Class Blogs
Advanced students maintain an architecture and design blog as part of the work they do in studio. A link to each student's blog is included below as well as on each student's individual page.
Blog Topics
Week 1: After completing your individual workstyle analysis, what insights do you have about who you are? How can you apply this information to your work in architecture?
Week 2: Read the article Peter versus Peter, and write your opinion about the these two approaches to architecture. Is one more valuable or valid than another? Are both relevant in some way? Explain your position.
Week 3: Read the article Rendering to Reality and write your opinions about the form of the Taipei Performing Arts Center. Do you think the building's design is effective or good architecture?
Week 4: Why do you think the concept of sustainability is important in architecture? Find example projects that support your position.
Week 5: What does it mean to design for Texas place, culture, and climate? How can you make your design fit or adapt to this area?
Week 6: Review the 2016 Dallas AIA Design Award Winners and state which project you think is best. Explain and support your position.
Week 2: Read the article Peter versus Peter, and write your opinion about the these two approaches to architecture. Is one more valuable or valid than another? Are both relevant in some way? Explain your position.
Week 3: Read the article Rendering to Reality and write your opinions about the form of the Taipei Performing Arts Center. Do you think the building's design is effective or good architecture?
Week 4: Why do you think the concept of sustainability is important in architecture? Find example projects that support your position.
Week 5: What does it mean to design for Texas place, culture, and climate? How can you make your design fit or adapt to this area?
Week 6: Review the 2016 Dallas AIA Design Award Winners and state which project you think is best. Explain and support your position.
Project 01 – FORMspace - Binaries and Architectural Verbs
Architecture is inhabited sculpture. - Constantin Brancusi
Students are introduced to this project with an exploration to develop a basic understanding of the diagram. Using the characteristics of a diagram, students will practice and develop an approach to ARCHITECTURAL diagramming. This project will also allow students to continue developing drawing and drafting skills as well as model-building techniques for diagramming concepts. The project objective is to teach students how words, their meanings, and relationships are used to generate useful and dynamic architectural form.
Students will create three separate products for this project:
Students will create three separate products for this project:
- 24”x24” large format drawing
- 6” cube model
- Sketchup model of cube model
Project 02 – FORMspace - House for a...
All of the people in my building are insane. The guy above me designs synthetic hairballs for ceramic cats. The lady across the hall tried to rob a department store with a pricing gun. She said, "Give me all of the money in the vault, or I'm marking down everything in the store."
– Comedian Steven Wright
For this project, students will be developing a design that contributes to a unique urban community using a client who is a quirky individual living in Dallas, Texas. Designs must respond to the needs, desires, and habits that each client has. As an additional challenge to this project, students will also be charged with creating a sustainable urban architecture for the American home. Using their training and knowledge from the previous project, students will investigate ways architectural form can respond to and represent the unique individual needs of a client while contributing to the overall character of an urban neighborhood.
This project will have two different sites that will be assigned by random draw. These sites will form two different neighborhood streets, each made up of seven individual residences.
Site 01
Location: Typical 50’x150’ lot in urban Dallas, divided into three separate zones.
Site 02
Location: 20’X100’ infill lot in urban Dallas, divided into three separate zones.
Students will research and learn practical applications of sustainable design through two separate methods: techniques and strategies for passive solar design, and the Living Building Challenge. Passive strategies and the LBC sustainability standard will serve as design guides for work on this project.
The client for this project will be a single individual assigned by random draw. This client will be developed around several unique personality traits, habits, or preferences. Students will have an opportunity to expand their client’s story to customize the project and inject their own thoughts and interests. As it is critical for the practice of architecture, students will be challenged to creatively meet the unique needs of their client in this project.
This project will have two different sites that will be assigned by random draw. These sites will form two different neighborhood streets, each made up of seven individual residences.
Site 01
Location: Typical 50’x150’ lot in urban Dallas, divided into three separate zones.
Site 02
Location: 20’X100’ infill lot in urban Dallas, divided into three separate zones.
Students will research and learn practical applications of sustainable design through two separate methods: techniques and strategies for passive solar design, and the Living Building Challenge. Passive strategies and the LBC sustainability standard will serve as design guides for work on this project.
The client for this project will be a single individual assigned by random draw. This client will be developed around several unique personality traits, habits, or preferences. Students will have an opportunity to expand their client’s story to customize the project and inject their own thoughts and interests. As it is critical for the practice of architecture, students will be challenged to creatively meet the unique needs of their client in this project.