9497 - Making Space: Foundations of Architectural Design
Course Description
This course offers an introduction to methods and principles of architectural study through the measure, analysis, representation, and design of constructed space. Navigating the thresholds between exactness and expression, the work of this studio is to encounter and explore the tools, languages, and cadences of architecture as both a discourse and a practice.
Among the questions staged by this course is a deceptively elusive address: What is architecture, or, what are the scopes and concerns of architecture? Unlike fields of study that are defined by their medium (painting, ceramics, film), architecture finds its etymological root in an action without medium: “to build, to construct.” Yet, the architect distinguishes themselves as distinct from the builder or constructor: The concern of the architect is nothing more nor less than the care for space. Over the course of this summer intensive, we will begin to generate, position, and challenge our own definitions to pursue specificity in the space of this vagueness.
Learner Outcomes
Following completion of this course, you should be able to:- Practice critical design thinking through abstraction, iteration, and analysis
- Develop literacy in the conventions of architectural representation, inclusive of the reading and production of drawings and models
- Cultivate meaningful and rigorous relationships between digital and analog workflows. This includes technical foundations in Rhino 3D
- Become practiced in visual and verbal presentation as a critical engagement in disciplinary discussion and critique.
- Become equipped with elements of architectural language, and foster connections between these elements, and the broader social, environmental, and personal questions that surround them
Notes
For RISD Students:
RISD Continuing Education (CE) credit is treated as transfer credit by RISD’s undergraduate degree programs. If approved, satisfactory completion of this Architecture course with a ‘C’ or better can count as 3 transfer credits toward major/non-major studio elective (NMSE) requirements. Complete the Transfer Credit Prior Approval for Major/Non-Major Credit form in etrieve before completing the online course registration.
Students from institutions other than RISD:
Students seeking academic credits are urged to contact their home institution to arrange prior approval before registering. Policies on transfer credit vary by institution and by program, and it is at the discretion of your home institution to determine what credits it will accept and how they might meet individual academic requirements For additional information about RISD Summer Intensives and Transfer Credit Policies, visit our webpage.
Prerequisites
Students must be an adult age 18 or older to participate.Instructors
- Trevor Hilker