Category: Class Agendas (Page 1 of 2)

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from prior Class Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the OpenLab gradebook to check for missing items (and let me know if there are any errors).

Activities

• Project 3 – Urban Space
  • Student presentations

• Project 4 – Contemplative Space
  • Introduction of project: Week 13-15 PowerPoint
  • Submit preliminary notes & images on the Assignment Posts page

To-Do After Class

• Study carefully the Week 13-15 PowerPoint
• Complete Part 1 and Part 2 of the assignment (all instructions on slides 1-5)
• Submit work on the Assignment Posts page

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from prior Class Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the OpenLab gradebook to check for missing items (and let me know if there are any errors).

Activities

Career paths

• Look at
  • the document BTech Track Descriptions
  • ARCH department page “Course Listings”
• Choose a few items that most interest you and do some quick research
  • “careers in ….”
  • “architectural firms that do ….”
  • “companies that provide …” Come back prepared to say a few words about what you have found, what surprised you, one question

Building Section – Self Assessment

• Follow the instructions in the document Building Section – Self Assessment

Project 3 – URBAN SPACE

• Review assignment description, which is linked from the Week 11 PowerPoint
• Breakout rooms – discuss together the difference between description & analysis, and together fill out the Google sheet for your team:
  • Team 1
  • Team 2
  • Team 3
  • Team 4
• Review research gathered to date, questions, work on sketches and research

To-Do After Class

• Project 3 – Urban Space
  • Students who did not present today will present next week, December 1
  • FINAL submissions for everyone are due before class on December 1, uploaded to the Assignment Posts page
  • REMEMBER this is an analysis project – focus on observation & description, especially of the experience of being in and moving through the spaces (some history is helpful, but not the focus)
• Project 4 – Contemplative Space
  • (coming soon … for those who want to work ahead)
  • Due Tuesday, December 15

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 10 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the OpenLab gradebook to check for missing items (and let me know if there are any errors).

Activities

• Project #2 – Building Section
  • Layout & drawing of stairs
• Urban design overview – quick look at Week 11 PowerPoint
  • examples of what we mean by “urban space”
  • features to look for when designing or analyzing urban spaces
• In class urban design activity
  • Think of an urban space you like (not indoors) – in NYC or anywhere in the world, preferably some place where you have lived or visited
  • Why do you like it? What does the space feel like?
  • Using Google Maps, examine the conditions of this place and identify the elements that make it feel the way it does (pathways, buildings, landscape, etc…)
  • Produce 3 sketches (don’t have to be super detailed):
    • One overall plan of the space
    • One plan diagram, identifying critical elements
    • One perspective sketch of your favorite moment in the space. This sketch doesn’t need to be super detailed, or even accurate, but should convey how the space makes you feel.
  • Examples of sketches we reviewed in class can be found at the bottom of this page (Prof. Christo’s OpenLab site)
  • Upload sketches on the Assignment Posts page
• Collaborative exercise with Miro – our list of categories & items to consider during urban space analysis is here
• Professor Christo’s “Battery Park City” presentation is toward the bottom of this page with good examples of urban space analysis, location plans, historic photos, etc.
• Introduction to Project 3 – Urban Space – the link to this project description is also found on slide 2 of our Week 11 PowerPoint

To-Do After Class

• Project 3 – Urban Space
  • Students may choose to present next Tuesday OR the following Tuesday, November 24 or December 1
  • FINAL submission for everyone will be Tuesday, December 1
  • BEFORE class next week, upload photos, research images, additional sketches & diagrams, and other research sources for your chosen site on the Assignment Posts page
  • REMEMBER this is an analysis project – focus on observation & description, especially of the experience of being in and moving through the spaces (some history is helpful, but not the focus)
• Here are the urban spaces selected so far:
  • Adrian – St. Peter’s Square & Vatican, Rome (Italy)
  • Alejandro – Plaza del Zócalo, Mexico City
  • Alisher – Palace Square, St. Petersburg (Russia)
  • Derrick – World Trade Center, NYC
  • Jacob – Greeley Square Park, NYC
  • Jamal – National Mall, Washington DC
  • Jay – Parque Caleron, Cuenca, Ecuador
  • Jonathan – Rockefeller Center, NYC
  • Lizmary – Columbus Park, Santo Domingo (DR)
  • Nalija –
  • Noah – Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn NY
  • Olena – Market Square, Lviv (Ukraine)
  • Sharif – Ginza Crossing, Tokyo (Japan)
  • Tasnuva – Barclay Center, Brooklyn

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 9 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the OpenLab gradebook to check for missing items (and let me know if there are any errors).

