ARCH 1412 — ARCHITECTONICS STUDIO — College of Architecture — TTU — Spring 2002 — SYLLABUS

ARCHITECTONICS STUDIO

College of Architecture

Texas Tech University

SPRING 2002

 

 Instructor : Dr. H. Buelinckx

 

Lecture Class:     Tuesday's 3.30-5.20 pm – Room BA352 (note Room Change!!!)

 

Studio Sections:  701-Pavlina Ilieva, 702-Dan Finnell, 703-xxx, 707-Dan Finnell

                                703-Scott Taylor, 704- Daniel Pruske, 705-XXX — Rooms AH 502-504                      

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Introduction to the principles and methods used at various stages of design analyses and synthesis processes.
Skill development in the abstraction, transformation, composition, and representation of two and three-dimensional design.  Outside assignments required. 

 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this course is to introduce the basic principles and systems of architectonics.  Architectonics may be broadly defined as the science of architectural design.  More specifically, it is the study of architectural representations rather than the proficiency of performance.  Architectonics comprises two complementary areas of study: Spatial Design and Tectonics.  Studies in Spatial Design focus on the principles and systems of order that inform two- and three-dimensional design.  Studies in Tectonics focus on the various aspects that contribute to the making of form.  Basic concepts are first introduced by appealing to what is intuitively familiar.  Then the concepts are developed more formally and discussed within a broader theoretical framework.  And finally, these principles are illustrated with architectural and other design examples culled from a wide variety of historic styles. 

A secondary objective of this course is to higher the students' spatial literacy and manual dexterity.  The latter gives students the opportunity to develop their graphic and model building skills.  Assignments consist of simple graphic exercises and small models and are made to help students assimilate the new theoretical concepts and to force them to apply them in a new, unfamiliar context.  Analytic projects emphasize how these principles may be recognized in existing languages of design.  Synthetic projects aim to equip students with formal compositional tools in order to generate new original designs.  In later projects the distinction between analytic versus synthetic will vanish and the necessity of the dynamic interaction between both will be emphasized in any attempt to create, to evaluate, and eventually to generate ones own design language. 

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

 

                See Separate Handout (2 pages).

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

1. Attendance

2. Readings

3. Assignments

4. Workbook

5. Quiz, Midterm and Final Exams
6. Participation

 

1. ATTENDANCE

Attendance to both the lectures and all studio sessions are mandatory.  Lectures meet promptly each Tuesday from 3.30 pm till 5.20pm in room BA 352 of the Business Building; studio sessions meet in rooms 502-504 on the 5^th floor of the Architecture Building (AH).  Seating for the lecture will be assigned during the first week of class.  Students will be counted absent for the day if their seat is vacant at any time during that class period.  After one absence during lectures or two absences from studio you will be notified a first time in writing.  After two absences during lectures or four absences from studio you will be notified a second time in writing.  After three absences during lectures or six absences from studio, and with maximal 6 absences (either lecture or studio) you will automatically fail this class. After four absences (either lecture or studio) your grade will be lowered by one full letter grade. After five absences your grade will be lowered another full letter grade. After six absences you will automatically fail this class.

 

2. READINGS (see attached Bibliography)

The textbook for this class is F. Ching's Architecture: Form • Space, and Order, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY, 1992. 

The reader with papers is on electronic reserve under the Texas Tech Library Web page with as address <http://www1.lib.ttu.edu/eres/> and will need a Password (to be obtained from TA). 

A hardcopy of both the textbook, a hardcopy of the reader, and supplemental reading material is on reserve in the Architectural Library on the 9th Floor of the Architecture Building.
In order to fully comprehend and actively participate, the weekly assigned readings (from the textbook, the reader or supplemental reading list) should have been completed prior to entering the lecture class on Tuesday. 

