Syllabus – Digital Tools For Architects (Archi 135)

Archi 135: Digital Tools for Architects – Syllabus

Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill Campus • 321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Associate Professor:

• Grant Adams
• Email: gadams@dvc.edu
• Phone: (925) 456-4355
• Office Location & Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 3:00 – 3:30pm, Location: ET 124

Summary

• Units: 4
• Prerequisite: None
• Location: ET 124 Computer Lab
• Website: http://www.digitaltoolsforarchitects.com

Required Text

• “Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design” by Kristin Cullen

Recommended Text

• There are a number of helpful guides to the software we will be covering in class that are available in local bookstores, but no specific book is recommended. I will point out additional resources as we go along and post them to the resources page of the class website. Searching Google for help is also highly recommended.

Class Schedule

• Tuesday and Thursday 11:00 – 12:00 pm Lecture
• 12:10 – 2:00 pm Lab
• Hours By Arrangement Tuesday & Thursday 2:00 – 3:00 pm
• Total 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab per week
• plus hours by arrangement

A schedule of course assignments & exercises will be posted on the course website as they are assigned. Please visit www.digitaltoolsforarchitects.com for more details. You can also subscribe to a feed of the calendar.  Please visit the tutorials section of the website for help setting this up.

Course Description and Objectives

This is an introductory course that focuses on using computers and software to create photographic representations, graphic presentations and layouts, typographic design and three dimensional modeling. The emphasis is on establishing basic and intermediate level skills for architectural designers to utilize computer software to produce architectural designs and presentations.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students completing the course will be able to communicate architectural concepts using graphic conventions and representational methods.
• Students completing the course will be able to create, modify, transform and edit digital representations of architectural elements and space utilizing materials, contextual elements and entourage.
• Students completing the course will be able to create digital files for architectural models and graphic presentations using current standards for layers, file structure and organization.
• Students completing the course will be able to model buildings and architectural elements using three dimensional modeling software.

Software covered in this class will include:

• Graphic Design Software: Illustrator, Vectorworks
• Layout Software: InDesign & Acrobat
• Photography Software: Photoshop, Picasa, & various others
• 3D Modeling Software: Sketchup

Exercises

• The class will have both lab exercises and assignments. The lab exercises will be worth 20% of each student’s overall grade. The exercises are designed to be completed in the lab portion of the class and focus on building fundamental skills. Exercises will be due at the end of the lab period on the day they are assigned unless otherwise indicated.

Assignments

• The assignments are larger projects that will often require work outside of our designated lab time. The assignments will combine multiple skills and investigate methods of graphic layout, presentation, and modeling. These assignments will collectively be worth 40% of your overall grade for the course. You may elect to improve your assignments and submit one re-grade for each assignment.

Portfolio

• The final project for the course is a portfolio of your work which will include each of the assignments given in the course and may include work completed outside of the course. Specific instructions will be given as the semester progresses. The final portfolio will be worth 30% of your grade.

Course Participation

• After each exercise and assignment, you will be required to give constructive feedback to three of your classmates using the course website comments section. This is required to help each student grow and mature in their design process and abilities. This will help make up your 10% participation grade for the course.

Grading, Midterm & Final

• There is no midterm or final test in this class, however you will be asked to put together a portfolio at the end of the semester (see description above). Below is a breakdown of the grading for this course:
• Exercises: 20%
• Assignments: 40%
• Final Portfolio: 30%
• Participation: 10%
• Total: 100%

Materials

• You will be required to use a usb flash drive to store your work for this class. The drive MUST be a 2GB (gigabyte) or larger drive. Please be careful to safeguard your drive as losing your drive (and consequently your assignments & work) is not acceptable. We will discuss additional backup solutions in class. A digital camera is also a recommended tool for the class, though it is not required.

Participation & Professionalism

• Since many of the problems are worked on in class/lab, in participatory lectures, and drafting studios, it is important that you attend every class. Participation is important because software will be demonstrated in class and computer processes will be explained in each lecture that will apply to each exercise and assignment. Attendance at each lecture is necessary so that you will have the appropriate skills to complete each project you are assigned. Class will start promptly at 11:05, students who are not in class with their computer on (booted up) and ready to work will be marked late.
• Professionalism means that you are expected to present yourself, your ideas and projects in a manner that reflects positively on your ideas towards the academic environment and the future expectations of the architectural working world. This includes respecting basic working world values such as punctuality, organization and commitment to work, but also the opinions of others, respect for other students and faculty in the class, and respect for tools and facilities. These expectations also include understanding and following values related to the production of high quality work, upholding standards of craftsmanship and presentation, and respecting standards of academic honesty and integrity.

Hours by Arrangement

• This course includes 2 hours by arrangement each week. These hours by arrangement will be offered from 2:00-2:50pm on Tuesday and 10:00-10:50am on Thursday. You will be required to attend one of these sessions each week. The topics for hours by arrangement vary each week and include special instruction in digital photography, graphic design, laser cutting, & portfolio development. For a current list of topics discussed each week, consult the course calendar available on the course website. At the end of each session, students will be required to turn in written/drawn work or post an exercise to the course website. All of the hour by arrangement sessions will meet outside of ET124 at the scheduled time. The hours by arrangement will count for 50% of your participation grade for the course (5% of your overall grade).

General Guidelines for Class

• All students who miss two weeks of class or more will be withdrawn from the class at the discretion of the instructor. If you will be absent from class, you must inform the instructor prior to the start of class by emailing: gadams@dvc.edu or calling/texting (925) 456-4355.
• If more than three assignments are not completed within the whole semester you may be dropped from the class.
• Assignment due dates will be announced in class. Assignments will be due at the start of the lecture on the day they are due. Work not posted on the website or handed in (when indicated) by the start of lecture will be marked late.
• Late assignments and exercises are graded down by 10% (one full letter grade) per class. Assignments turned in after 4 class days late will receive a maximum of 50% of the value of the assignment. Assignments not handed in will receive a 0.
• While I will be available for 1 on 1 or small group help during lab time or during office hours, please consult with written tutorials, other classmates or friends first if you have difficulty on exercises or assignments.
• I strongly suggest you print each written tutorial before the lecture/lab in which it will be used. You can then make notes on the printed page during the lecture and refer to them in the lab.
• All work completed during the course will be posted on the course website under a Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported” license. If you have questions about this license, you may speak with me during office hours.