Activities

• Week 07+09 PowerPoint
  • study the five buildings on slides 9 through 19
  • in your sketchbook, freehand a quick “parti” sketch of each building – five quick sketches . . . 30 second sketch per building! (parti sketches can capture a plan idea or section idea or both)
  • which building do you think is most interesting or successful?
  • using a few of the architectural terms #1-12 (slide 3 of the PowerPoint), support your choice
• Study Axonometric Drawings slides
  • draft an axonometric of the simple box at 1/8″ or 1/4″ scale and using the dimensions on the slide
  • draft another axonometric using one of the simple shapes on the last slide
• Architectural lettering demonstration
• Individual “desk crits” for Project #2 – Section through a 2-Story House

To-Do After Class

• Complete the drafted measured drawings for Project 2 — Section through a 2-Story House
  • One longitudinal section & two end elevations
  • Follow all instructions on the PowerPoint, slides 21-23
  • Refer to slide 24 as an example of good architectural construction drawing graphics
  • Submit completed Project 2 drawings on the Assignment Posts page, before midnight, Monday, November 16
• Write into your sketchbook and provide a sketched illustrations or example for each of the new vocabulary terms (items 12-22) on slide 3 of the PowerPoint
• Watch the “How to Write Like an Architect” video & practice using the Lettering Worksheet
• Complete the in-class assignments – parti sketches & two axonometric drawings – and submit on the Assignment Posts page
• Extra Credit – axonometric of your Tiny House or the MIDTERM house

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 7 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the OpenLab gradebook to check for missing items (and let me know if there are any errors).

Announcements

The MIDTERM projects were generally good! See comments in the OpenLab gradebook.

Mid-semester grades have been posted to the gradebook:
P = passing (submitted 75% to 100% of work)
BL = borderline (missing about 30% of work)
U = unsatisfactory (missing more than 30% of work)

A number of students received a ‘U’ for an overall mid-semester grade due to missing assignments and/or an incomplete Project #1 – Tiny House (drafted elevations, plan & section).

OPTION – you may submit plans for the midterm house instead of for your Tiny House.

I have seen much improvement! Keep up the good work, finish your assignments, and take pride in your accomplishments!!

Activities

• Discussion:
  • National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB) visit to City Tech
  • tips for success on the path to becoming an architect – professional organizations, events, networking, connecting with professors & mentors (AIANY, Architectural League, ACSA, and more resources on the Architectural Technology Department website, check the “Links” tab on the Student Resources page
  • registration for Spring classes
  • college resources – a few of which are Academic Advising, College Catalog, College Calendar
• Week 07+09 PowerPoint
• New vocabulary: items 12-22 on slide 3 of the PowerPoint
• Practice architectural analysis – The Ford Foundation
  • architectural stye terms mentioned – Brutalism, International Style
  • parti – the concept or organizing idea, as might expressed in a simple clear diagram
• Close reading of building sections – Ford Foundation and Exeter Library
  • orthogonal section vs. section perspective
  • line weights
  • sources of light – skylights, clerestory windows
• Practice drawing plans & elevations
  • study the two geometric objects – slide 20 in the PowerPoint
  • follow instructions on the slide, using two pages in your sketch book, one for each each object
  • SUBMIT at the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page
• Project 2 – Section through a 2-Story House
  • layout & begin section – demonstration by professor

To-Do After Class

• Complete the drafted measured drawings (a longitudinal section + 2 end elevations) for Project 2 — Section through a 2-Story House
  • Follow all instructions on the PowerPoint, slides 21-23
  • Refer to slide 24 as an example of good architectural construction drawing graphics
  • Submit completed Project 2 (or progress drawings) on the Assignment Posts page, before midnight, Monday, November 9
• [Due in TWO weeks] Write into your sketchbook and provide sketch illustrations or example for each of the new vocabulary terms (items 12-22) on slide 3 of the PowerPoint.
• If you want to work ahead:
  • study Axonometric Drawings, practice with simple shapes, and then try one of your Tiny House or the MIDTERM house
  • watch the “How to Write Like an Architect” video & practice using the Lettering Worksheet

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 6 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the checklist of assignments and the Gradebook to check for missing items.

