Architecture (ARCH)

ARCH 101 | INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE STUDIO

Units: 4 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: First Yr Integration (LC Only), Artistic Inquiry area

An introduction to the fundamentals of the discipline of architecture. The purpose of this course is to offer, to any student, an introduction to the basic steps of design as it is done in architecture. Through a series of assignments of increasing complexity and scale, the studio explores the skills of drawing, sketching, and model building, and introduces a range of architectural ideas and issues that form the foundation of the discipline. Methods of instruction include studio work, desk critiques, tutorials and lectures.

ARCH 121 | INTRODUCTION TO MODERN ARCHITECTURE

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: First Yr Integration (LC Only), Artistic Inquiry area

A survey of the intellectual origins, artistic concerns and utopian programs of the Modern Movement in architecture. The course examines how modern architecture responded to the social, political, and technological changes in the years between 1750 and 1960. Topics include a wide range of debates on class, race, gender, nationalism, and colonialism, linking them to the questions of housing, domesticity, privacy, and standardization, as well as to the formal vocabularies of modern architecture.

ARCH 136 | THE YEAR 1500: A GLOBAL HISTORY OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Artistic Inquiry area

This survey introduces students to the art and architecture of some of the many cultures that flourished around the year 1500: Italy and the Netherlands, the Ottoman empire, the Safavid dynasty in Iran, the rising Mughals in India, the Ming dynasty in China, and the Muromachi shogunate in Japan. The class discusses these artistic traditions in their own right, while at the same time emphasizing thematic and stylistic relationships and cross-cultural influences. The survey challenges the primacy of European artistic norms, and invites students to experience the diversity and complexity of the definition of art in the age of exploration. Cross-listed as ARTH 136.

ARCH 200 | DIGITAL REPRESENTATION

Units: 1 Repeatability: No

Introduction to the representation processes and digital techniques in architecture as an integral part of design thinking. Students will learn the methods to develop three-dimensional constructions and the translations from three-dimensional forms and spaces into two-dimensional scaled drawings and models. This course prepares students to build design representation agility in subsequent architecture design studios.

ARCH 201 | ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO I

Units: 4 Repeatability: No

Prerequisites: ARCH 101

In this studio, students explore and design spaces of inhabitation in terms of both form and context. A series of assignments introduce the students to the design process and conceptual thinking in various scales of architectural intervention, from the dimensions of the human body all the way to the territory of the city. (3 hours lecture, 3 hours studio/lab weekly. Additional special workshop hours in the computer lab or woodshop may also be scheduled as needed.).

ARCH 221 | ARCHITECTURE AND THEORY SINCE 1945

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Artistic Inquiry area

This course aims at a synoptic view of architecture and the debates surrounding it from 1945 to the present. In addition to foundational readings in architectural history and theory, this course examines design projects by some of the most influential architects of the second half of the 20th century. Cross-listed as ARTH 221. Prior completion of ARCH /ARTH 121 recommended.

ARCH 294 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN ARCHITECTURE

Units: 0.5-4 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

An investigation of select issues in architecture. May be repeated when topic changes. Students may enroll concurrently if topic differs.

ARCH 301 | ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO II

Units: 4 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

Prerequisites: ARCH 101 and ARCH 200 and ARCH 201

This studio course explores architecture as a cultural practice that structures both the physical and the social environment at a wide range of scales. Building on previous design studios, exercises address the integration of structure, materials, context, and historical precedent. Students can expect to reach technical competency in a full range of design media, including drawing, model-making and computer aided design. (3 hours of lecture, 3 hours of studio/lab weekly. Additional special workshop hours in the computer lab, metal or woodshop may also be scheduled as needed.) May be repeated for credit.

ARCH 302 | ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN VERTICAL STUDIO

Units: 4 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

Prerequisites: ARCH 101 and ARCH 200 and ARCH 201

This is a topics design studio that positions architecture within the larger urban territory and considers social and environmental impacts. Students will acquire research skills concerning the built and non-built environment, and explore the production of architecture within the scope of the city, landscape, or territory. The studio assignments will encourage teamwork, independent thinking, and accelerated learning. (3 hours of lecture or faculty-led seminar, 3 hours of studio/lab weekly. Additional special workshop hours in the computer lab, metal or woodshop may also be scheduled as needed.) ARCH 302 may be repeated for credit.

