. The reflections will also include sketches and other visual recordings. Students will submit their reflections (sketches & writing) digitally in .pdf format to the professor at the beginning of the following class.
- Projects 1 & 2: Students will work on drawing and design projects during lab time. Students are expected to work outside the classroom to finish assignments on time. All students will make final presentations at the end of each project, where they stand before invited critics with their work pinned on the wall.
- Class Participation: Students are required to participate during regular pinups, presentations, and class discussions.
- Grading Percentage
Sketchbook: 15%
Field Trip Reflections: 15%
Project 1 – Measured Drafting: 30%
Project 2 – Reflective Space: 30%
Class Participation: 10%
NOTE TO STUDENTS: Any missed assignment and failure to show up for the midterm and final presentations will result in getting a zero. Zeros add up to zero, which leads to failing this course, so please do your work.
Academic Integrity
Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting and citation of sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the college recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension and expulsion.
Accessibility and Medical Accommodations
CUNY is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities. Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable academic accommodations if determined eligible by the Center for Student Accessibility. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student’s eligibility from the Center for Student Accessibility, which is located at 300 Jay Street in room L-237. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate contact with the Center for Student Accessibility staff by emailing Accessibility@citytech.cuny.edu and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.
For medically documented temporary illnesses or conditions absence requests, students should submit medical documentation to the attention of the College Now Program Director or Program Coordinator for review and determination or in certain circumstances for referral to the Center for Student Accessibility. These requests, whenever possible, must be made in advance of the requested absence. For other temporary medical reasonable accommodations requests, such as for a broken leg, students must submit medical documentation to the Center for Student Accessibility.
Learning Outcomes
Since this is a first-semester introductory course, it does not meet the Student Performance Criteria required by NAAB. Its goal, however, is to give students broad exposure to architecture.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between a simple building’s plan, section, and elevation.
- Demonstrate the ability to produce scaled hand-drafted drawings and models from a set of dimensions.
- Demonstrate the ability to understand reading about architecture through writing and speaking.
- Demonstrate an understanding of building proportion, rhythm, symmetry, and hierarchy through sketching.
- Demonstrate an ability to stand before a jury and articulate ideas through drawings, models, writing, and speaking
| General Education Learning Outcomes / Assessment Methods | |
| Learning Outcomes | Assessment Methods |
| Upon successful completion of this course the student shall be able to: | To evaluate the students’ achievement of the learning objectives, the professor will do the following: |
| Develop Knowledge from the range of architectural disciplinary perspectives presented in the course. | Review student observations of site visits and lectures and assess written, graphic and oral reports. |
| Utilize Skills and demonstrate knowledge needed to facilitate communication and critical thinking. | Assess student research and critical thinking abilities by monitoring weekly progress of lab work and readings. |
| Integrate knowledge and work productively to communicate ideas through oral, graphic and written media. | Assess the students’ ability to integrate and communicate through peer and juried review of student presentations. |
| Course Intended Learning Outcomes / Assessment Methods | |
| Learning Outcomes | Assessment Methods |
| Upon successful completion of this course the student shall be able to: | To evaluate the students’ achievement of the learning objectives, the professor will do the following: |
| Observe with a critical eye and engage in discussion on the subject of the course. | Review student observations and Assess the quality of critical thinking and contributions to discussions during oral and graphic presentations. |
| Research and investigate deeply into a given subject so as to contribute to the growth of knowledge. | Assess student research abilities through written and graphic materials. |
| Synthesize and Apply what is learned to synthesize understanding and to complete assignments given in the class. | Assess the students ability to synthesize apply what is learned from lab work and through the grading of assignments. |
| Communicate effectively through presentations to the class using written oral and graphic media. | Assess the students’ ability to effectively present and communicate what is learned on a given subject. |
| Communicate effectively using a vocabulary developed throughout the course. | Assess the students’ use of professional vocabulary during quizzes, oral presentations and written assignments. |
Technology Requirements
- Students may need access to a device for video conference participation in the event that the course transitions to a Zoom meeting.
- Students should also purchase the required drafting supplies below:
| Supply | Approx. cost |
| 12″ 45/90-Degree triangle | $14 |
| 12″ 30-60-90-Degree triangle (one of these should have circle template in it) | $11 |
| 18” T square | $13 |
| Pencils: (holders, leads, sharpener) Staedtler Mars Technico Lead Holder (780 C); Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead, 12 x 2mm, HB (200-HB); Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead, 2mm, 2B, 12 Lead (200-2B); Staedtler Mars Carbon Lead, 2mm, H, 12 Lead (200-H); Staedtler 502 BK A6 Mars Rotary Action Lead Pointer and Tub for 2mm Leads, 502BKA6,Blue (students can share leads) | $58 |
| * Leads alternative: Faber-Castell Creative Studio Graphite Sketch Pencil Set – 6 Graphite Pencils (2H, HB, B, 2B, 4B, 6B) + Sharpener | $11 |
| Clearprint 1020H Design Vellum Sheets, 11×17, 10 sheets, translucent white | $15 |
| Alvin White Tracing Paper 18″ roll | $13 |
| Drafting Dots | $8 |
| Staedtler Mars Eraser | $2 |
| Unlined Sketchbook (8.5×11) | $12 |
| Triangular Architecture Scale | $8 |
Schedule
Topics will be covered in the order below unless otherwise noted during the semester. For more detailed information, refer to the Schedule page.
- Week 1: Course introduction
- Weeks 2-8: Introduction to architectural drawing + visualization
- Project 1 – Measured drawings – Plans, sections, & elevations
- Weeks 9-15: Introduction to architectural concepts + terminology
- Project 2 – Personal Space
Class Etiquette
All students are expected to attend all class sessions fully.
Group presentations are a required aspect of this course. All students are expected to communicate fully with their group as required to prepare for all presentations. All students are expected to fully participate in the presentations.
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