B+C A Barnard and Columbia Colleges Architecture Department

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1 B+C A Barnard and Columbia Colleges Architecture Department ARCH V1020 Spring 2016 Introduction to Architectural Design and Visual Culture Section 002 Hours: Location: Instructor: Office Hours: TA: Monday/Wednesday 6:10pm 8:00pm 116B Lewisohn Hall Letícia Wouk Almino [email protected] By appointment Cole Neuffer ([email protected]) We do not grasp space only by our senses we live in it, we project our personality into it by emotional bonds; space is not just perceived it is lived. Georges Matoré What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a new beginning We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot This studio takes as its starting point the premise that architecture cannot be evaluated or understood without our experience of it. Understanding architecture does not require specialized knowledge or skills, but rather begins with the everyday experience of inhabitation. The emphasis of this studio will be to explore and analyze the built environment we inhabit, and the seemingly everyday objects we interact with, so that we begin to see them with new eyes, and our experience and understanding are transformed. Everyday life is informed by how the body relates to the walls of a room, enclosed space, and how we pass from one space to the next. This studio will explore the relationship between the container, i.e. the room, and the contained, i.e. the body, at two scales: first at the scale of the object, and later at the urban scale. Studied and thoughtful analysis of the object will provide greater understanding of its operative nature, and will inform the subsequent exploration of what its container could be. The goal will be to transform the negative space between the object and the container, as appropriate to the specific object, and what discoveries came out of the previous exercise. The course will next address the container at the scale of the urban room, i.e. the square, specifically Times Square. As New Yorkers, it is a space we all know, but perhaps have rarely stopped to observe. Times Square, a space steeped in history, at the heart of the city, will provide rich material for analysis and research. Students will produce drawings and exploratory models that transcend conventional understanding of the space. These explorations will provide insight into the specific urban condition of this place, and will build toward the final project: to design an installation in the square. Students will be tasked with creating a spatial and architectural proposal that addresses both the relationship to the model and to the surrounding space. We will draw on the research and concept models to inform us about what the form and spatial qualities the architectural intervention should take on.

2 Exercise 1: Translating the Object Students will select an object they are familiar with and that has the ability to transform (opens, slides, rotates, etc.). Students will produce orthographic drawings of their object along with a series of diagrams that analyze its material/spatial/transformative properties. Exercise 2: Object Contained Students will be tasked with constructing a housing for their object from Exercise 1. The container, when fully enclosed, should form a square (dimensions TBD). Drawing on their findings from the previous exercise, students will construct the space between the object and the container, and address the construction of the enclosure itself. Exercise 3: Mapping the Urban Room Students will apply their analytical skills to research and map their urban site, Times Square. Students will produce diagrams, maps, and analytical drawings, as well as conceptual models that describe a unique way of understanding the space of the square. Exercise 4: Public Installation Students will design an architectural installation in Times Square. Students will produce models, and drawings that will be a culmination of all the previous exercises. The installation should provide occupiable space that engages the urban scale and the scale of the body. Goals of the Studio: Students will be expected to use analytical tools to come up with a unique response to the problem at hand. The work produced in each exercise will inform the subsequent exercises and are intended to build upon each other as we progress through the semester. Students will learn a variety of physical model making and drawing techniques, including orthographic projections (plans, elevations, section), and honing sketchbook habits. Students are encouraged to explore different materials and experiment with modes of representation to help convey their ideas. Students will be encouraged to draw from expertise in their own discipline. Students are expected to work in the studio after hours and use their peers as resources. Studio work will be integrated with field trips in the city, where students will learn how to analyze an urban site. This course will challenge the students to think critically about design and visual culture, and to hone their verbal communications skills to express concepts. In addition to referencing the work of architects, we will also look to the work of artists, including but not limited to Gego, Gerhard Richter, Julie Mehretu, Lygia Clark, Rachel Whiteread, Robert Smithson, Sol Le Witt.

3 Studio Schedule Date Assignment/ Course Event 1/20 Wed Course Introduction/ Exercise 1 assigned Exercise 1 1/25 Mon Group Discussion and desk crits 1/27 Wed Desk crits 2/01 Mon Pin up 2/03 Wed Desk crits 2/08 Mon Desk crits 2/10 Wed Exercise 1 Due: Pin up/ Exercise 2 assigned Exercise 2 2/15 Mon Group discussion and desk crits 2/17 Wed Desk crits 2/22 Mon Pin up 2/24 Wed Desk crits 2/29 Mon Individual pin up 3/02 Wed Desk crits 3/07 Mon Desk crits 3/09 Wed Exercise 2 Due: MIDTERM REVIEW 3/14 Mon Spring Break 3/16 Wed Spring Break Exercise 3 3/21 Mon Introduction to Exercise 3 and Site visit 3/23 Wed Group discussion and desk crits 3/28 Mon Pin up 3/30 Wed Desk crits 4/04 Mon Desk crits 4/06 Wed Exercise 3 Due: Pin up/exercise 4 assigned Exercise 4 4/11 Mon Group discussion and desk crits 4/13 Wed Desk crits 4/18 Mon Pin up 4/20 Wed Desk crits 4/25 Mon Preliminary Review: individual pin up 4/27 Wed Desk crits/ final production 5/2 Mon Exercise 4 Due: FINAL REVIEW The schedule is subject to adjustment during the course of the semester based on the progress of the studio. Any schedule conflicts due to religious or health reasons, etc. should be brought to the attention of the studio instructor during the first week of class or as soon as possible.

