Arhitecture 302: Architecture and Human Behavior

Arhitecture 302: Architecture and Human Behavior

Spring 2014. Lecture: TTh 11-11:50 AM. Discussion Section: TTH 12-12:50 PM. Website:

Class Details

Instructors

Arijit Sen; , Office Hours: By Appointment

Nader Sayadi; , Office Hours:

Sections: TR 12:00-12:50, Location: AUP 179

Office hours: R 1:00-2:00 PM and by appointment, Location: AUP 440

Amin Mojtahedi,

Sections: TR 12:00-12:50, Location: NWQ G567

Office hours: TR 1:00-2:00 PM, Location: AUP 426

Cynthia

Sections: TR 12:00-12:50, Location: AUP 183

Office hours: T 1-2 pm and by appointment, Location: AUP 471,

Course Principles

The primary goal of professionals engaged in the design, maintenance and making of the built environment is to serve the multitudes that will use these places once they are built.The objective of this class is to train you as responsible stewards and builders of the built environment. In order to achieve that goal, we willexamine the complex relationship between humans and their physical world. We will explore ways to act in this world—ways that are sustainable, ethical and compassionate. In this course we will ask the following questions:

What is it that we are seeking?

The relationship between humans and their physical world is never constant and consistent. This knowledge depends on many factors, such as, cultural background, gender, race, economics, political context, and climate. We have to ask the right questions.

How do we find answers to our questions?

Once you decide on the right question, you will need skills to find the answers. You will need to collect data, analyze what you find, and interpret them. The various strategies that you apply in order to answer your questions are skills and methods that you will need.

Why is this issue relevant to us?

This is perhaps the most important question: Why is it necessary to study the relationship between humans and their environment? Each of you will have different reasons for studying this. But this question is essentially an ethical one. Some of you may respond that the reason why it is important to consider the complex relationship between humans and their environment is because of our urgent need to save and sustain our ecology. Others may have economic or political reasons to engage in this process. As students who are interested in becoming professionals, it is also important that we know how to converse with and understand our clients—we need to know why we are doing what we do.

There is no formula that will help you answer these questions. Each of you will have to form your own questions and craft your own answers. So this class will not provide you with formulaic answers that you may learn and apply with ease. Instead, you will learn methods—how to ask questions, how to collect information, how to interpret information, how to become people-centered designers.

The second goal of this course is to train citizen architects. The American Institute of Architects suggests that architects become active citizens. Active and engaged professionals ensure sustainable, livable, healthy, and quality-designed environments for future generations. The AIA website urges, “The Citizen Architect uses his/her insights, talents, training, and experience to contribute meaningfully, beyond self, to the improvement of the community and human condition. The Citizen Architect stays informed on local, state, and federal issues, and makes time for service to the community. The Citizen Architect advocates for higher living standards, the creation of a sustainable environment, quality of life, and the greater good. The Citizen Architect seeks to advocate for the broader purposes of architecture through civic activism, writing and publishing, by gaining appointment to boards and commissions, and through elective office at all levels of government.” In order to help you consider how to become citizen architects this course will focus on a real neighborhood, with real people, assets and problems, and ask you to engage with that neighborhood. This is not a class around lectures and rote learning. This is a class that requires you to step outside the classroom and take an active role in your community.

Learning objectives

On completion of this course students are expected to demonstrate an expert level of comprehension and learning in following:

Demonstrate an ability to ask questions and formulate strategies that will help them make the world a sustainable, livable, healthy, and well-designed place.
Demonstrate an ability to collect information that may help them act as citizen-architects. This involves the ability to think and consider issues before rushing into action.
Demonstrate an advanced ability to interpret social and material evidence. Demonstrate an ability to read, evaluate, and interpret the built environment as cultural artifact; uncover the ideological and symbolic underpinnings of the material world.
Demonstrate an ability to document and represent knowledge of the social and material aspects of cultural landscapes in visual and textual forms.

Required Text:

On reserve:

1. Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013)

For additional readings and resources visit the Arch 302 webpage.

