basic architectural communication i

University of Utah I College of Architecture + Planning I School of Architecture

ARCH 1630- Basic Architectural communication I - Spring 2021

BASIC ARCHITECTAL COMM I 1

Basic Architectural Communication I ARCH 1630: Section 002

Session: First Half

ARCH 1630 –Section 001

MW / 4:10PM-07:10PM (Canvas).

Class Zoom meeting: M - 4:10PM-07:10PM

Class In Person: W - 4:10PM - 7:10PMInstructor: Sam Hunt, AIA [email protected]: Tyler Kimmel ([email protected])

ARCH 1630 (1.5 Credits) Studio.

Course Description “Introduction to the practice and rationale underlying sketching and architectural

graphic conventions as a way of communicating meaning.”1

Overview: Basic Architectural Communication I studio introduces a spectrum of basic analogue

communication tools and skills that are invaluable to the architectural design process.

These include; freehand drawing, diagramming, mental imagery, visual thinking,

verbal and written communications. This course emphasizes the importance of

research and critical thinking as central to design thinking. The ability to

conceptualize, interpret, analyze, synthesis, and evaluate information is essential to

the design process. Moreover, this class seeks to provide a critical perspective on the

use of the different analogue communication tools and skills in the design process by

addressing a range of cognitive theories, tools, and techniques through which the

value and appropriateness of different skills can be assessed and measured. Critical

distinctions between the different modes of analogue representations will be drawn;

highlighting how each skill is affecting the design reasoning.

Theoretical Background:

1 https://catalog.utah.edu

Architectural communication is a central aspect of design cognition, which stimulates

important aspects of human information processing during design. This course

emphasizes a set of issues that are importance to design cognition, focusing on how

design information is carried in student’s heads, how it is recalled, structured and

manipulated? These issues are contributing to the emergence of a new direction in

design cognition in which the central focus is the designer’s conception of the design

world and its context. Within this definition, three processes (i.e. Perception,

Cognition and Representation), serves as a framework for examining mental images,

translation of these images into external forms, and interpretation of these forms. In

this cycle, mental imagery helps to generate new concepts and compositions during

the design process, while external representations act as support structures

enhancing the student’s own knowledge structure. However, relying solely on

mental imaging or depending heavily on external representations can be limiting.

Instead, design occurs as a result of a rigorous dialogue between both internal and

external representations. To stimulate this creative dialogue, architecture

communication should bring together a host of qualitatively different mediums;

engaging both internal and external representations.


ARCH 1630- Basic Architectural Communication I - Spring 2021


Internal Representation: Imagination and Visual Thinking

“Conceive the building in the imagination, not on paper but the mind, thoroughly—

before touching paper….Let it live there—gradually taking more definite form

before committing it the drafting board.”2 Frank Lloyd Wright:

Cognitive studies have established the strong relationship between imagination and

creativity.3 Imagination as defined by Blackburn in The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy

(1994, 187): “most directly, the faculty of reviving or especially creating images in the

mind’s eye. But more generally, the ability to create and rehearse possible situations,

to combine knowledge in unusual ways, or to invent thought experiments”.

Imagination plays a critical role in connecting ideas during creative design. Different

conceptual tools can be used to stimulate the imagination to help make creative

connections. Research has shown that imagination can be enhanced with training.4

Strategies that improve imagination and visual thinking are considered essential to

design conception.

Cognitive Abstraction Thinking: Like a language, drawing depends on a learned system of symbols and conventions. A

set of drawings must be synthesized in the viewer’s mind in order to create an idea

of a complete building. The importance of the creative cognitive distance that exists

between hand drawn, orthographic projections and the building, is essential to the

design process5. This distance facilitates important cognitive abstractions that help to

bridge the gap between the mental cognitive process and the physical world.

Written and Verbal communication skills

The intersection between architecture and linguistic expressions provides a medium

for articulating sensory experience through structure and meaning. Written (literary

works) and verbal expressions (story telling) offer an optimal method for connecting

conceptual domains during design processes. Therefore, spoken and written

2 Frank Lloyd Wright, “Concept and Plan”, The Architectural Record, (1928) January-February. 3 Berys Gaut, "Creativity and Imagination," in The Creation of Art: New Essays in Philosophical

Aesthetics, ed. Berys Gaut and Paisley Livingston(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2003), 148-73. Michael Beaney, Imagination and Creativity (Open University, 2005), 193-205. 4 B. Wallace and B Hofelich, “Process generalization and the prediction of performance on

mental imagery tasks,” Memory and Cognition 20 (1992): 695-704. 5 Evans, Robin. "Translations from drawing to building." AA Files (Architectural Association

School of Architecture), no. 12 (Summer 1986): 3-18.

expressions can provide a creative conceptual vehicle for communicating the

perceptual experience. In this context, the use of verbal and linguistic metaphors

(spoken and written languages) can act as a vehicle for stimulating the imagination

and enhancing meaning and understanding of architecture.

