ARCHI 221: Architectural Design III: SF Skyscraper StudioSyllabus
Instructor: Daniel Abbott
Qi Zhu
Office Location: Daniel Abbott ET 119D
Qi ZhuET119F
Office Hours: Daniel AbbottMon, Tues, Weds, Thurs1:00pm - 2:00pm
Qi ZhuWednesday 1:00-2:00
E-Mail:
COURSE SUMMARY
Third level studio design class continuing the study of architectural design. Course focuses on development of applying fundamental design skills and spatial theories to design projects of greater architectural complexity. Projects will incorporate the use of concepts of site planning, structural systems and circulation through space into a variety of design problems. Projects will also explore concepts in human, cultural, historical and advanced structural and circulation systems in architectural design.
Class Schedule
Monday and Wednesday2:00 - 3:00 pm Lecture
3:00 - 5:50 pm Design Studio
Total2 hours of lecture and 6 hours
of studio per week
Units: 4 Units
Prerequisites
ARCHI 135 Digital Tools I
ARCHI 220 Architectural Design II
Recommended
ARCHI 136 Digital Tools for Architects II
Course Notes and Additional Information
The course is a capstone course intended for students at their final semester of design studio work and the highest level of abilities completing their AS Degree in Architecture Design. This course is not required for transfer to UC Berkeley but can be used as advanced portfolio material or as a transferable class to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or other five year accredited architecture schools.
This semester we will be covering the design of high-rise buildings in San Francisco located around the Transbay Terminal. This area, located South of Market Street is a major focus of future development and transportation that will reshape this area of the city.
The class curriculum will cover urban planning, zoning, engineering, architectural design, programming, circulation systems and life safety, building envelope and mechanical systems. There will be several field trips to San Francisco required for the course as well as a series of visiting architects, engineers and city planners who will give presentations and design reviews during the semester.
DVC STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students completing the course will be able to:
- Communicate architectural concepts, using graphic conventions and representational methods.
- Construct physical models of architectural elements and spaces.
- Demonstrate understanding of building components, structures, and systems in relation to design.
- Identify notable architects, design concepts, canonical buildings in architecture and precedents.
- Identify the historical and contemporary role of architects in the profession and related design fields.
NAAB CRITERIA
The National Architecture Accreditation board uses the following criteria to assess learning outcomes for students in fiveyear programs. This criteria will help clarify transferability and criteria if you are planning on attending a five year school.
Realm B: Integrated Building Practices, Technical Skills and Knowledge: Architects
are called upon to comprehend the technical aspects of design, systems and materials,
and be able to apply that comprehension to their services. Additionally they must
appreciate their role in the implementation of design decisions, and the impact of such
decisions on the environment. Students learning aspirations include:
- Creating building designs with well-integrated systems.
- Comprehending constructability.
- Incorporating life safety systems.
- Integrating accessibility.
- Applying principles of sustainable design.
B. 1. Pre-Design: Ability to prepare a comprehensive program for an architectural
project, such as preparing an assessment of client and user needs, an
inventory of space and equipment requirements, an analysis of site
conditions (including existing buildings), a review of the relevant laws and
standards and assessment of their implications for the project, and a
definition of site selection and design assessment criteria.
B. 2. Accessibility: Ability to design sites, facilities, and systems to provide
independent and integrated use by individuals with physical (including
mobility), sensory, and cognitive disabilities.
B. 3. Sustainability: Ability to design projects that optimize, conserve, or reuse
natural and built resources, provide healthful environments for
occupants/users, and reduce the environmental impacts of building
construction and operations on future generations through means such as
carbon-neutral design, bioclimatic design, and energy efficiency.
B. 4. Site Design: Ability to respond to site characteristics such as soil,
topography, vegetation, and watershed in the development of a project
design.
B. 5. Life Safety: Ability to apply the basic principles of life-safety systems with an
emphasis on egress.
B. 6. Comprehensive Design: Ability to produce a comprehensive architectural
project that demonstrates each student’s capacity to make design decisions
across scales while integrating the following SPC:
ARCHI 221: Architectural Design III: SF Skyscraper StudioSyllabus
A.2. Design Thinking Skills
A.4. TechnicalDocumentation
A.5. Investigative Skills
A.8. Ordering Systems
A.9. Historical Traditions and Global Culture
B.2. Accessibility
B.3. Sustainability
B.4. Site Design
B.5. Life Safety
B.8. Environmental Systems
B.9. Structural Systems
ARCHI 221: Architectural Design III: SF Skyscraper StudioSyllabus
B. 7 Financial Considerations: Understanding of the fundamentals of building
costs, such as acquisition costs, project financing and funding, financial
feasibility, operational costs, and construction estimating with an emphasis
on life-cycle cost accounting.
