FA-23A: Architectural Drawing and Design
FA-23a: Architectural Drawing and Design
MW 11-12:50am in Pollack seminar room
Instructor: Christopher Abrams.
Office hours: M 1-2pm
Course goal and mission: This course will introduce students to the basic techniques and concepts of architectural drawing. The course will introduce and develop the idea of architectural drawing and drafting as a form of communication. Students will explore the issues attending architectural representation through a series of exercises designed to develop skills in looking at, understanding, and executing drawings of existing and proposed structures. Students will investigate drawing for various goals such as conceptualization, design development, and concept communication. Students also will learn basic model making in order to explore the relation between 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional representation.
Required texts/readings and materials:
Architectural Graphics. Ching, Frank.
Drawing accessories (see course requirements, below)
Assorted readings TBD
Course Schedule:
Notable dates:
1/15Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (no class meeting)
1/18Brandeis Monday schedule (class will meet)
2/19 – 2/23Winter Break (no class meetings)
3/30 – 4/6Spring Break (no class meetings)
Weeks 1-4:
Unit I, part 1: Observational & ideational vs. technical drawing (sketches and diagrammatic drawing)
Introduction to basic issues and skills, including tools, basic setup, and drawing technique. Discussion of drawing and rendering 3-dimensional form, from observation and imagination.
***Assignment 1: Choose a familiar, existing structure, and make sketches. Focus on communicating information, with a particular focus on communicating the building’s ‘big idea’.
***Assignment 2: Complete a diagrammatic drawing expressing an idea discussed in class.
Unit I, part 2: Perspective vs. projected drawing (orthographic drawing)
Discussion of basic drawing technique and issues, including applications of different types of drawing. Introduction to basic skills, like legibility, line weights and layout, and added skills, including measuring and drawing in scale, hierarchy of line weights, drawing forms and figures, advanced layout issues.
***Assignment 3: Complete a series of drawings, in and outside class, according to the requirements given.
Unit II: Intermediate drawing fundamentals (constructing parallel & perspective drawings)
Introduction to the characteristics of plan, elevation and section drawings. Discuss important supporting elements, like titles, labels, and dimensions. Discuss the idea of drawings functioning as a system.
***Assignment 4: Complete a series of drawings of the model provided, in and outside class, according to the requirements given.
***Assignment 5: Make a drawing of a structure described in the readings provided.
Unit III: Drawing skills, applied (rendering)
Introduce further skills necessary for ‘real-world’ application. Discuss labeling, symbols, measurement, and other supplemental elements.
***Assignment 6 (group lab): Make measurements of a real building/feature, as a group, using a variety of techniques. Produce a complete set of drawings of the building.
Unit IV: Final assignment
Design a structure based on the requirements given in class. Prepare a full set of drawings, including plans, elevations and sections, and a site plan, as well as a model, for final presentation.
Course requirements: You are expected to complete all assignments on time, and to participate in all class discussions and activities (including at least one model orientation session).Mobile and smart phones are not permitted in class. Your participation grade will reflect continued use of your phone in class.
***You will be given/loaned a drawing kit that includes a lead holder, lead pointer, triangles (45/45/90 and 30/60/90), a set of French curves, a compass, a white eraser, an architectural scale (3-sided measuring rule, preferably in fractional ‘feet-and-inch’ increments), and a drawing board. You are responsible for the items in this kit. In addition, you’ll need to purchase drawing accessories to supplement the kit, including a sketchbook, portfolio tube or case, and any other items you wish to use.***
Course structure: The bulk of class will consist of studio time and one-on-one discussions. Most class meetings will begin with full-class pin-ups and discussions of your work. In addition, there will be a model making workshop and a measuring lab, both of which you must attend.
Course grading: Your grade will be assessed according to the following criteria:
Individual assignments: Your solutions to the given assignments will be judged by the demonstration that you have understood and applied ideas from our class critiques and my discussions with you, and by the following criteria: technique, conceptual sophistication, critical thinking, creativity, craftsmanship, and overall effort (I will mark each category on a scale of 1 to 3, and then take the total to determine your grade; 15-18 points is an A, 11-14 is a B, etc.). You will be expected to explain some of your decisions in our class discussions. Assignments must be ready for presentation on the first day of a pin-up, or on the assignment due date, whether you actually present your work that day or not. Late work will be automatically marked down.
Final Project: You will prepare and present a final project that will count for multiple individual assignments. The requirements for the final project will be given in class. The Final Project will include a presentation to be made during the exam period.
Class participation: You will receive an overall grade for the course that reflects your participation in class discussion. This is taken very seriously, and will be weighed equally with your grades on individual assignments (see below).
Absence/lateness: Attendance is mandatory in this class. For every absence after the first two, you will lose one letter from your final grade in the class. Missing six class meetings will result in a failing grade for the course. Arriving more than fifteen minutes late will count as an absence.
Summary: Grades for individual assignments, the final project, and your participation mark, will be weighed and averaged into your final grade (e.g., if we complete 5 assignments, there will be six grades averaged into your final marks). For example, if we complete 5 assignments and the final project, the grades will be weighed as follows:
5 projects – 50% (5 X 10%/ea.)
Final project – 40% (4 X individual assignment)
Participation – 10%
Understand that as the semester progresses—and your skills increase—the assessment of your responses to assignments will become more demanding; in other words, my expectations for your final projects will obviously be greater than for your first. I may or may not give mid-term assessments. If you want one, please let me know in advance.
The University has asked that the following language be included with this information:
Four-Credit Course:
Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).
Experiential Learning course:
This course counts as an Experiential Learning course. Students will investigate how physical engagement in the process of drawing influences the understanding of the representation of space and form. In addition, students will work collaboratively to explore and invent methods of gathering and interpreting information for the drawing process; working individually and in small groups, students will work to understand how their drawings relate to their existing and imagined surroundings. Special consideration will be given to how coursework can be applied to portfolios for further study and professional development.