Architecture Foundations (ARFD)

This basic foundation course is required in the Architecture, Interior Design and Landscape Architecture curricula. It is an introduction to fundamental design principles and vocabulary, process methodologies and problem-solving strategies. Lectures and demonstrations will stress abstraction as a primary building block for future design studios.

This course introduces basic drawing to develop an understanding of form as applied to two- and three- dimensional space. The student works from nature, still life, the human figure, and the built environment in a variety of media; exploring qualities of line, texture, light and space representation. Students begin to explore subjects and visualization methodologies applicable to ideation for design majors.

This course introduces students to central themes in the practices of landscape architects, interior designers, and architects in the 21st century. Through short talks, exposure to varied multimedia references (film, podcast, etc.), and group discussions, students will familiarize themselves with key themes relevant to the built environment including sustainability, equity, health, culture, technology, ethics, empathy, preservation, and more. Graded Credit/No Credit.

Building on the foundation of the introductory drawing course, this elective course allows students to work from perception as they learn painting skills using acrylic and other water-based media. The course explores issues of composition with color and develops the student's sensibility toward the use of color. Subject matter includes still life, portraiture, figure, interiors and landscape.

The designed object is tangible, but it is always first an image. The image, the product of visualization, is most fundamentally communicated through the techniques of twodimensional modeling we call drawing. Today?s designer is privileged to own a vast range of technologies, ancient and modern, to devise comprehensive strategies for visualizing and communicating ideas. By integrating techniques the student will learn the appropriate tool to employ at any given point in the design process to effectively communicate to self and to others.

This elective course examines the effect of environmental, societal and cultural issues on the evolution of form in architecture and design. Students will be engaged in an active, exploratory process, using research and site visits as a means to inform contemporary design decisions. Specific historical periods will be studied on site and the corresponding design movements prior to and following these periods will be compared and contrasted.