ARCH 310 | MATERIALITY IN ARCHITECTURE

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Prerequisites: ARCH 101

An overview of creative uses of materials in architecture fostering imaginative applications and sound construction principles. Students will learn how to make informed choices that take into account intrinsic material properties as well as economic, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. This course supports the architectural design curriculum and reinforces students’ research, drawing, fabrication, and teamwork skills.

ARCH 320 | MONEY BY DESIGN: ARCHITECTURE AND POLITICAL ECONOMY

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Advanced Integration, Artistic Inquiry area

The course articulates the ways in which architecture as a physical object and a cultural practice influences and is influenced by political economy since the mid-16th century to today. The outline mashes up two conventionally disparate bodies of literature: architectural history and economic history. When architecture no longer operates in a direct, unmediated relationship between individuals, it meets economic forces and the pressures of the market. The course illustrates the cycle of creative destruction that characterizes the spread of capitalism, tuning into the architectural opportunities that occur periodically in each step capital takes backward before taking two steps forward.

ARCH 321 | CITY AND UTOPIA: INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY OF URBANISM

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Artistic Inquiry area

This course surveys the relation between social and physical space in the formation of modern cities, as well as in the formation of modern disciplines, city planning and urban design. It examines how the projects of social reform and political control shaped the grand urban projects and the “master plans” of the 19th and 20th century. This course is intended to introduce students to a history of ideas in modern urbanism and enhance their understanding of the city as a symbolic form. Cross-listed as ARTH 321.

ARCH 322 | CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Advanced writing competency, Artistic Inquiry area

ARCH 323 | MEMORY, MONUMENT, MUSEUM

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Advanced writing competency, Artistic Inquiry area

This course examines museums, monuments, and other sites of cultural memory, understood both as powerful institutions and distinct architectural spaces. We will begin with a critical investigation of the legacy of Europe’s and America’s great museums, which epitomize the political aspirations of the colonial empires and nation states that built them. Central to this discussion are the problems that come along with the representations of identity and difference—cultural, racial, class-based and gendered—in the museum. In this course we will tackle the cultural heritage, and symbolic violence of colonialism today, as expressed in the current debates of cultural repatriation and restitution. ARCH 323 and ARTH 323 are cross-listed.

ARCH 325 | PRACTICUM IN ARCHITECTURE

Units: 1 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

Core Attributes: Artistic Inquiry area

A practical course of limited hours or short duration, focusing on a specific architectural project.

ARCH 327 | ARCHITECTURE AND DECOLONIZATION

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Global Diversity level 2

This course examines the ways architecture, urban planning and real estate have been implicated in the histories of colonialism—understood broadly as instituting white settler control over indigenous lands, the dispossession and marginalization of colonized peoples, and/or establishing European cultural, economic, and political domination. By decolonization we refer to the historical liberation movements around the world, and the indigenous peoples’ struggle for the recognition of their sovereignty over land, as well as the intellectual experiences that counter, or diverge from, European hegemony. Focusing on the years since 1945, this course surveys the architecture profession’s intersections with military logistics, total war, environmental control, infrastructure systems, and monetary, cultural or philanthropic institutions that either violently suppressed insurgencies and liberation movements around the world, or help recolonized the global South. Extending into the post-colonial period, the course will also examine Third World development, international assistance, and humanitarianism especially as they shaped housing and land use policies. While many of our case studies are located in Africa, Middle East and South Asia, the questions of decolonization/marginalization closely relate to our experience in the United States. Topics include the role the US housing policy played in segregating American cities in twentieth century, and Southern California’s intertwined histories of architectural modernism and settler colonialism. Cross-listed as ARTH 327.

ARCH 330 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

A focused investigation of select issues in architectural and design history. Topics vary. May be repeated for credit. Cross-listed as ARTH 330.

ARCH 340 | BIOGRAPHIES OF WORLD CITIES

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

Core Attributes: Artistic Inquiry area

This course is a focused survey of the arts and architecture of a great city throughout history. It examines how shifting social contexts and patronage shaped the monuments of art and architecture; how the function and meaning of these monuments have changed in subsequent stages of the city’s history; how the traces of past architecture—the archaeological strata—structure the city’s present form; and how the monuments record the individual experiences and collective memory of a city’s inhabitants. Students will learn to analyze art and architecture based on firsthand experience, field surveys, and faculty-guided research. Offered mainly as a study abroad course by the USD faculty during winter Intersession or summer programs. Cities may include Rome, Istanbul, Madrid, Paris, London, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, among others. Cross-listed as ARTH 340.

