UTSOA

The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture

• architecture
• landscape architecture
• community & regional planning
• interior design
• architectural history
• urban design
• sustainable design
• historic preservation
• admissions
• courses
• work
• alumni
• publications
• resources
• center for sustainable development
• center for american architecture & design
• friends of architecture
• support
• calendar
• news
• faculty/staff
• students
• contact
• search

This site is best viewed using a modern browser with Javascript turned on and Flash (version 7 or higher). You may need to upgrade your Flash Player or turn Javascript on in your browser.

If you are having problems viewing Flash and have IE7 and Flash 9 installed, please run the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller and then reinstall your Flash player.

Warning: ocifetchinto() expects parameter 1 to be resource, null given in /export/httpd/vhosts/soa/data/includes/subnav.php on line 11

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Comprehension: "the act of understanding"..."the capacity to include"

This semester will be your introduction to the full complexities of the architectural project. During the semester you will learn to work comprehensively, like if you were an architect or interior designer, confronting the many issues at hand associated with developing an architectural scheme.

Continuing the investigation of the design process begun in Design 1 and 2, the two basic goals of the studio are:

1. To improve your holistic understanding of what architecture is about, making you more aware of how ideas, technology and aesthetics intersect in it. You will achieve this goal through the careful study of architectural and design precedents and by developing your own work.
2. To make you more skilled and competent in developing work that demonstrates a capacity to address and resolve the many challenges of any design project. In other words you are expected to develop and communicate your architectural intentions spatially, materially and tectonically by expanding your abilities to represent and realize those intentions.

COURSE CONTENT: Learning from Architectural Precedents

Responsible architects and designers, as professionals, must take into consideration different spheres of responsibility to produce their work. Today, these areas of responsibility are remarkably similar to the three components of the architectural project that Vitruvius identified in Rome about 2,000 years ago as Utilitas, Firmitas and Venustas.

Utilitas deals with the use of the building: Why are we doing it? What is it for?
Firmitas, deals with the methods of construction: How is it built?
Venustas, deals with the building as an object of art: What does it look and feel like?

As they face these questions, good architects and good interior designers must "wear different hats" to cover the areas of responsibility of every project:

The architect-thinker is interested in theory, dwells in the nature of the project, its use, its meaning.
The architect-builder is interested in construction and methods of assembly, in materials and details.
The architect-artist is interested in form making, in sculpture, in creating beautiful objects and spaces.

There is an all encompassing "fourth hat" that they also must wear: the architect- citizen is interested in the public realm, social issues, sustainability and the improvement of the environment.

Many times, an architect or designer is particularly interested in one of these areas of the project and, accordingly, their strategy to develop a project might begin heavily influenced by one of them.

This semester you will explore these different strategies with the ultimate goal of producing your own design for a building or an interior that responds successfully to all areas of responsibility in the making of our built environment.

Full Course Description [pdf]