External Representation: Freehand Sketching

In architectural design, profound changes to the nature of design instrumentations

are challenging firmly-held assumptions about the relationship between the design

ideation and its representation. For centuries, hand-drawn representations have

been used to facilitate the cognitive dialogue; bridging the gap between the internal

mental images and the external physical world.6 Today, Freehand sketching remains

the central visual thinking tool, which is able to bridge the gap between the cognitive

process of design and the physical world.7 The ‘ill-structured’ quality of this medium

is tremendously helpful in early conceptual design. 8 Therefore, strategies for

enhancing freehand sketching skills should be considered a fundamental part of

design education. It has been argued that the use of ‘ill-structured’ representations

such as free hand sketching, in early design stages, help facilitate certain cognitive

processes. 9 Moreover, analogue tools (sketching, diagramming, etc.,) encourage

lateral design thinking processes, which can be invaluable to concept generation and

problem definition at the beginning end of the architectural design process.

6Ajlouni, R. (2018), “Digital Conformity”. In Proceedings of ACSA 2018, 106th ACSA Annual

Meeting. The Ethical Imperative. 7 Charles Eastman, “New Directions in Design Cognition: Studies of Representation and Recall,”

in Design Knowing and Learning: Cognition in Design Education, ed. C. Eastman, M. McCracken

and W. Newstetter (Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2000), 8 V. Goel, Sketches of Thought (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995). 9 Goel, V. 1992. "Ill-structured Representations for Ill-structured Problems." the Fourteenth

Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Hillsdale, NJ.




EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion, students will demonstrate an:

• Understanding the theoretical foundation behind design cognition and

architectural communication.

• Understanding of the different analogue architectural communication tools,

their value and appropriate use during the design process.

• Ability to use freehand drawings as a visual and abstract thinking tool.

• Ability to use hand drawing to construct accurate visual maps.

• Ability to use abstraction as an analysis and visual thinking tool.

• Ability to communicate ideas efficiently in written and verbal forms.

• Ability to do basic research to inform a critical argument.

Selected Bibliography:

• Akin, Ömer, and Cem Akin. 1998. "On the process of creativity in puzzles,

inventions, and designs." Automation in Construction 7 (2–3):123-138. doi:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0926-5805(97)00057-5.

• Akin, Omer. 1986. Psychology of architectural design. London: Pion.

• Archea, J. 1987. "Puzzle making: What Architects Do When No One Is Looking."

In Computability of Design, edited by Y. E. Kalay. New York: Wiley.

• Architecture Design, AA Publications, London, 2007.

• Ching, Francis D.K. “A Visual Dictionary of Architecture” John Wiley & Sons, 1996

(first published 1995)

• Ching, Francis D.K. “Architectural Graphics”; John Wiley & Sons, 2002 (first

published November 30th 1974)

• Ching, Francis D.K. “Architecture: Form, Space, & Order” John Wiley & Sons,

1996 (first published 1979)

• Ching, Francis D.K. and Juroszek, Steven P, “Design Drawing”; Wiley & Sons, 1997

• Goel, V. 1991. Sketches of Thought: A Study of the Role of Sketching in Design

Problem Solving and its Implications for the Computational Theory of Mind. In

Ph.D. Dissertation, edited by Berkeley. University of California.

• Goel, V. 1992. "Ill-structured Representations for Ill-structured Problems." the

Fourteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, Hillsdale, NJ.

• Hensel, M. and Menges,A., Morpho-Ecologies:Towards Heterogenous Space In

Lynn, G., Animate Form, Princeton University Press, Princeton,1999.

• Newell, A., and H. A. Simon. 1972. Human Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice Hall.

• Weinstock, M., The Architecture of Emergence: The Evolution of Form in Nature

and Civilization, Wiley & Sons, Oxford, 2010.

• Welton, J. Michael. “Drawing from Practice: Architects and the Meaning of

Freehand” Routledge, 2015

Course Requirements: This course is structured around two communication projects. Project assignments

will generally build on each other and increase in complexity throughout the

semester. Students are responsible for acquiring all required materials, tools, supplies

and other media capabilities for satisfying class requirements, documentation and

submittal of the work.

