Architectural Design Studio (ADST) 675

Urban and Environmental Design (Revision 1)

Status:

Open

Delivery mode:

Grouped study or Paced study

Credits:

Area of study:

Architecture

Prerequisites:

ADST 655

Precluded:

None

Faculty:

Faculty of Science and Technology

Notes:

This course will be offered in January, May and September. You may contact the FST Student Success Centre at 1-855-362-2870 for confirmation of other offerings.

Students are required to attend one 3 hour evening video teleconference session per week during the first 13 weeks. Although ADST 675 is a 3 credit course, students will have 48 weeks to complete and submit the design projects.

Architectural Design Studio 675: Urban and Environmental Design is intended for students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Architecture (GDA) at the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University.

Overview

ADST 675: Urban and Environmental Design continues the development of architectural design. In this Studio, you will produce a design for a project within an urban living environment. You will undertake a detailed analysis of a moderately large urban space, for which you will produce written design guidelines. This requires that you understand the structure of the site, network of paths and roadways, utility corridors, and so on. You will also examine historical and heritage sites, urban housing, public and private spaces, pedestrian and traffic patterns, responses to environmental issues and ecosystems, and provisions for nature in the city.

Outline

This studio course requires three formal presentations. In addition, each week, you will be asked to share your work in progress with your academic expert and the other students in the studio. This weekly session is the equivalent of a desk critique (a session during which the architecture student sits down with their instructor to review their designs) given in a face-to-face studio.

These interactive meetings will be held in an online environment that includes video conferencing, audio conferencing, and social media, and will allow the academic expert to provide feedback in the form of sketches, beside, or as a layer over your work. This type of session is intended to be a productive working session much like you would experience in an architect’s office. Upon registration, you will receive a full set of instructions for connecting to the virtual studio.

The table below summarizes project requirements.

Project	Requirement
Project 1A, Design Brief	At least 3 online critiques with your academic expert
Initial Presentation: Design Brief
Project 1B. Schematic Design	At least 5 online critiques with your academic expert
Mid-term Presentation: Schematic Design
Project 1C. Design Development	At least 8 online critiques with your academic expert
Final Presentation: Design Development
Project 2A. Reflecting on What You Have Learned
Project 2B. Submit 2 images to the Gallery.

This course is valued at three credits, and is intended for students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Architecture (GDA) at the RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University.

The course has two projects, the first of which is to be completed in stages. Each stage introduces an important skill that will enhance your abilities as a designer, and provides opportunities for you to develop your own approach to design.

You will also want to use your paper sketchbook to sketch in, take notes, answer study questions, state personal learning goals, and jot down ideas. Key pages can be scanned and stored in your Personal Archive

Learning outcomes

Adapted from Canadian Architectural Certification Board, Canadian Education Standard.

After successfully completing this course, you should have developed:

Understanding of the fundamentals of visual perception and the principles and systems of order that inform two- and three-dimensional design, architectural composition, and urban design.
Ability to use appropriate representational media, including freehand drawing and computer technology, to convey essential information at each stage of the pre-design and design process.
Ability to make technically precise drawings and develop an outline specification for a proposed building.
Ability to apply fundamental architectural principles in the design of buildings, interior spaces and sites, and to respond to natural and built site characteristics in the development of a program and the design of a project.
Ability to prepare a comprehensive program for an architectural project that accounts for client and user needs, appropriate precedents, space and equipment requirements, the relevant laws and standards, and site selection and design assessment criteria.

Evaluation

Your work in this course will be evaluated based on five projects. You are required to scan and submit your projects to your academic expert via the Project links on the course home page. Each project is weighted as shown below. Note that your participation in discussions and your sharing of resources will contribute to your grade.

Activity	Weight	Complete by
Project 1A: Design Brief	15%	Week 10
Initial Presentation: Design Brief		Week 10
Project 1B: Schematic Design	30%	Week 24
Mid-term Presentation: Schematic Design		Week 24
Project 1C: Final Project	45%	Week 48
Final Presentation		Week 48
Project 2A: Reflecting on What You Have Learned	10%	Week 48
Project 2B: Gallery Images
Total	100%

You must complete all projects. A final course grade of 67% or higher is required to pass the course.

All work completed for each assignment must be original and must conform to the policies and guidelines outlined in the Athabasca University Student Manual. Essays must follow APA style.

You may wish to consult the university’s Write Site resource centre to review writing processes; you will find APA style guidelines under on the Documentation and Plagiarism page.

Materials

Although there is no textbook for this studio, the academic experts may assign readings as they deem appropriate during the course.

Optional Readings

Gehl, Jan. (2010). Cities for people. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Jacobs, Jane. (1992). The death and life of great American cities. New York: Vintage.

Lynch, Kevin. (2012). The image of the city. [Reprint]. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Thadani, Dhiru A. (2010). The language of towns and cities: A visual dictionary. New York: Rizzoli.

Other Resources

Student-Provided Tools and Equipment

You must provide a digital camera for your own use, as well as a few other tools. The items you will need to provide are listed below:

Photography tools:

Smartphone with camera, or digital camera (SLR preferable)

Drawing materials:

35.56cm × 43.18cm (14” × 17”) Strathmore 300 series acid-free drawing paper
22.86cm × 30.48cm (9” × 12”) Strathmore 300 series sketchbook
white or beige 2-ply card stock
trace paper

Drawing tools:

0.30 mm precision felt pen (or similar).
2H to 2B pencils or mechanical pencils
coloured markers and/or pencil crayons
compass
protractor
ruler
drawing board (recommended)

Modeling materials:

white or beige 2-ply card stock
clear plastic sheet

Modeling tools:

self-healing cutting mat: 18” × 24” (45.75cm × 60.96cm) or larger preferable.
metal-edge cork-back ruler (various sizes)
stainless steel knife
masking tape/painter’s tape
white glue
modeling set square

Use of Computers

You may use computers to design and complete your projects for this studio (except where noted), but remember that hand drawing and modeling skills remain essential to the development of an architect and we encourage you to use those skills wherever possible.

Course Home Page (online): The course home page houses all the online components of your course.

Course Information (online): The Course Information provides specific information about how to proceed through the course. Read the Course Information carefully before you begin reading the Study Guide.

Projects (online): The 3 projects are embedded on the course home page.

Forms: Forms you may need are available through the myAU portal.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 1, August 2, 2016