 

3. ASSIGNMENTS

All assignments will be posted on the Web; a hard copy will be on reserve in the Arch. Library.  It is your responsibility to print out a copy prior to each lecture on Tuesdays.  Assignments are issued during the Lecture class and are due in Studio. 
Graphic assignments must be completed on vertical oriented sheets of graph paper (8 divisions per inch) with dimensions of 11x17 inches.  Drawings have to be carried out with a straightedge ruler, rendered in the appropriate line weight, and exhibit the greatest accuracy.  Text on drawings should be hand-lettered or typed (see Porter, T. 1991, Design Drawing Techniques).  Model building assignments may entail the building of simple models in paper, foam, wood or other materials.  Examples will be shown early in the semester in order to assess the difficulty involved. 

Each drawing or model you turn in should have the following project label: 

 

 

Multiple pages should be stapled on the upper left-hand corner. 
Assignments turned in one week late, will be downgraded by 20%.  No assignments will be accepted after two weeks from the due date.  Your graded assignments will be returned to you not later than two weeks after the due date. 

 

4. WORKBOOK

The last day of class (Tuesday, April 24), each student will turn in his course workbook.  This workbook (11x17”) should document all the material you turned in for your assignments.  In particular, it should include all your original drawings made for each assignment, and drawings or photographs (mounted on 11x17" sheets) documenting all your models, and annotated slides collected in a slide pocket. 

 

5. QUIZ, MIDTERM & FINAL EXAMS

The quiz, the midterm, and the final exams will cover material of lectures, assignments, and assigned readings.  Exams may consist of multiple choice questions and/or essay questions.  Bring your own orange Scantron sheets and pencils.

 

6. PARTICIPATION

Active participation during Lectures and Studios is recommended.  During Lectures impromptu quizzes may be handed out.  Answer them on a small 3x5 card.  Make sure to indicate your NAME (last name, first name) and Section number.

 

COURSE GRADING

Final grades will be calculated as follows

 

Extra Credit Projects                       +20%

 

STUDENT PROJECTS

"The college of Architecture reserves the right to retain exhibit, and reproduce work submitted by students.  Work submitted for grade is the property of the college and remains such until it is returned to the student."  [Faculty Meeting, College of Architecture, January 00]

 

CLASS ETIQUETTE

"Students are expected to assist in maintaining a classroom environment which is conducive to learning.  In order to assure that all students have an opportunity to gain from time spent in class, students are prohibited from using cellular phones or beepers, eating or drinking in class, making offensive remarks, reading newspapers, sleeping or engaging in any other form of distraction.  Inappropriate behavior in the classroom shall result in, minimally, a request to leave class." [Dean of Students and Provost, August 99]

 

OFFICE HOURS

Office hours are for your benefit.  If you have any questions regarding assignments, exams, or any other subject please make an appointment with your Professor or TA during his/her office hours. 

 

ACCOMMODATIONS

"Any student who, because of a disability, may require some special arrangements to meet course requirements should contact the professor, at (806) 742.3136, to make necessary accommodations.  Students should present appropriate verification from the Disabled Student Services, Dean of Students Office.  No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to completion of this approved University process." 
[TT-Faculty Handbook, August 98].

 

MATERIALS LIST

Drawing Tools:            Lead Pencil Holder 0.5 mm, Box of 2H or HB Leads, Eraser,

                                        Architectural Compass Set,

                                        Straightedge Ruler,

                                        Adjustable 45 triangle - size 10", One 30/60 degree triangle - size 18".

Model Building:           Knife, Scissors

                                        Glue, etc.   (consult with your Studio Instructor)
Paper:                            Roll of Tracing paper (width 18"),

                                        Pad of Graph paper:  11x17" with 8 divisions per inch.

                                        3x5 cards (for Lectures)

Slide or Print Film roll                                                                                      Additional Project Supplies as Needed.

 

SHOP USE

During week 2 you will attend an orientation meeting in the SHOP of the Architecture College.  Prior to entering the shop, it is mandatory that you:

 

1         Read the TTU-College of Architecture-Shop Rules on the Web.

2         Print and sign the (last) page:  “TTU-COA- Health and Safety Statement”

3         Bring this page to DAVIS Carole,  Receptionist Secretary of the COA on the 10^th Floor AH

4        Obtain from DAVIS Carole a RED sticker on your current student I.D. card

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Tx - textbook; Rx - included in reader on electronic reserve, All books on reserve in Architecture Library)

 

Tx        Ching, F., 1992,  Architecture: Form • Space, and Order, Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY.