BASIC MATERIALS •Sketch Book - this cannot be a spiral notebook

•Black Ink Pens - pens with a felt tip or even cartridge flow is recommended

•Pencil and Eraser

•Black Medium or Wide Sharpies

•12” or 24” wide white tracing paper (no yellow tracing paper!)

•Architectural Scale

•Push Pins - clear, metal, or white heads, the long shank is preferred (no colored

pins)

•Drafting Tape or Artist’s Tape - this is similar to masking tape, but is designed to be

easily removed without damaging surfaces.




•Other materials shall be required as this course progresses throughout the

semester.

Grading Policy (Evaluation Methods & Criteria)

Course grades will be based on your progress and final product of projects. Your final

grade will be computed as follows:

10% – Participation

10% – Sketchbook

50% – Project 01 (story telling)

30% – Project 02 (writing assignment: written and verbal skills)

Final grades will be based on the scale:

A Range 88%- 100%

B Range 77%- 87.99%

C Range 66%- 76.99%

D Range 55%- 65.99%

F Range 54.9 % or less

Grading Scale:

A - A- Exceptionally Clear, Complete, Provocative, and Insightful

Response, Exceeds Requirements of the Project Assignment,

Extremely High Level of Participation

B+ - B- Strong and Insightful Response to Assigned Project, High Level of

Participation

C+ - C- Basic Response to Assigned Project, Standard Level of

Participation

D+ - D- Substandard Performance, Low Level of Participation, Some

Missing Requirements

E Unsatisfactory Performance, Missing Requirements, Incomplete

Projects

The different requirements in this class will be graded according to the clearly

indicated criteria. Late assignments, will be accepted, with a penalty of 10% off the

grade for each day after the due date.

CANVAS: Access to class materials online (for all sections)

This course uses Canvas platform to distribute information, lectures, instructional

videos, assignments, submit students’ work share information about newsworthy

events, provide additional course materials, facilitate discussions outside of class, give

instant access to grades, and provide information about unanticipated changes in the

course syllabus and schedule. You have “constructive notice” of any information

posted on the course Canvas site during the semester. That means that you are

assumed to have received information posted to the site, and that you take

responsibility for the consequences if you choose to not check the site regularly.

Students need to familiarize themselves with Canvas and any other electronic

teaching tools that the class uses. The Canvas Getting Started Guide for Students can

be helpful. https://community.canvaslms.com/.

Critique and feedback sessions:

For online instruction: Critique sessions will be conducted using Zoom platform and will be scheduled

for one hour every week (Mondays 4:10PM - 5:10PM). Please make serious effort to

participate in these sessions. This will be your opportunity to ask questions

directly and to engage with your class mates. Participation grades will be evaluated

based on your level of activity and participation in these sessions. Please note that

all critique sessions will be recorded and posted on Canvas.

To support students who may have technology access challenges, the Marriott

Library, UIT, and TLT are expanding the number of laptops and hotspots available for

checkout; see: https://lib.utah.edu/coronavirus/checkout-equipment.php.

For in person instruction:

Critiques sessions will be conducted in person in Wednesdays 4:10PM-07:10PM _ BU

C 302. Your instructor will provide you with more informations regarding the

details and logistics of these meetings. In addition, there may be additional dates that may require revisions during the course based on University Policy. Any updates will be disclosed to students by the instructor.




Attendance:

In-class attendance for in-person instruction (studio): Given the nature of this course, attendance is required and adjustments cannot be

granted to allow non-attendance. However, if you need to seek an ADA

accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy due to a disability,

please contact the Center for Disability and Access (CDA). CDA will work with us to

determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

For all other in-person classes (non-studio):

Students are encouraged, but not required, in-class attendance (i.e., students may

elect not to attend class in-person with no penalty and do not need to seek an official

accommodation to participate online, rather than in-person). Note: It is current

practice to allow students to attend class at their discretion. The university is asking

students, faculty and staff to stay home if they are sick. Additionally, follow university

employee exposure guidance. The list of symptoms for COVID-19 is available on the

CDC website. Students must self-report if they test positive for COVID-19 via this

website: https://coronavirus.utah.edu/.

Face coverings

Face coverings are required in all in-person classes for both students AND faculty.

Based on CDC guidelines, the University requires everyone to wear face coverings in

shared public spaces on campus, including our classroom. As a reminder, when I wear

a face covering, I am protecting you. When you wear a face covering, you are

protecting me and all of your classmates. If you forget your face covering, I will ask

you to leave class to retrieve it. If you repeatedly fail to wear a face covering in class,

I will refer you to the Dean of Students for a possible violation of the Student Code.

