Architecture 301 provides an opportunity for the student to synthesize the skills and ideas developed through two years of work. Projects are longer and more complex than those previously assigned. They generally include analysis and design at the scale of the neighborhood or the city, as well as thorough and detailed design of a large building with a complex program. Emphasis is placed on the coordination of structural and building systems. The platform studios offer a choice of topics and projects exploring a variety of architectural issues, theories, programs, and building styles.
Topics range across the disciplines of building, landscape, interior, urban and industrial design.
Students choose platform sections that suit their interests, needs and goals, in order to conceive and then apply their own developed design strategies and theories. This concentration develops areas of expertise beneficial to future professional growth. The semester centers about the design and siting of a building of moderate to large size that the student develops for an entire semester. Sketch problems and exercises may be included to isolate specific issues of coordination. Through the preparation and presentation of a thesis graduate students select and explore a set of architectural issues in depth.