ARCH 611Drawing, Representation and Practice0.50 units
In architecture, there is a crucial tension between the act of drawing -- the representation of three dimensioned forms in two dimensions -- and the fabrication of those forms in a concrete context. Using case studies of artisanal production and industrial design and manufacture, and addressing the possibilities and limitations of the computer as a design and production tool in architecture, this seminar draws out a discourse on the cultural momentum of composition and representation, and the fabrication of architectural forms in both virtual and material realities, establishing provisional guidelines for their interplay. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program
ARCH 612Originality and Invention in Architecture0.50 units
Professional knowledge in architecture involves not only the application of science or theory to instrumental problems, but also the innovation that calls for cognitive risk-taking, reflection-in-action, and learning-by-doing. This practice is legitimized by a discourse that evolved in the nineteenth century, and that defines a good project as an original project. Critically engaging this discourse of originality, this course addresses the processes and strategies that foster invention in architecture in a reflective practicum that emphasizes the value of synthetic thinking across disciplines. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
Light, colour and darkness define an essential condition in the experience and the understanding of the environments that we imagine, create, and inhabit. This seminar addresses the empirical nature and the cultural, philosophical and spiritual meanings of light, colour and darkness and explores with the aid of, among other tools, digital simulation, the generation, presence, significance, experience and representation of light, colour and darkness in architecture. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
This course will discuss issues/challenges faced by cities (from downtown revitalization to suburbanization). Research has shown that their physical environments will fare better if such cities are designed, planned, and modeled in collaboration with professionals (i.e. architects and urban designers) and the community. Students will investigate how design projects improve the quality of life of mid-size cities (i.e. creative city concept). Together, we will focus on identifying opportunities for innovative collaborations and tangible improvements to the design of urban environments. The school is especially interested in strengthening collaboration among universities, community residents, planning and design practitioners, and policymkaers to seize their own destiny to design, model, and plan. Accordingly, we will investigate thematic (e.g. urban revitalization, design/aesthetics, environmental/greening, gentrification, housing, and multiculturalism) and policy-oriented areas (e.g. urban design guidelines, new urbanism, intensification, and land-use development patterns) that relate to the mid-size city. This is a seminar-based course and student participation is key to it's success.
ARCH 623Ecosystem Design for Urban Landscapes0.50 units
Landscape design is being reshaped by ecosystems thinking. This course introduces the concepts of ecosystems design for urban and peripheral landscapes. Beginning with case studies on the spatial forms taken by the historic co-evolution of nature and cultural forms in urban land systems, the course introduces ecosystems-based classifications combining abiotic, biotic, and cultural analyses; urban land mosaics based on urban landscape ecologies; and green infrastructures. It concludes with contemporary case studies demonstrating the scope of ecosystems-based urban design and planning, guidelines for ecosystems design, and evolutionary design approaches.
ARCH 624The Social Ecology of the Urban Periphery0.50 units
With the rise of the metropolis, the development of new transport and leisure infrastructures, the rapid adoption of new technologies of communication (radio, television, internet), and the pervasive influence of marketed ""lifestyles,"" public spaces have lost much of their customary function as a common ground, while the periphery is invested as a new semi-public commons. This course explores the dynamic relation between the old politics of the architectural centre and the new social ecologies of the sub-urban and natural peripheries, to identify fresh design opportunities within the development economy of the sub-urban, semi-rural, and ""cottage-country"" edge. Consent of instructor required for those who do not have the required course.
The built world and the inner world are linked, and have the potential to touch us through the act of design. The inspiration and meaning for the creative designs we need are available from the psyche but we have not been given the tools to access these resources and bring them into the built world. The purpose of this elective is to connect architects with new pathways and creative tools for bringing their imagination into the world. This course presents a psychological view of the built world in order to help architects understand the wisdom of their dreams, shadows and body during the process of design. Its in-depth approach allows the architect to experience the act of design as inseparable from enriching the self.
ARCH 642The Practice of Criticism in Creative Design0.50 units
Both private and public critiques form the core of architectural education. This course explores, through readings in critical theory, oral and written critiques of design works chosen from a wide variety of creative activities, lectures and class dicussions on the purpose, possibilities, and limitations of criticism, and seeks to define the often unspoken theoretical assumptions that inform it. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
ARCH 643The Study and Design of Cultural Sites0.50 units
Heritage districts, parks, memorials, and reserves have become an important focus of architectural activity, calling on knowledge of cultural conditions, environmental impact and values, economic uses, managerial practices, and legal limitations. This course will introduce ways to identify and define potential cultural sites, and study their history and place in the collective memory, their economy, and the role of architectural intervention in them. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
ARCH 644Architecture, Memory and Commemoration0.50 units
From its very beginnings, building has consecrated sites of history by transforming, through a process of reification, the fleeting memories of individuals into a communally shared and politically significant history. This course examines the different ways buildings and architecturally articulated precincts have operated as instruments of memory in the traditional tribal society, the ancient city-states, the multi-ethnic empire, Christendom, the modern nation state, and the post-industrial, post-modern, and multi-cultural commonwealths of today. Consent of instructor required for those who do not have the required prerequisite.
Prerequisite: ARCH 246 or 247 or consent of instructor.
Through the creation of buildings, infrastructure programs, funding agencies, policy initiatives, procurement practices and regulatory agencies central governments have used architecture to shape and unify the nation and define the national territory. This course investigates the
relationship between politics and architecture, with particular attention on the rise and decline of Canadian federal architecture and Canadian federal architectural policy, using case studies to explore the way various Canadian governments sought to establish and re-represent a common Canadian identity. Consent of instructor required for those who do not have the required prerequisite.