Note that some students may qualify for accommodations through the Americans

with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you think you meet these criteria and desire an exception

to the face covering policy, contact the Center for Disability and Access (CDA).

Accommodations should be obtained prior to the first day of class so that I am notified

by CDA of any students who are not required to wear a face covering. Please note

that face shields alone are not an acceptable form of face covering unless also worn

with a covering or mask for the nose and mouth.

Personal Hygiene

Please practice appropriate personal hygiene to reduce transmission of the virus.

Students are encouraged to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and clean their desks

with wipes, which will be available at classroom entrances and at “sanitizing stations”

in multi-use buildings, including Marriott Library. Read more information about the

building cleaning schedule on coronavirus.utah.edu.

Incompletes and Work-in-Progress Grades

Occasionally, a student needs to discontinue work in a particular course

before the semester is finished. An “I” (incomplete) can be given in such cases

and needs to be cleared within one calendar year, or the “I” will be converted

to an “E” (failure) automatically. If the course is successfully completed, the

“I” will remain on a student’s transcript, and a letter grade will be inserted

next to the “I”. Sometimes a “T” grade is used instead of an “I” for courses,

such the professional project course, where students are engaged in

independent research. Students can check the status of their grades by visiting

the Campus Information System.

Professionalism:

The School of Architecture is a professional environment: no texting, chatting, instant

messaging, emailing or any type of online social networking during class time. Please

turn off your cell phone ringer during class.

Studio Culture Policy and Procedures (please refer to SoA Student Handbook (PDF) for

your responsibilities for conduct in the studio): The studio is a public, academic

space, and in order to advance a culture of respect, care should be given so that

the work of others is not disrupted. Activities that challenge this environment –

such as excessive noise (personal entertainment devices must be listened to with

headphones only), computer gaming, and the like – could undermine the

academic mission of the College and the quality of life of its students.

Unacceptable behaviors include the display of pornographic or offensive images

and the use of drugs and alcohol.

Student/faculty responsibilities

Faculty must strive in the classroom to maintain a climate conducive to thinking and

learning. The University and your instructors expect regular attendance at all class

meetings. More than one unexcused absence will affect a student’s participation

grade negatively. Students are responsible for acquainting themselves with and

satisfying the entire range of academic objectives and requirements as defined by the

instructor.




All students are expected to maintain professional behavior in the classroom setting,

according to the University of Utah Student Code

(http://regulations.utah.edu/academics/6-400.php). Students have specific rights in

the classroom as detailed in Article III of the Code. The Code also specifies proscribed

conduct (Article XI) that involves cheating on tests, plagiarism, and/or collusion, as

well as fraud, theft, etc. Students should read the Code carefully and know they are

responsible for the content. According to Faculty Rules and Regulations, it is the

faculty’s responsibility to enforce responsible classroom behaviors, beginning with

verbal warnings and progressing to dismissal from class and a failing grade. Students

have the right to appeal such action to the Student Behavior Committee.

All course materials, including student-produced design exercises and learning

portfolios, are considered to be University property and subject to GRAMA

regulations and the Student Code. Student work may be collected and used by the

College for review and accreditation purposes.

Univers i ty of Utah Student Code Rights and Respons ibi l it ies

The mission of the University of Utah is to educate the individual and to discover,

refine and disseminate knowledge. The University supports the intellectual,

personal, social and ethical development of members of the university

community. These goals can best be achieved in an open and supportive

environment that encourages reasoned discourse, honesty, and respect for the

right of all individuals. Students at the University of Utah are encouraged to

exercise personal responsibility and self---discipline and engage in the rigors of

discovery and scholarship.

Students at the University of Utah are members of an academic community

committed to basic and broadly shared ethical principles and concepts of

civility, integrity, autonomy, justice, respect and responsibilities. The Code of

Student Rights and Responsibilities has three parts: Student Bill of Rights,

Standards of Academic Performance and Standards of Behavior. Students are

expected to be familiar with the contents of these provisions:

http://www.regulations.utah.edu/academics/6---400.html

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and

activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class,

reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162

Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to

make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can

be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for

Disability Services.

MISCONDUCT

Academic Misconduct: includes cheating, plagiarizing, research misconduct,

misrepresenting one’s work, and inappropriately collaborating. Definitions of

these and other terms can be found in the Student Code at

http://www.regulations.utah.edu/academics/6---400.html.

Addressing Sexual Misconduct.

Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 states, in part: “No person in

the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied

the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or

activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Under this law, violence and

harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender

identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability

and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories

such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability,

veteran’s status or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been

harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in

the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-

8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066. For

support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426

SSB, 801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety,

801-585-2677(COPS).