ARCH 350 | THEORIES OF ORGANICISM

Units: 3 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Artistic Inquiry area

This seminar examines discourses surrounding the themes of “Organicism” (19th Century) and “Organic Architecture” (20th Century) as productive constructs from which to gain a deeper understanding of the development of modern architecture. A critical investigation of primary and secondary sources will serve as the basis from which to understand the creative, social and political questions driving this discourse, as well as their continuing legacy in contemporary artistic practices.

ARCH 355 | ARCHITECTURE, FILM & MEDIA: THE SPACE OF THE SCREEN

Units: 4 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Advanced Integration, Artistic Inquiry area

Prerequisites: ARCH 101 with a minimum grade of D or ARTV 108 with a minimum grade of D

From the perspectives of art, architecture, film and media, this studio course explores the aesthetic techniques of how film renders physical space on a two-dimensional screen. Reading discussions, screenings and projects delineate the architectural and cinematic framing of space and time, and how mediation shapes our perception of the world. Projects consider the screen as object, surface, interface using a variety of methods and media, including architectural montage, match editing, mobile framing and flythroughs. ARCH 355 and ARTV 355 are cross-listed.

ARCH 360 | INTRODUCTION TO SPATIAL DATA ANALYSIS AND GIS

Units: 4 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Quantitative reasoning comp

This course offers an introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), using it as a tool to visualize, map and analyze spatial data. In a series of lectures and studio assignments students acquire data literacy, quantitative inquiry, cartography and spatial analysis skills, as well exploring how these skills can be deployed for civic engagement, and social and spatial justice. Students interested in architecture, urban design, urban planning, urban studies, public art, media arts are especially encouraged to enroll.

ARCH 384 | SEMINAR IN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Units: 3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

Core Attributes: Advanced writing competency, Artistic Inquiry area

Discussion, research and writing focus in-depth on topics in art and architecture that change each semester. Seminars are often taught by visiting art/architectural historians and curators and, when possible, draw on the resources of San Diego’s museums, collections, and built environment.

ARCH 490 | RESEARCH STUDIO

Units: 4 Repeatability: No

Core Attributes: Oral communication competency

A research studio-seminar course designed for architecture majors in their Senior year to help them prepare for ARCH 495 Senior Thesis. Students will acquire the necessary skills for architectural research and analysis, and formulate critical positions through readings, lectures, design studio research, and cross-disciplinary discussions. ARCH 495 requires participation in shared research, studying several methodologies as the foundation upon which a student will formulate a thesis question. 3 hours faculty-led seminar, 3 hours of studio/lab weekly. Offered in Fall only.

ARCH 494 | SPECIAL TOPICS IN ARCHITECTURE

Units: 0.5-4 Repeatability: Yes (Repeatable if topic differs)

A focused investigation of select issues in architecture, architectural design or urbanism. May be repeated for credit.

ARCH 495 | SENIOR THESIS IN ARCHITECTURE

Units: 4 Repeatability: No

Prerequisites: ARCH 301 or ARCH 302

The Senior Thesis in Architecture is a capstone studio during which students develop their technical competencies, knowledge, critical thinking and creative synthesis skills. Architecture Majors who have successfully completed ARCH 490 Research Studio are admitted to ARCH 495. The thesis is an opportunity for each student to develop an individual project and define an original position with regard to a specific aspect of the discipline. Students participate in a midterm and a final oral defense of the thesis project. ARCH 495 should be taken in the Spring semester of the senior year. 3 hours faculty-led seminar, 3 hours of studio/lab weekly.

ARCH 498 | INTERNSHIP

Units: 1-3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

Non-Core Attributes: Experiential

Students who are interested in pursuing internship in a professional architecture office or design studio, or attending the summer design program of an accredited professional school in architecture, are required to submit a written proposal to the faculty internship coordinator, describing their expected duties, the work-load and the corresponding units, the beginning and the end of the internship period and the name and the contact information of the senior staff who agreed to supervise their work. The faculty coordinator will approve the course units (1-3) after reviewing the proposal. Upon the completion of the internship or the summer program, students are required to promptly submit a portfolio, clearly delineating their individual contribution. The faculty internship coordinator will assign the course grade after reviewing each student’s portfolio.

ARCH 499 | INDEPENDENT STUDY

Units: 1-3 Repeatability: Yes (Can be repeated for Credit)

A project developed by the student in coordination with an instructor. The project should investigate in-depth a field of interest to the student not covered by established architecture courses.