Architectural Design Studio (ADST) 450

ADST 450: Architectural Design: Cultural, Recreational, and Institutional is the sixth studio course, within the BSc (Architecture) program, that will prepare you for work in an architect’s office.

ADST 450 continues the development of architectural design for the public sector. During this studio, you will develop a public project for a cultural, recreational, or institutional building in accordance with a coherent architectural idea and in response to a complex functional program. This will require the design of spaces appropriate to each activity and the organization of these spaces in accordance with relationships required by the Functional Program and the site. You will need to pay close attention to the human dimension of both public and private spaces.

An outline for a Functional Program is provided, indicating the major types of occupancies and some major spaces. You must complete the program, adding minor, ancillary, and support spaces.

You must appropriately use form and material, and apply hierarchical thinking, to give significance and meaning to spaces—depending upon the use of each space—beyond mere functional requirements. You are encouraged to make decisions about form only after giving due consideration to the functional requirements of the spaces.

The nature of this project is public, and you should strive to understand how notions of time, endurance, history, politics, critical press, and so on, all come to bear on high profile projects typically intended to stand for generations. You will need to understand these influences and demonstrate the ability to make appropriate design, detailing, structure, and material choices that all speak to the public’s interests.

In project 2, you will submit, for review and comment, a Design Brief, including a summary of precedents for this building type, and outlining the important organizing principles, site relationships, and the design parti. With approval from the academic expert, you may replace the assigned site with a site that is appropriate but more familiar or accessible to you. As the project develops, you will submit a schematic design for review and comment. After your Midterm Presentation, your project must be completed and prepared for presentation and documentation as set out in the course outline.

The sketchbook is a desired element of all Design Studio courses.

You are encouraged to engage your academic expert often throughout the course. Their experience and knowledge will be a valuable resource as you develop your design thinking and they will act as a sounding board for your design ideas.

You are required to develop a Personal Archive on your computer to store materials that are pertinent to your studies. This archive can include images, texts, scanned drawings, models, and websites. If this is your first course using a Personal Archive at Athabasca University, please carefully read Archives and Collections. That document will familiarize you with concepts behind a Personal Archive and with design, organizational tools, and formats that can help you achieve a workable collection. Your Personal Archive will be central to your studies throughout the program and to your ongoing career.

This studio course consists of three projects and two online presentations. You will present to a small group of jurors (including the AE, the program Chair, and possibly others).

You will make each presentation in an online meeting room. The session is intended to generate lively discussion about your work, and to provide you with valuable feedback for your further development. The meeting room environment will allow participants to view all of your work, and to ask questions and offer comments after your presentation.

To prepare for these presentations, you will need to synthesize all of your key studies, concepts, and required work from all of the course projects to create a coherent online publication of your work. Your academic expert can help you determine which portions of your projects to present.

The table below summarizes project requirements.

You will also post the content of your weekly sessions and presentations on the Centre’s social media site. You are required to engage with other students’ work on a weekly basis as part of your final grade. This interaction can be in the form of thoughtful commentary or constructive criticism. Please confer with your academic expert on how to gain access to the Centre’s social media site.