 

            I. INTRO to ARCHITECTONICS

              Musser, G.l., and Trimpe, L., 1994,  "Problem Solving in Geometry",
College Geometry: A Problem Solving Approach, Mc.Millan Publ, NY,pp. 1-29.

Friedman, J.B., 1989,  Creation in Space — Fundamentals of Architecture, Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company, Iowa.

Goodman, N., 1968,  Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols, Bobbs-Merrill.

Thompson, D'Arcy, 1959,  On Growth and Form, University Press, Cambridge.

 

              II. SPATIAL PRIMITIVES & DIMENSIONS

R1         Kandinsky, W, 1926,  "Point and Line to Plane",
Kandinsky Complete Writings on Art, Ed. Lindsay, Da Capo Press, New York, pp. 527-571.

R2         Abbott, E., 1952,  Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions, Dover Publications, NY.

Devlin, K., 1994,  Mathematics: The Science of Patterns, Scientific American Library, New York.

 

            III. SHAPE VOCABULARIES

R3         Motro, R., 1997,  "Proportion and Symbolism in Polyhedra", 
Beyond the Cube, Gabriel, F., ed., John Wiley & Sons, pp.281-299.

Owen, J., 1910,  The Grammar of Ornament, B. Quaritch, London.

Pearce, P., Pearce. S., 1978,  Polyhedra Primer, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

 

            IV. PROPORTION
Hambidge, J., 1967,  The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry, Dover Publ., NY.

Le Corbusier, 1954,  The Modulor, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Le Corbusier, 1955,  The Modulor II, MIT Press, Cambridge.

March, L., 1993,  “Proportion Is an Alive and Expressive Tool”,
R.M. Schindler—Composition and Construction, Academic Editions, pp. 88-101.

March, L., 1998,  Architectonics of Humanism, Academic Editions, West Sussex, Great Britain.

Scholfield, P.H., 1958,  The Theory of Proportion in Architecture, Cambridge University Press, London.

Wittkower, R, 1956,  Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, Random House, New York.
(One of the most authoritative scholarly works on proportion theory in the Renaissance.)

R4         Wittkower, R, 1978,  "The Changing Concept of Proportion", Idea and Image, Thames & Hudson, pp. 109-124.

              V. SPATIAL RELATIONS

R5         Schindler, R.M., 1913,  “Modern Architecture – A Program”, 
R.M. Schindler—Composition and Construction, March, ed., Academic Editions, pp. 10-13.

            VI. SYMMETRY
Hargittai, I., 1994,  Symmetry: a Unifying Concept, Shelter Publications, Ten Speed.
Holden, A., 1971,  Shapes, Space, and Symmetry,  Colunbia Univ. Press, NY.

Weyl, H. , 1952,  Symmetry, Princeton University Press, Cambridge.  (Survey of applications of symmetry in nature and the arts both from a philosophical and a mathematical point of view.)

R6         Stewart, I, 1992,  “What is Symmetry?”  Fearful Symmetry,  Blackwell Publishers, UK, pp. 26-53.

March, L., and Steadman, P.,1971  “Symmetry Groups in the Plane”, 
The Geometry of Environment,  RIBA Publications, London, pp. .

Musser, G., 1994, " Transformational Geometry", College Geometry, Prentice-Hall, pp. 417-458.

 

            VII. SHAPE GRAMMARS

Laseau, P, Tice, J., 1992, Frank Lloyd Wright-Between Principle and Form, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

March, L., 1993,  “Dr. How's Magical Music Box”,
R.M. Schindler—Composition and Construction, Academic Editions, pp. 124-145.

Knight , T, 1995,  Transformations in Design,  MIT Press, Cambridge.

R7         Stiny, G., 1980,  “Kindergarten Grammars:  Designing with Froebel’s Building Gifts”, Environment and Planning B, 7, pp. 409-462.