Prerequisite: ARCH 246 or 247 or consent of instructor.
This course explores the relationship between Architecture and the development of early, modern and science fiction films via the examination of the source and methods of portrayal of architectural expression in film. Films will be viewed to examine precedents for imagery, set design, location selection, as well as the integrated vision of the urban and dystopic environmental future. Futuristic film architecture will provide an opportunity to study a vision of the future of urban built form and provide a forum for critical discussion. Assignments will require that the students become familiar with different methods of media: video filming, sound and visual editing, web page production.
Architectural working drawings and specifications, bidding requirements; general conditions;general requirements trade divisions; reference and source material; assembly and production; structural, mechanical and electrical consultants.
The course introduces students to the legislative context within which architects operate, specifically: The Architect's Act, The Planning Act, and the Ontario and National Building Codes.
ARCH 655Architectural Practice: Ethics, Professional Liability and Business0.50 units
This course is an introduction to the nature of the self-governing profession in Ontario, the legal context in which architects practice in Canada, and the essential fiduciary relationships between professionals and others. This course aims to provide an understanding of the roles an architect may be asked to take, and the inherent risks. Forms of partnership, rules of professional conduct, the constituents of an enforceable contract, and client-architect relations are among the essential elements to be studied. Factors affecting both the cost of construction and the ability of an architect to conduct an viable business will be presented. Students will explore typical challenges encountered in practice and discuss these with experienced professionals.
Vernacular building techniques once manifested the principles of passive solar heating, passive cooling and daylighting by solar orientation. Searching for ways to design energy efficient, comfortable and functional buildings, this workshop revisits the principles of passive heating, cooling and solar lighting, and explores the operation and use of energy simulation computer programs and post occupancy analysis within the context of sustainable design. The methods will be tested in two design projects: a freestanding suburban house and an urban row house. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
ARCH 673The Science of the Building Envelope0.50 units
The building envelope has become the single most significant and element within the contemporary economy of building. It bears much of the identity and amenity of buildings, is the site of significant expenditure, the occasion of environmental concern and attention, the object of much technological innovation, and the locus of entropy. This course provides an advanced study of the building envelope as the place where design, technology, building science, and environmental concerns converge. It discusses matters such as natural light and ventilation or the short- and long-term behaviours of building materials, and assesses the use of new generations of "smart" mechanical environmental devices. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
This studio/workshop explores the architectural, technological, social and economic aspects of building system design - building systems are considered in the broadest terms. ARCH 675 expects participants to be aware of and pay particular attention to the matrix of cultural, sociological and geographic extremes. Participants are expected to be capable of considerable independent study supported by frequently scheduled meetings with the course instructor. This course incorporates design-build experience, wherein the construction of proposed systems is explored through the development of prototypes. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
Innovative structures - frames, fabrics and shells - give architects design options that have not previously existed, especially with long spans and large, single building volumes. The course deals with the applications, analysis, economics, design and fabrication of modern lightweight structures. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program.
University of Waterloo BES pre-prefessional Architecture Degree
ARCH 677Survey of Digital Design Technologies for Architecture0.50 units
This course provides an overview of the software and hardware technologies to support the design of an architecture that is more holistically conceived on cultural, social, health, technical and formal grounds that would otherwise be possible. What is taught facilitates an integrated design process where all disciplines collaborate through all phases of a project to achieve a sustainable design. There will be an exploration of software applications including the generation of landscapes and vegetation, energy analysis, acoustics, lighting, structure, people movement, air flow analysis, microclimate analysis and various types of three-dimensional modelling software, particularly, packages that facilitate interfacing with rapid prototyping and allow complex form generation. Rapid prototyping techniques will include laser cutting, three-dimensional printing and CNC 3-axis machining. The course format is a seminar in which each student will explore some of these technologies in depth by means of a small design example and presentations to the class while obtaining an overview from the course lectures and presentations by other students on other applications.
ARCH 678Digital Lighting Design for Architecture0.50 units
The intention of the course is to learn to achieve design intent in terms of artificial and natural lighting by digital means. There are three componentsd to the course. One is lighting concepts in terms of colour and materiality, light propagation, sky conditions, sun movement and quantitative lighting analysis including glare. Another component is the use of physically accurate lighting simulation and rendering software. A third is lighting design and critical evaluation through exercises and a small design project.
ARCH 685Readings and Seminars in Architecture0.50 units
Issues to be negotiated on an individual basis with faculty members. An outline of this course, approved by the professor in charge, must be submitted to the Graduate Officer within three weeks of registration.
This course provides an opportunity for the student to independently engage in the respected tradition of the Architectural Competition. The competition entry and accompanying research paper must focus on the use of architectural precedents as the basis for the creation of typologically based propositions. Submission to the external competition is mandatory, the timing and detailed requirements of which will determine the personalized academic requirements for this course.
ARCH 692Graduate Design Studio and Seminar1.50 units
The Graduate Design Studio and Seminar provides students and faculty with the opportunity to examine in depth current topics in the theory and practice of architecture. The Studio/Seminars will be lead by an individual faculty member who establishes a program of research, design and critical discussion. Each participant in the Studio/Seminar will complete a major design project normally related to one of the areas of strategic interest set out in the M. ARCH Program: Cultural Sites, Building Envelopes and Armatures, Community Building, Small Buildings, or Digital Design. Projects will be presented in the form of a report. Sections of this course may take place off-campus or within the context of a formal academic exchange. In addition, the seminars will provide the forum for students to develop and test proposals for their Masters Thesis in Design. Consent of instructor required for those outside of the M.Arch program. Fee: $25.00.