B. 8 Environmental Systems: Understanding the principles of environmental
systems’ design such as embodied energy, active and passive heating and
cooling, indoor air quality, solar orientation, daylighting and artificial
illumination, and acoustics; including the use of appropriate performance
assessment tools.
B. 9. Structural Systems: Understanding of the basic principles of structural
behavior in withstanding gravity and lateral forces and the evolution, range,
and appropriate application of contemporary structural systems.
B. 10. Building Envelope Systems: Understanding of the basic principles involved
in the appropriate application of building envelope systems and associated
assemblies relative to fundamental performance, aesthetics, moisture
transfer, durability, and energy and material resources.
B. 11. Building Service Systems: Understanding of the basic principles and
appropriate application and performance of building service systems such
as plumbing, electrical, vertical transportation, security, and fire protection
systems.
B. 12. Building Materials and Assemblies: Understanding of the basic principles
utilized in the appropriate selection of construction materials, products,
components, and assemblies, based on their inherent characteristics and
performance, including their environmental impact and reuse.
RECOMMENDED TEXT
The following texts are not all required to complete the course but many must be utilized to produce a quality design that is informed on a variety of topics and levels including structure, context, life safety and enclosure. Many of these texts will be used in class as reference.
Codes and technical guides
Building Codes Illustrated: A Guide to Understanding the 2012 International Building Code, Francis D.K. Ching
The Architect’s Studio Companion: Rules of Thumb for Preliminary Design, Edward Allen and Joseph Iano
Building Structures Illustrated, Francis D.K. Ching, Barry S. Onouye and Douglas Zuberbuhler
Historical Building Construction: Design, Materials and Technology, Donald Friedman
Overview of skyscrapers, high-rises and tall building design, history, and case studies
Designing Tall Buildings: Structure as Architecture, Mark Sarkisian
The Eco Skyscraper,Ken Yeang
Design Tech,Jason Alread & Thomas Leslie
Building Envelopes: An Integrated Approach,Jenny Lovell
The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper,Kate Ascher
Skyscrapers a History of the World’s Most Extraordinary Buildings, Judith Dupre, Adrian Smith
Skyscrapers: Structure and Design, Matthew Wells
The American Skyscraper: Cultural Histories, Roberts Moudry
Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City, Joanna Merwood-Salisbury
Skyscrapers: A Social History of the Very Tall Building in America, George H. Douglas
Building Envelope and Enclosure
Facades: Design, Construction & Technology, Lara Menzel
Structural Glass Facades and Enclosures, Mic Patterson
Skins, Envelopes, and Enclosures: Concepts for Designing Building Exteriors, Mayine L. Yu
Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture, Scott Murray
Sustainable Facades: Design Methods for High-Performance Building Envelopes, Ajla Aksamija
Modern Construction Envelopes,Andrew Watts
Online Resources
Your instructors class website can be found at
This site contains a number of current articles and links to material that will be utilized throughout the class for the design of high-rise buildings.
Additional Material
Various articles and presentations will be provided throughout the semester for additional technical information on the course web site.
DESIGN PROJECT DESCRIPTION & MEDIA REQUIREMENTS
Semester Project Description
This studio will focus on the design and development of a high-rise building to be located around the Transbay Terminal currently being constructed in San Francisco. Each student will develop a site with a partner or independently for the design of a high rise building in this area. We will also engage in a planning and zoning component of the course investigating planning strategies for pedestrian friendly streets, parks, retail and residential elements to create a vibrant neighborhood.
Class will be composed of visiting guest lecturers that will discuss concepts in skyscraper design, including planning,zoning, sun angles, height limitations, parking and transportation considerations, street edges, storefronts and retail space, mixed use programmatic concerns, structural systems, mechanical systems, and cladding systems.
Software & Presentation Media
Each student will be required to construct a model of the neighborhood they are working in as well as a large model of their skyscraper. Fabrication of these models requires knowledge of three dimensional modeling software as well as the department laser cutter and ability to prepare and organize large files for laser cutting.
While some design development and concepts will be conducted using study models, hand drawings, sketches, watercolors, and drafted architectural views, the majority of the work in the semester leading to your final projectwill be created using digital media and software such asRevit, Vectorworks, AutoCAD, Rhino,V-Ray, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketchupand any other necessary software programs for creation of architectural drawings and presentations.
Students who have taken the prerequisite of ARCHI 121 should be familiar with the use of Adobe software such as InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Sketchup and Vectorworks.