Academic Misconduct: The university’s Student Code contains the academic conduct

standards expected of all University of Utah students. The Code defines “Plagiarism”

as “the intentional unacknowledged use or incorporation of any other person's work

in, or as a basis for, one's own work offered for academic consideration or credit or

for public presentation. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, representing as

one's own, without attribution, any other individual's words, phrasing, ideas,

sequence of ideas, information or any other mode or content of expression” (Policy

6-400.I.B.2.c). Plagiarism is not a victimless offense; it hurts most the person who

commits it by subverting their integrity and undermining their ability to learn. Both

of these effects impede the offender’s professional potential. Students who engage




in academic misconduct more than once are subject to the policy of the College of

Architecture + Planning, which directs college and department administrators to seek

the dismissal of the offending students from their academic program.

Wellness: Personal concerns such as stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties,

depression, cross-cultural differences, etc., can interfere with a student’s ability to

succeed and thrive. For helpful resources contact the Center for Student Wellness at

www.wellness.utah.edu or 801-581-7776. The CA+P Major Advisor, Grant Allen, is

also available to provide assistance ([email protected]).

Ethical Conflicts: No student is required to participate in a service placement that

creates a religious, political, and/or moral conflict for the student. If you feel that you

that working on the community engagement project in this course will create a

religious, political, and/or moral conflict for you, please contact Associate Dean Keith

Bartholomew ([email protected]; 801-585-8944), and he will explain your

options.

Courtesy: Please be on time, whether to a Zoom meeting or in class meeting. By the

same token, please wait until the official end of class to start packing up your books

or signing off early. If we go over the scheduled time by a minute or two, please be

courteous. Please turn off cell phones and other mobile devices, unless they are being

used for a class activity.

Student Support

If you are a student veteran, please know that the University of Utah has a Veterans

Support Center on campus, located in Room 161 in the Olpin Union Building (M-F 8

am - 5 pm). Please visit their website for more information about what support they

offer, a list of ongoing events and links to outside

resources: http://veteranscenter.utah.edu/. Please also let us know if you need any

additional support in this class for any reason.

If you are a member of the LGBTQ community, please know that our classroom is a

safe zone. Additionally, the University of Utah has an LGBT Resource Center on

campus, located in Room 409 in the Oplin Union Building (open M-F 8 am - 5 pm). You

can visit their website to find more information about the support they can offer, a

list of events through the center, and links to additional

resources: http://lgbt.utah.edu/. Please also let us know if there is any additional

support you need in this class.

English as a Second Language: If you are an English language learner, please be aware

of several resources on campus that will support you with your language and writing

development. These resources include: the Writing Center

(http://writingcenter.utah.edu/); the Writing Program (http://writing.utah.edu/ ; and

the English Language Institute (http://continue.utah.edu/eli/). Please let me know if

there is any additional support you would like to discuss for this class.

Student Success: The College of Architecture + Planning supports an active student

success program, providing guidance and advice to all students on matters relating to

academic progress, graduation, and career development. The program also

maintains strong links across campus to a variety of student services designed to

nurture holistic wellbeing. The Student Success Program website, through which you

can sign up for an appointment, access information on student services, find

information about jobs and internships, and keep tabs on social and extra-curricular

activities, is located at http://www.cap.utah.edu/student-success/.

Student Organizations: The College of Architecture + Planning hosts several student

interest groups that provide students with opportunities for social interaction,

networking, and professional development. Here is a list of those organizations, with

information on how you can find out more:

Student Collective of Allied Planner and Ecologist (SCAPE):

https://www.facebook.com/scapeuofu/

Point B Student Transportation Group:

https://www.facebook.com/pointbtransportationuofu/

[email protected]

American Institute of Architects Students (AIAS):

https://www.facebook.com/aiasutah/




First Half Classes: Tentative schedule

WEEK Monday Wednesday

Jan 18 - Jan 22

W01: Jan 20

Jan 25 - Jan 29

W02: Jan 25 Jan 27

Feb 01 - Feb 05

W03: Feb 01 : Feb 03:

Feb 08 - Feb 12

W04: Feb 08: Feb 10:

Feb 15 - Feb 19

W05: Feb 15: No ClassPresidents' Day

Feb 17: Project 01 ends

Feb 22 - Feb 26

W06: Feb 22

Project 02 starts Question

Mar 01 - Mar 05

W07: Mar 01 Mar 03

Mar 08 - Mar 12

W08: Mar 08 Last day of class

Project 02 ends

Final presentations

Mar 10

Second session starts

Project 01 starts

basic architectural communication i

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