Syllabus

ARCHITECTURE IN CHICAGO: AN AMERICAN LEGACY

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Louisiana State University
Professor William J. Doran, Assoc. AIA
220 Atkinson Hall, wdoran@lsu.edu
Office hours by appointment only
Lecture: M-S, 8:30 - 9:30 AM
Lab/Fieldtrip: Time varies; Location: City of Chicago


CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION:


ARCH 4221 (3) Prereq.: approval for advancement to upper division in architecture. National study abroad in the City of Chicago, IL. Emphasis on drawing as an analytical tool and ordering systems. Secondary focus on Chicago and the history of modern architecture.


INTRODUCTION:


Chicago is an American city with a phenomenal past and present in architecture and the human spirit. From the early frontier in the days of Mark Twain through the industrial revolution and the 21st Century, it embodies the hard-working entrepreneurship and autonomous spirit upon which America was built. The city offers a rich sampling of architecture from historically significant projects to internationally known work by architects practicing today. The vibrant culture surrounding the architecture in Chicago has a lot to offer the young architect.

We will look to broaden our perspective on architecture through two lenses. First, we aim to develop drawing skills as iterative and analytical tools with the buildings of Chicago as the subject. Drawing is a practice of representing things to oneself to see, think and understand one’s surroundings. Through this lens we will look at buildings not simply as visual objects, but as a dialogue among interconnected parts and systems spanning multiple scales and contexts giving a logic to the building’s construction as well as its character and its dialogue with the larger context of the city. Secondly, we will look at modern architecture and how its historical, technological, cultural and economic contexts, in Chicago especially, have played a role in the way we perceive, design and construct buildings.


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:


1. Thinking and communicating graphically

• Develop drawing and sketching as an iterative practice through use of a sketchbook and assignments
• Engage drawing and sketching primarily as an analytical tool - a way of representing things (buildings, ideas, etc.) to oneself as a way of seeing, thinking about, analyzing and understanding them
• To engage drawing as a communication tool to document and convey ideas

2. Architectural ordering systems

• Understand and analyze buildings as logical constructions with a dialogue among their parts and systems spanning multiple scales and contexts studying specific examples in Chicago
• Understand that the perception and production of buildings are not mutually exclusive realms or modes of thinking but rather inform one another and give coherence to architecture
• Use the analytique as a model to engage graphic thinking and ordering systems taking a specific building as a case study

3. History, theory and criticism

• General, yet critical understanding of the history of modern architecture with special emphasis on the roles of the City of Chicago, the industrial revolution and turn of the Century American culture
• Identify key moments in history that influenced the way we design and construct buildings today
• Identify and understand how technological, cultural and economical contexts play a role in the conception, design and construction of buildings

TEXTS + OTHER REQUIRED MATERIALS:

Required readings: digital copies of selected readings from the following will be made available prior

to the start of the course in a course reader (see course moodle); hard copies can also be made available:

• Bennett, Cat. The Confident Creative.
• Edwards, Brain. Understanding Architecture Through Drawing.
• Frascari, Marco. “The Tell-the-Tale Detail.” The Building of Architecture. MIT, 1984.
• Miller, Ross. The Great Chicago Fire.
• Rowe, Colin. “Chicago Frame.” Architectural Review, 1956.

Further reading on cities and Chicago:

• De Grazia, Don. American Skin.
• d’Eramo, Marco. The Pig and the Skyscraper.
• Ehrenhalt, Alan. The Lost City.
• Gandelsonas, Mario. (1999). “The City as the Object of Architecture.” Assemblage: 37
• Greenberg, Joel. A Natural History of the Chicago Region.
• Hecht, Ben. 1001 Afternoons in Chicago.
• Kotlowitz, Alex. Never a City So Real.
• Miller, Donald. City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America.
• Mumford, Lewis. “A Backward Glance.” Roots of Contemporary American Architecture. 
• Royko, Mike. Boss.
• Royko, Mike. One More Time and For the Love of Mike.
• Upton, Sinclair. The Jungle.
• Willis, Daniel. The Emerald City and Other Essays on the Architectural Imagination.
• Wright, Richard. Native Son.

One portable sketchbook and several drawing instruments of your choosing. Sketching and drawing

will be an integral part of this course. You are expected to carry your sketchbook and drawing utensils

during all required course activities. Establishing a regular drawing practice as you explore the city

will be key to success in this course. You will need your sketches and drawings to construct the

analytical drawing study due at the end of the course. High quality digital archives of your work will

be due on a DVD or writable CD at the end of the course.

A digital camera. You will need to document buildings you are interested in studying for the analytique drawing study. You will also be required to turn in a digital archive of your photographs at

the end of the course.

COURSE EVALUATION:

At the conclusion of this course the student will have completed the following:

• Several group discussions on various topics related to course material and experiences
• A series of assigned field sketching exercises and several free drawings in a required sketchbook (digital copy due at end of course)
• One (1) analytical drawing study of a building in the City of Chicago (final format to be determined)
• One (1) digital archive to be turned in on a CD, DVD or flash drive (to include all course work)
• Participate in a course exhibition in COAD Atrium including photography and final drawing study

Course grades will be based on the following percentages. Grades will be given at the completion of the course. Individual participation in activities as well as timeliness will be evaluated as part of your professionalism grade.

• Professionalism 10%
• Participation in lectures and group discussions 10%
• Regular sketching and completion of exercises 45% (to be turned in with digital course archive)
• Analytical drawing study 35%

Completion of the required work does not guarantee a C, acceptable mastery of the course material. The following definitions of letter grades are from the University General Catalog.

• A Distinguished mastery of the course material
• B Good mastery of course material
• C Acceptable mastery of course material
• D Minimally acceptable achievement
• F Failing

Assignments not turned in on time will automatically lose one whole letter grade. Every deadline missed thereafter in agreement with the instructor will result in the loss of another letter grade.

Any missed deadlines not discussed with the instructor will result in a zero (0) for the given assignment.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Students are expected to attend all listed / scheduled excursions and activities including lectures and group meetings. Punctuality is very important, especially when the group is traveling together to a specific location for a scheduled tour. Specific times for tours will be discussed / announced at evening discussions and morning lectures. These will be the primary means of communication for the course so attendance is vital. More than three unexcused absences may constitute grounds for placement on attendance probation (see PS-22 Student Absence General Policy). Arriving late or leaving early, unless authorized by the instructor, will be considered unprofessional behavior and will affect your professionalism grade.

INDIVIDUALS NEEDING ACCOMMODATIONS:

Any student needing special accommodations due to a disability must inform the instructor at the start of the semester and mutually develop an accessibility plan.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

Academic misconduct is destructive to the central purpose of the University; is demeaning to the community of scholars in the School of Architecture; is unprofessional behavior, and inconsistent with an architect’s code of ethics; and is universally disdained. Academic misconduct is defined in the Code of Student Conduct (rev. March 1990) and each student must read and understand what constitutes academic misconduct, and the policies and procedures that govern the Code’s enforcement. Any student found guilty of committing an act of academic dishonesty will receive appropriate disciplinary action.

RESOURCES:

Access to CADGIS Services: Art and Design Students can use services at the CADGIS Lab on the second

floor in conjunction with their work in the Art and Design Studio. CADGIS services include large format printing, oversize scanning, equipment check out, file storage and an array of design and presentation software. For more information visit their website: http://www.cadgis.lsu.edu/

COMPUTER PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:

This course will be using computer graphics for presentation purposes. Students must own legal

student licenses for software. Special price packages (and some free software) have been acquired for LSU students and are available via Tigerware on your PAWS account (computing services > software downloads).