Objectives

• Review architectural drawing types (plans, sections) and architectural drawing conventions related to completion of Project 1 – Tiny House project

Activities

• Project 1 — Tiny House
  • “Pin-up” with peer and group review (Student Tiny House Projects)
  • SUBMIT your peer review on the Assignment Posts page
  • Work on Tiny House project (team rooms)
• Review architectural drawing types and conventions (Architectural Drawing Conventions)
  • elevation, plan, section
  • orthographic (elevations, plans & sections are orthographic drawings)
  • section perspectives
  • axonometric (how is it different from a perspective?)
  • presentation drawings
  • construction drawings
  • representation of doors, windows, kitchens & bathrooms in plan view
  • site plan
  • building section symbol
• Competition! – how many of each type of drawing can you find in the Week 7-8 PowerPoint?
• SUBMIT all in-class work at the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page

To-Do After Class

• Project 1 — Tiny House
  • Complete the freehand sketches (elevations, plan, section)
  • Complete the drafted measured drawings (elevations, plan, section)
  • Follow all instructions under “To Do After Class” in the Class 6 Agenda
• Submit completed Project 1 sketches and drafted drawings on the Assignment Posts page, before midnight, Monday, October 26
• Review for the MIDTERM as discussed in class
  • practice identifying elevations, plans, sections & perspectives as we did today in class with the PowerPoints
  • review your drawings and sketch projects, especially elevations, plans & sections
  • have drawing tools & paper ready at start of class
  • you will be drawing a small simple building or object for the in-class MIDTERM – elevations, plans & sections
• If you want to work ahead, study Axonometric Drawings, practice with simple shapes, and then try one of your Tiny House

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 5 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the checklist of assignments and the Gradebook to check for missing items.

Objectives

• Review status of assignments to date
• Introduce Project 1 – plans, elevations, and section of a Tiny House

Activities

• Review the list of assignments and check which assignments are marked as received in the OpenLab Gradebook
• Accept the emailed invitation to the shared Google sheet
  • Enter your name and your plan for work to be completed today during class
  • We will work in groups to support team members’ work and progress
  • Share at least one example of your work with your small group members, provide feedback to each member — what is most successful, what could be improved
• Review of the “Describe your Building” assignment: this can be the building you brought to share in Class 2, or another you choose, or your Tiny House. Write a few sentences using architectural themes, concepts, and vocabulary that we have studied. What is the human experience of the building and spaces? What is it about the building that creates those feelings and experiences?
  • There are good examples from your descriptions of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water — it conveys a sense of serenity, feelings of being both cozy and open, a sense of the power of the stream, an equilibrium between nature and the man-made, feelings both of security and freedom.
  • Try to go further, as some of you did, to think about why and how the building conveys these things — the materials help it blend into the environment, appearing like a cliff; use of the same materials inside and outside give a feeling of connection with nature; the concrete cantilevers give a strong sense of horizontality, also of strength and stability; the use of color helps it come together as a cohesive whole.
• Begin Project 1 — Tiny House
  • Make freehand sketches of your chosen Tiny House — or you may use the small house show in the PowerPoint. If you have caught up with earlier assignments, work to complete two elevations. (If you want to work forward, also add a plan and a section.)
  • Estimate and add dimensions, similar to the dimensions on the small house in the PowerPoint.
• SUBMIT all in-class work at the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page

To-Do After Class

• Project 1 — freehand sketches
  • Complete the freehand sketches of the two elevations of your Tiny House (or of the small house shown in the PowerPoint)
  • Add a plan and a section, with dimensions
• Project 1 — drafted measured drawings
  • Lay out the two elevations on an 11 x 17 sheet
  • Use the new title block shown in the PowerPoint (page 38)
  • Draw to 1/4″ scale
  • Align drawings on the sheets as we did with the furniture drawings
  • If you want to work ahead, add the plan and section
• Work on line quality in both the freehand sketches and the drafted measured drawings (review Top 6 Architecture Sketching Techniques)
• Work on using line weights for clarity:
  • heavier lines for borders, outlines, ground lines, and where material is cut through in section (walls, floor, ceiling/roof)
  • medium and lighter lines for parts further away, details, textures, shadow

• Submit Project 1 sketches and drafted drawings — all progress as of midnight, Monday, October 19 — to the Class 6 Homework assignments link on the Assignment Posts page

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 4 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page. Use the checklist of assignments emailed just prior to class to check for missing items.