Prior enrollment or concurrent enrollment in Architecture 136 Digital Tools for Architecture II is strongly recommended. In order to produce a high quality presentation it is common that students will need to utilize Rhino and V-Ray for their building design and renderings. Although you can complete the class without knowledge of Rhino and V-Ray, you will potentially be more limited in your design concepts and will have to solve modeling and rendering problems utilizing other methods or software.
GRADING
The semester grade reflects your work in two areas in relation to your participation and professionalism:
50% Completed Final Project
50% Participation & In-Class Design Development
The Completed Final Project grade refers to the final presentation which you will present at the end of the semester. This grade is composed of a series of points that are awarded for each element of your final presentation: Elevation views, section views, floor plans, site plans, building envelope sections and other diagrams and sun studies. The site model and large physical model are also part of this grade. A complete list of requirements will be provided in class.
The Participation and In-Class Design Development grade refers to the projects that you will do in class leading up to the final presentation of your work for each project. This includes sketching, drawing, painting, field trips, making mock-up models, participating in discussions, completing writing assignmentsand critiques. Every day your professor will ask to meet with you for a desk-critique and will hold a meeting at the beginning and end of class to review work that has been done during the class time and award points for the day. It is essential that you remain in the lab working for the whole time so you can receive credit for your participation in the course.
The midterm review may be counted for a significant amount of participation points and given more weight, so it is important that you are prepared and participate in this review. Guest reviewers are typically invited to this review.
Please note: You must attend the final review in order to pass the class.
No late presentations or work will be graded. Students who are not present at the final review or who print and post late will not receive a passing grade in the class.
All printing and models must be finished by the due date announced in class, typically 10:00pm the night before the final presentation.
REVIEW PROCESS & RULES
This class is structured around a review process in which you will pin up your work every week for feedback and discussion within the design studio. Reviews will be scheduled at the end of each class a minimum of once per week and often twice per week. The following class rules must be followed for this process:
When visiting guests or formal reviews are held, work must be printed for participation and may not be shown on the computer unless specifically permitted ahead of time for everyone in the class. For printing, small prints are acceptable on 11x17 but the work must be legible and at a scale that is appropriate for feedback.
You must attend the entire design review so that you hear feedback on everyone’s design and are engaged in the entire discussion and feedback process each class. If you arrive late or have to leave early you will not be given credit for the review. In addition to not receiving credit attendance will be taken and you will be marked absent. Printing or other tasks must be accomplished before the review in order to be eligible to present and receive credit.
Reviews will not be scheduled early or at specific times to accommodate individual student’s schedules.
Work needs to progress from one review to the next with recognizable changes and improvements. If work has not progressed credit will not be given. Work which shows minimal or incomplete progress will be awarded partial credit.
You are only allowed to talk about what you have digitally or physically drawn or modeled. Discussion about any other elementsthat are not present in graphic or model form will not be allowed or given credit during your presentation in design reviews.
You may be required to keep a process log which documents your work and the hours you have spent on creating specific drawings. This log is similar to a list of billable hours you would keep in an office, and will help to delegate work between partners and account for various responsibilities and tasks.
METHODS & CRITERIA OF EVALUATION
In addition to the NAAB criteria and student learning outcomes, the following criteria are important to consider and will be taken into account when evaluating your grade in this course:
Mastery of scale
The studio project for this semester requires that you master scale from the largest scale possible – that of a large urban area and civic vision, to a building of significant size all the way down to the dimensions of office elevators and furniture and finally at a detail level of building envelope and assembly details.
Mastery of Architectural graphics, model making and studio skills
This studio will ask you to produce multiple views of your design in both orthogonal and perspective projection, diagrams, hand-made and laser cut models. You r ability to produce the required minimum drawings (or more) and to demonstrate mastery of drawing standards such as lien weights, symbols and graphic clarity in all views will be taken into consideration.
Urban Planning Design
This studio asks you to approach design not only from an architect’s standpoint, but also from that of a civic planner and urban designer. How will your proposal engage the broader context, relate to a world famous skyline, engage views of the bay or the bridges and create a vibrant neighborhood environment with pedestrian safe streets, parks and other urban planning elements.
Ability to integrate multiple building systems (structure, mechanical, fenestration, core, etc)
Throughout this semester you will be asked to integrate building structure, program, mechanical and cladding systems into your design as well as a number of building core requirements such as vertical chases, fire safety exits and mechanical rooms.
Design Concept
It is relatively easy to design a tall box with repetitive floors and elevators and stairs. What is most important is to produce a strong design concept – onethat is not only realistic, but exciting and architecturally compelling. Furthermore, tour design must take into account real world constraints, engineering and energy factors as well so that it is grounded in the real world – issues such as sun control, urban context, neighbors, views, and constructability to name a few criteria must all be taken into account.