ChabotCollege

Course Outline for Architecture 14, Page 2

Fall 2003

Course Outline for Architecture 14

CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN

Catalog Description:

14 - California Architecture and Urban Design3 units

California architecture and urban design from indigenous beginnings to the contemporary avant garde. Historic, cultural, and environmental influences on the shaping California’s distinctive buildings and cities. Work reviewed ranges from anonymous adobes to historic masterpieces by Maybeck and Morgan to new works by Gehry, Moss, and others. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]

Prerequisite Skills: None

Expected Outcomes for Students:

Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:

  1. describe ways of seeing the environment for the purpose of design;
  2. explain how architecture can affect our lives;
  3. describe architectural design in the community;
  4. identify basic design movements in California architecture;
  5. identify basic historic, cultural, environmental, and technological influences which have shaped California’s built environment;
  6. identify the work and design principles of California’s leading architects and urban designers;
  7. explain planning fundamentals and how they affect architecture and city design;
  8. use rudimentary vocabulary of architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning.

Course Content:

  1. Theory and practice of environmental design
  2. Historic development of California architectural forms and styles
  3. Basic structural systems, enclosures, and details; their effect on form and appearance
  4. Effect of codes, zoning, and environmental controls on design
  5. Analysis of functional values and aesthetic qualities of buildings studied
  6. Influence of California’s diverse ethnic populations on the design of its buildings and cities

Methods of Presentation:

  1. Lecture
  2. Chalkboard demonstration; slide projection
  3. Field trips

Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:

  1. Typical Assignments

a) Weekly reading on

i)architectural and landscape design history, including Native American, Spanish Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman, Beaux Arts, City Beautiful Movement, Art Deco, Early and late Modernism, Post Modernism, and the Santa Monica School

ii)Architects including Maybeck, Morgan, Wurster, Schinlder, Neutra, Wright, Gehry, Venturi

iii)Urban design issues relating to land settlement practices of California’s Missions, California and the car, suburban sprawl, and contemporary sustainable design theories

b) Expository essay with annotated graphics on one of the following topics:

i)a published architect, landscape architect, or urban designer who has completed work in California

ii)the evolution of an architectural, landscape design, or urban design style

iii)An analysis of a controversial California urban design issue

c) Annotated field trip notebook with photos and drawings

  1. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress

a) Expository essay

b) Quizzes

c) Final Exam

Textbook(s) (typical):

Five California Architects, Esther McCoy, Hennessey + Ingalls, Inc., 1975

The AmericanCity: What Works, What Doesn't, Alexander Garvin, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2002

What Style Is It? A Guide to American Architecture, John C. Poppliers, et al., The Preservation Press, John Wiley & Sons, 1995

Special Student Materials:

Disposable Camera, minimal drawing materials, i.e., sketch book and pencils.

G:/Curriculum2002/ARCH14_F03.doc

TS:ts Revised: 10/07/02