Objectives

• Apply architectural concepts, principles, and vocabulary
• Introduce architectural section drawings

Activities

• Demonstrate understanding of concepts, principles, and vocabulary terms through application to a building analysis — Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water
  • open class discussion
  • write a few sentences about this building — how many ways does it express the themes of horizontality and integration with its natural setting? What do you like or dislike about the building and why?
• Study the Week 4-5 PowerPoint slides to understand architectural section drawings. Practice by sketching:
  • the section through the pepper shown on the PowerPoint slide
  • a section through the Whitney Museum building
  • use proper line weights: heavy lines where material is cut through (wall of the pepper, and walls, floor and ceiling slabs of the building) and lighter lines for parts further away
• Slides related to the above activities are included in the Week 4-5 PowerPoint
• SUBMIT in-class writing and sketches at the link on the Assignment Posts page

To-Do After Class

• Complete the section sketches begun in class
• Practice by sketching sections and plans of a coffee mug, cooking pot, table, chair, or other simple objects at home (5 sketches)
• Add a SECTION to your measured drawings of the desk or item of your choice
• Write into your sketchbook the following vocabulary terms from class, with definitions in your own words (and/or an annotated sketch or image);
  • cantilever
  • eave
  • waffle slab
• Search “tiny house” in Google images, choose the one that you find most interesting, and upload it to this “tiny house” folder
• Submit all in-class work and Class 5 homework to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 – 3 Agendas and SUBMIT to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page

Announcement

• NO CLASSES on MONDAY, September 28
• Monday classes meet on Tuesday, September 29
• Our class WILL NOT MEET on Tuesday, September 29!
• Our next assignments will be due midnight, Monday October 5

Objectives

• Apply architectural concepts, principles, and vocabulary
• Practice sketching: 1-point and 2-point perspective, elevation, plan
• Understand the use of architectural scale

Activities

• Demonstrate understanding of concepts, principles, and vocabulary terms through discussion and application to a building analysis — Marcel Breuer’s Whitney Museum (aka Met Breuer)
• In-class sketching assignments — continue to develop architectural sketching techniques, practice 1-point and 2-point perspective, elevations sketches, derivation of plan from photographs of Breuer’s Whitney Museum
• Slides related to the above activities are included in the Week 4 PowerPoint (REVISED 09-27-20)
• SUBMIT in-class sketches at the link on the Assignment Posts page

To-Do After Class

• Complete the measured drawings of the furniture item — the desk or item of your choice — three views with border, title block, and graphic scale as shown in class and described in the Week 4 PowerPoint
• Write into your sketchbook the six tips from the video “Top 6 Architectural Sketching Techniques” if you have not already done so. Now illustrate each tip with a quick sketch, for example:
  • several lines from very light to very heavy line weight
  • a simple cube or rectilinear mass drawn in one-, two-, and three-point perspective
  • etc. for tips #1 – #6
  • Practice!
• SUBMIT in-class sketches and Class 4 homework to the appropriate link on the Assignment Posts page

Class Info

• Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2020
• Meeting via Zoom: Link and passcode will be provided to all students via email

To-Do Before Class

Complete all To-Do items, Activities, and Assignments from the Class 1 & 2 Agendas.

Topics

Architectural concepts and vocabulary

Measured drawings and scale

Objectives

• Demonstrate understanding of concepts, principles, and vocabulary terms through application to a building analysis — Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum
• Demonstrate development of architectural sketching techniques — plan, elevation

Activities

• Review vocabulary terms
• Practice observation and description with Kahn’s Kimbell Art Museum
• Collaborative review of sketching tips and techniques
• In-class sketching assignments — measured drawing, plan, elevation, section
• Slides related to the above activities are included in the Week 3 PowerPoint

To-Do After Class

• Complete the in-class sketch assignments A and B, with dimensions (see the Week 3 PowerPoint for details)
• Begin the drafted measured drawing assignment C based on your hand sketches as described in the Week 3 PowerPoint
• Write into your sketchbook the vocabulary terms from Class 2 as reviewed today in class, with definitions in your own words (and/or an annotated sketch or image); add the following additional terms from today’s class discussion:
  • hierarchy, secondary, primary, tertiary
  • dome, barrel vault
  • scale, human scale
  • direct lighting, indirect lighting
• Write into your sketchbook the six tips from the video “Top 6 Architectural Sketching Techniques” (link on the Course Resources page)
• SUBMIT the above four assignments using links on the Assignment Posts page

• Finish Purchase of sketching supplies and drafting supplies as listed on the Syllabus. ADDITION — you will need some method of measuring. This can be a free app for your phone, or a 12′ or 25′ tape measure.

• Watch: How to Read an Architect’s Scale (the last video under Course Resources)
• If you are unsure about plans and elevations: watch the fourth video in Course Resources, “Plans and Elevations”