Arch5711: Design Principles of the Urban Landscape
News and Updates
Given a couple of adjustments in the schedule, here's the revised version of the end of the semester. Readings stay the same.
Week 12, April 11, 13: Active and healthy cities
Tuesday: Urban form and public health; Introduce Assignment 5: Critiquing a plan as healthy and sustainable
Thursday: Community Design--Sheri Blake.
Week 13, April 18, 20: Places
Tuesday: Neighborhoods and districts [shifted from earlier]
Thursday: Peter Brown on shopping
Week 14, April 25, 27: Diversity
Tuesday: Diversity
Thursday: Pin up and discussion of Assignment 5. Break out room TBA
Week 15, May 2, 4: Futures
Tuesday: Histories or technologies--is the future nostalgia or the avante garde?
Thursday: Wrap up
Assignment 5
Downloads
Excelsior and Grand Site (73 KB)
Gladstone Master Plans (1.57 MB)
Gladstone Project Area (185 KB)
Sears Site Plan (89 KB
Sears Rendering (86 KB)
Sears Vertical Mixed Use (44 KB)
Delano Site Sheet (364 KB)
Delano Context Map (30 KB)
Assignment 2
Assignment 2
as a couple of changes: print out each slide on 8.5*11 paper and bring to class rather than emailing; and you have the potential to add a context image so you can show where the main images come from, and a ground image if it helps.
The overall assignment is as follows:
Due Week 4 on Thursday, Feb 9: You need to choose two major world cities to examine using Google Earth. One city should be from Europe or North America and one from somewhere else. Find interesting cities with high resolution imagery. Provide a 8.5*11 print out of three images for each city, taken from a height of 7000 feet approximatelyone of a grand civic space, one an affluent residential area, one a poor residential area. You can add up to two additional Google earth images from each place that are particularly interesting and they can be from a different height. To fit in the PowerPoint you need to reduce/scale the picture to 62% [to do this double click on the image and a dialog box will come up and you can select a scale for height and width. It likely won't take up the whole slide which will give you space for labelling]. You can also have a context image to show where the images come from and, if you really need it, a ground image. Label each image with:
–Your name
–The place name
–Height above the ground
–A few key words--eg. Grand Civic Space
Write, and bring, 500-1000 words of captions mentioning each of the slides explaining why they are interesting (typical, grand, unusual, disturbing) and what questions they raise in relation to the readings (e.g. do you wonder if this Radburn planning has modernist or nostalgic architecture). You must refer to and engage with at least four of the readings in the first four weeks of class.
Assignment 1
You can look at suburban Twin Cities locations and use readings from the first three weeks (not just the first two). Useful web sites include:
- Google Earth: Free software at http://earth.google.com/
- Minnesota Historical Society: http://www.mnhs.org/
Grading Update
Assignments are meant to help link the general concepts of the course to specific places and designs.
As the syllabus indicates: Course grades will be assigned based on percentage (90% and above = A range, 80% and above = B range, etc.), followed by subjective analysis of dramatic improvement over the semester, class participation, and the like. Assignment grades are explained on the assignments sheet and grading tips are below.
The syllabus also refers to the Harvard Bok Center that has a useful on-line handout on grading and explains the differences between A and B papers http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~bok_cen/docs/GradingPapers.html
A B paper answers the questions very competently. An A paper has to do quite a lot more. Most of you are getting in the A-B range.
In general, better papers:
· Show an understanding of the readings and course material at a deeper level.
· Really engage with the places, maps, designs etc. that are the focus of the assignments. It is good to look up external sources about these but it is crucial to really engage with and analyze the visual material.
· Provide an argument e.g. propositions are backed up by evidence which is also qualified.
We have not split grading, in general two people grade over the top of each other, looking at all papers.
Office hours
Office hours for TAs have been set. Please email them in advance so they can let you into the locked studio:
- Mike Kisch: Mondays 1-
- Bil Welsh Fridays 10-
Sitte Reference
For those interested in reading more Sitte, including the quote from class, see:
http://www.library.cornell.edu/Reps/DOCS/sitte.htm
Discussion classes
January 26, February 9, March 30 meet in groups divided by people's last names: A-G in group 1 in Nolte 140: H-N in group 2, Rapson 56; O-Z in group 3, Rapson 56.
