Term: Spring, 2005 SUBJECT TO REVISION UNTIL JANUARY 7, 2005
Instructor: Tony Filipovitch, 106d Morris Hall, (507) 389-5035, 388-2264 (home)
Office Hours: My office hours are posted here
NOTE: Supporting material for this course is available from MSU’s D2L site.
BROLIN, BRENT (2002) The Designer’s Eye NY: W.W.Norton
LASEAU, PAUL (2004) Freehand Sketching: An Introduction NY: W.W.Norton
SUTHERLAND, MARTHA (1999)
Modelmaking: A
Basic
URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES (2004) The Architectural Pattern Book. NY: W.W.Norton
BARNETT, JONATHAN (2004)
Redesigning Cities.
This course is designed to sensitize you to the elements of urban places which make cities great and memorable.
By the end of the term you will be able to:
1. Read and speak intelligently to others about the elements of urban space and the relationships among city people;
2. Develop ideas of one’s own about “great good places,” and the pleasures of place in cities;
3. Use a variety of techniques (visual as well as conceptual) to explore the city and test one’s ideas;
4. Appreciate “beauty” and “place,” and be able to describe and defend them to others.
A variety of techniques will be employed throughout the course. While there will be reading and lectures and tests, this course is heavily weighted to practice and experience and capturing those experiences in written and visual terms. Above all, my teaching style is based on an "adult-centered" model which assumes that you are active participants, each responsible for your own learning, and I am a facilitator and resource who helps you advance your project. My goal for myself as a teacher is to "take you someplace you would never before have gone alone."
You are expected to read the assigned sections of the texts prior to their due date (see Calendar below). In general, one day of the week will be devoted to discussing your reading and to lecture & presentations, one day to projects of various sorts (and discussing what one is learning from them), and one day to working on your skills in visual presentation of ideas.. Notice that discussion is central—I would much rather have a good discussion than have you listen to a good lecture.
If you are not already familiar with journaling, you will be by the end of
this term. Each of you will maintain a
journal of observations, ideas, reflections, and conclusions. For this course, the journal will focus on
the elements of urban places and what makes them great and memorable. For many of you, this will be done mostly
through words, but I expect each of you to practice and to develop your
“eye” and your “hand”—the visual image and your
ability to capture it. You must make at least three entries in your
journal each week (1 for the readings/discussion, 1 for the project, 1 for
your “practice”), although I encourage you to carry it with you
everywhere and make daily (if not more frequent) entries. You will submit pages from your journals for
review at least 3 times during the Semester (see the Calendar). I will comment on the first two submissions,
but the grade will be assigned only upon the last submission.
Yes, Virginia, there will be tests. Two of them (see Calendar below). Their purpose will be to provide a summary and review of the course. The tests will be computer-based (using D2L—look under “Exams”) and can be taken at your convenience. They will be “open-book,” but be aware that they will also be timed (if you know what you are looking for and where to find it, the book might help; but if you have not previously read the book, you will run out of time).
The proof of what you have learned in this course will be your ability to envision a great, good place and make it real. As the final project for the course, you will work in groups of 3 to transform a (specific) classroom space on campus into a place that expresses what is good, true, and beautiful. The rest of the class will gather in and experience this place, and assess their experience of it. Your group will provide a written report, explaining what you did and why, how the users experienced it, and your assessment of the success of your project.
Graduate students will also present their own “Architectural Pattern Book” by the end of the course. In addition, they will be expected to be the team leaders for the group projects done in the class.
Students play an important role in educating and challenging each other. This can only happen if there is consistent attendance. I expect you to attend. I may take the class roll. Unexcused absence (prior notification is required—even if I am not available, my voice mail and e-mail always are) can result in loss of points toward one’s grade.
There are 100 points for the course, divided as follows:
Undergrad Grad
1) Tests (2 @ 25 pts.) 50 40
2) Final Project 20 20
3) Design Journal 30 20
4) Architectural Pattern Book 20
The final grade may be based on a curve, but students can
expect at least an A if they achieve 90, a B with 80, etc.
Extra Credit: In general, I do not encourage extra credit in this class.
I would rather that you put the extra effort into your regular assignments. In
the event of very unusual circumstances, a maximum of 10 points may be earned
by prior arrangement with me.