4 Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites. This is an introductory course for students interested in thinking about architecture. It is intended for non-architecture majors who are curious and passionate about design and visual culture. Sketchbook/ Journal/ Notebook: Students are required to keep a sketchbook with annotations, drawings, and notes as a record of process and ideas. This is a critical component of the studio process. This is a diary of ideas. The sketchbook should be used to brainstorm, initiate concepts, work through various thoughts. Readings: Readings, film and web resources will be assigned for specific parts of each project throughout the semester. Readings must be completed in order to have a productive discussion. Readings will be provided by the instructor as a PDF available through Courseworks. Students are responsible for checking into Courseworks to look up their readings. Basic Tools and Materials o Portable drafting board with parallel ruler included (24 x 36 ) o 8 or 10 adjustable triangle and a 30/60/90 inking edge triangle larger than 10! o Xacto with #11 blades (100 blades package convenient) o Olfa knife with ½ snap off blades o Lead pointer/ lead holder! o Drafting leads (4B, 2B, HB, F, H, 2H, 4H)! o White and yellow eraser! o Eraser shield! o Desk brush! o Scissors! o 6-sided architectural scale! o Stainless steel straight edge ruler w/ cork bottom for cutting! o Cutting mat! o Digital Camera!or camera phone o White glue (Elmers or Sobo)! o Masking tape/ artist tape/ Scotch tape! o 12 roll tracing paper! Supplies are available at the following stores: - Janoff s, 2870 Broadway (close to campus but with limited materials) - Utrecht Art and/or Blick Art Materials (various locations) Grading: Each project will be graded with a letter grade and a verbal or written evaluation. Your work will be evaluated for idea/concept, conceptual development and rigor, design process, execution/presentation. Creative risks are encouraged and will be rewarded. Attendance, participation in group discussions and improvement throughout the semester will all be factors affecting your grade. Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4 15% Final Grade 25% Final Grade 25% Final Grade 35% Final Grade

5 Attendance: Attendance is mandatory at all scheduled classes. As per department policy, three consecutive absences or four non-consecutive absences will mean that you have dropped the course or failed. The only excused absences are for health or crisis and you must receive written documentation from a physician or Dean. Two unexcused absences will reduce your course grade, as will late arrivals or early departures from class. Students are encourages to work in studio with their peers and to review one another s work together. Studio is held Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:10 pm - 8:00 pm. Any student arriving after 6:25 pm will be considered late. Arrivals after 6:40 pm will be considered absent. Honor Code: Students will be expected to abide by the honor code as follows:! We, the students of Barnard College, resolve to uphold the honor of the College by refraining from every form of dishonesty in our academic life. We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any papers or books not authorized by the instructor in examinations, or to present oral work or written work which is not entirely our own, unless otherwise approved by the instructor. We consider it dishonest to remove without authorization, alter, or deface library and other academic materials. We pledge to do all that is in our power to create a spirit of honesty and honor for its own sake.! Statement of Academic Integrity: The intellectual venture in which we are all engaged requires of faculty and students alike the highest level of personal and academic integrity. As members of an academic community, each one of us bears the responsibility to participate in scholarly discourse and research in a manner characterized by intellectual honesty and scholarly integrity. Scholarship, by its very nature, is an iterative process, with ideas and insights building one upon the other. Collaborative scholarship requires the study of other scholars work, the free discussion of such work, and the explicit acknowledgement of those ideas in any work that inform our own. This exchange of ideas relies upon a mutual trust that sources, opinions, facts, and insights will be properly noted and carefully credited. In practical terms, this means that, as students, you must be responsible for the full citations of others ideas in all of your research papers and projects; you must be scrupulously honest when taking your examinations; you must always submit your own work and not that of another student, scholar, or internet agent. Any breach of this intellectual responsibility is a breach of faith with the rest of our academic community. It undermines our shared intellectual culture, and it cannot be tolerated. Students failing to meet these responsibilities should anticipate being asked to leave Columbia.! Statement from the office of disability services: Students with disabilities who will be taking this course and may need disability-related accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see me as soon as possible. Disabled students who need test or classroom accommodations must be registered in advance with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) in 105 Hewitt for Barnard students or Disability Services at Lerner Hall, 7th Floor, for Columbia students.!

6 Bibliography The following bibliography serves as general reference for the class. **Gaston Bachelard, Drawers, Chests and Wardrobes in Poetics of Space (Boston MA: Beacon Press, 1994) Jean Baudrillard, The System of Objects (London: Verso, 2005) James Benedict Trans. Atelier Bow Wow, Made in Tokyo (Japan: 2006) Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities, William Weaver trans. (Harcourt: 1974) Original ***Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life, Chapter VII Walking in the City (University of California Press: Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1984) ***Guy Debord, Introduction to a Critique of Urban Geography, Les Lèvres Nues #6 (Paris: 1955) Ken Knabb Trans. Michael Dennis, Court and Garden: From the French Hotel to the City of Modern Architecture, Introduction (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1986) William C. Ellis, The Spatial Structure of Streets, in Standford Anderson ed. On Streets (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1978) *Robin Evans, Translations from Drawing to Building, in Translations from Drawing to Building and Other Essays (London: Architectural Association Publications, 1997) Rem Koolhaas, Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattanism (New York: Monacelli Press, 1994) Original edition ****Colin Rowe and Fred Koetter, Crisis of the Object: Predicament of Texture, in Collage City (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1978) ****Richard Sennet, The Fall of Public Man, Chapter 1 (Norton: New York and London, 1974) Georg Simmel, The Metropolis and Mental Life in Kurt H. Wolff ed. And trans., The Sociology of Georg Simmel (New York, Free Press, 1950) Anthony Vidler, Agoraphobia and Framing Infinity in Warped Space (Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 2000) * Assigned for exercise 1 ** Assigned for exercise 2 *** Assigned for exercise 3 **** Assigned for exercise 4