Through readings and lectures, students become familiar with the social, technical, legal, ethical, and financial milieu of modern architecture practice. The spring course begins the sequence to produce a small house under the auspices of the Rice Building Workshop. The history and development of the small house will be examined, followed by an analysis of the proposed mid-town site and it's context. Construction technologies, materials, costs, climate conditions, and code issues will be considered. All phases of the project will incorporate collaboration with the larger community, from neighborhood organizations to local contractors.
Enrollment is limited.
This course is designed as a general introduction to computing in the context of architectural design. Emphasis is on the use of digital media as design tools and the appropriate use of these tools in the varying processes of design. This course includes exposure to a broad spectrum of design, drafting, modeling and presentation software. The other sessions will consist of group discussion through which we will explore the theoretical implications of the medium and test the limits of its use as architectural representation. This course is designed to explore computer modelling and rendering techniques and their role in the design process.