All assignments are due on the assigned date. There will be no makeups except for very unusual circumstances. No
extensions or makeups are allowed without prior
permission.
You may use any resource for your coursework, as long as you identify your
sources. (Failure to do so is plagiarism and could result in an F for the
course). While you may work on an assignment with classmates, you may not turn
in identical (or essentially the same) reports unless
the project is specifically identified as a "group project."
Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If you area student with a documented disability, please contact me as early in the semester as possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at 507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).
Week of |
Topic |
|
Projects |
1/19 |
Intro to course/syllabus Elements of Design Principles of Design (Clemence, Smith, Whyte) |
|
|
1/26 |
Kinesiology
(Hall, Festinger, |
|
|
2/2 |
A vocabulary (Clay, Pattern Language) |
|
|
2/9 |
Context & Contrast |
|
|
2/16 |
Preservation |
|
|
2/23 |
Spatial Definition |
|
Journals due |
3/2 |
Beautification & Recreation |
|
|
3/9 |
Form |
|
|
3/23 |
Design Review |
|
Test 1
Design Review Standards |
3/30 |
Great Good Places |
|
|
4/6 |
Social
Conception of Space (Suttles, Hummons) |
|
Journals due |
4/13 |
|
||
4/20 |
|
||
4/27 |
Present Final Project |
||
5/4 |
Present Final Project |
Final Journal & Architectural Pattern Book due |
|
5/11 |
Course Evaluation |
|
This is a selection of books & articles I will be referring to in the course. It could serve as a starting point for your own further reading & research:
ALEXANDER, C.
1967. Notes on the Synthesis of Form.
ALEXANDER, C., S. ISHIKAWA and M.
SILVERSTEIN. 1977. A
Pattern Language.
ALEXANDER, C., H. NEIS, A. ANNINOU and
APPLEYARD, D. 1981. Livable Streets.
ASHIHARA, Y.
1983. The Aesthetic Townscape.
BACON, E. 1974. Design of Cities, Rev. Ed.
BARNETT, J.
1982. An Introduction to Urban Design.
BECHTEL, R.
1977. Enclosing Behavior.
BECKER, F.D.
1977. Housing Messages.
BOWDEN, C. and L. KREINBERG. 1981. Street Signs
CHING, F.D.K. 1979. Architecture: Form, Space and Order.
CLAY, G. 1973. Close-Up: How to Read the
CULLEN, G. 1961. The
Concise Townscape.
DEASY, C.M.
1974. Design for Human Affairs.
EDWARDS, B.
1989. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
FISCHER, C.S.
1976. The Urban Experience.
FREEDMAN, J. 1975. Crowding and Behavior.
GELFANT, B.H.
1954. The
GREENBIE, B.B.
1976. Design for Diversity.
HALL, E.T. 1966. The Hidden Dimension. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co.
HUMMON, D.M.
1990. Commonplaces: Community Ideology
and Identity in American Culture
JAYE, M.C. and A.C.
LOFLAND, L.H.
1973. A World of Strangers: Order and
Action in Urban Public Space.
LYNCH, K., ed. 1977. Growing Up in Cities.
NEWMAN, O. 1973. Defensible
Space: Crime Prevention Through Urban Design.
OLDENBURG, R.
1989. The
PUSHKAREV, B.S. 1975.
Urban Space for
Pedestrians.
SCHEFLEN, A.E.
1976.
SENNETT, R.
1974. The Fall of Public Man: On the
Social Psychology of Capitalism.
SHARPE, W. and L.WALLOCK, eds. 1987. Visions of the
SIEGEL, A. 1981. The Image of the
STEELE, F. 1981. The
Sense of Place.
SUTTLES, G.D.
1968. The Social Order of the Slum.
SUTTLES, G.D.
1972. The Social Construction of Communities.
VICKERY, R.L., Jr.
1972. Anthrophysical Form:
Two Families and Their Neighborhood Environments.
WIEMER, D.R.
1966. The City as Metaphor.
WEINSTEIN, C.S. and T.G. DAVID, eds. 1987. Spaces for Children: The Built Environment and Child Development.
WHITE, M. and L. WHITE. 1962. The Intellectual Versus
the City.
SHYTE, W.H.
1980. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.
© 2004 A.J.Filipovitch
Revised 2 November 2004