Books that are useful references for Assignments

Chapters Look, Think, Act in Ernest T. Stringer, Action Research, (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.,2007),

Emily Talen, Design for Diversity: Exploring Socially Mixed Neighborhoods, (Architectural Press, 2008),

Sue McGlynn, Ian Bentley, Graham Smith, Alan Alcock, Paul Murrain, and John Bennett,Responsive Environments,(London: Architectural Press,1985).

Grading

Assignments 1&2: 15% each

Assignments 3&4: 20% each

Two Tests: 10% each

Discussion section participation: 10%

Extra credit: 5% for perfect attendance in lecture and discussion

University policies

In this course, university policies and procedures will be followed for academic misconduct, accommodation for disability and religious observation, discriminatory conduct, sexual harassment, and other matters.

Academic Honesty

The university has a responsibility to promote academic honesty and integrity and to develop procedures to deal effectively with instances of academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others' academic endeavors.

Special Needs

If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact me as soon as possible.

Please see me if you anticipate a conflict in attending a class because of a religious observation.

For university policies on accommodations for absences due to call-up of reserves to active military duty see,

Gender Equality

Sexual harassment will not be tolerated by the university. It subverts the university's mission and threatens the careers, educational experience, and well-being of students, faculty and staff. The university will not tolerate behavior between or among members of the university community that creates an unacceptable working environment.

Environmental Health

All projects shall be designed to engage the environment in a way that dramatically reduces or eliminates the need for fossil fuels, and to convey an ethical position in regard to the use of non-renewable materials and materials that pose a threat to human and environmental health.

Grades

A notation of "incomplete" may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has carried a subject successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond the student's control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work.

A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course instructor. Such an appeal shall follow the established procedures adopted by the department, college, or school in which the course resides or in the case of graduate students, the Graduate School. These procedures are available in writing from the respective department chairperson or the Academic Dean of the College/School.

Conduct

Discriminatory conduct will not be tolerated by the University. It poisons the work and learning environment of the University and threatens the careers, educational experience, and well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Cheating on exams or plagiarism are violations of the academic honor code and carry severe sanctions, including failing a course or even suspension or dismissal from the University.

Complaint procedures

Students may direct complaints to the head of the academic unit or department in which the complaint occurs. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be directed to the head of the department or academic unit in which the complaint occurred or to the appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy.

Other

The final exam requirement, the final exam date requirement, etc.

Firearms and Dangerous Weapons Policy.

Weekly Schedule

SECTION 1

Weeks 1-4: Methods

______

WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION

Readings

Kevin Lynch and Gary Hack, “The User,” Site Planning, 3rd Ed., (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1984), 67-106
Simon Unwin, “Architecture as Identification of Place,” Analysing Architecture, (New York: Routledge, 1997)
Chapters 1, Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013)

______Lecture 1, Jan 21 2014: Who are we, Introduction

______Lecture 2, Jan 23 2014: How and Who: People centered design

______

WEEK 2: SEMESTER PROJECT

Readings

Arijit Sen, “Evaluating Lived Landscapes and Quotidian Architecture of Muslim Devon,” In Homogenization of Representations, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture Knowledge Construction Workshop II, Modjtaba Sadria Editor, (London: I.B.Tauris, 2011), 175-195.
Chapters 2, Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013)

Optional

Tom Ritchey, “Wicked Problems: Modelling Social Messes with Morphological Analysis,” Acta Morphologica Generalis 2: 1 (2013), 1-8

Assignment 1 handed out in section

______Jan 28 2014: Class cancelled due to inclement weather

______Lecture 3, Jan 30 2014: Anton Teubner, Habitat for Humanity

______

WEEK 3: COLLECTING DATA

Readings

Chapters 3, Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013)
James Rojas, “Enacted Environment,” In Everyday America: Cultural Landscape Studies after J. B. Jackson, Chris Wilson and Paul Groth (editors), Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003, pp. 275-292.

Optional

Ronald J Grele, “Listen to Their Voices,” In Envelopes of Sound: The Art of Oral History, (New York: Praeger, 1991), 212-241.

______Lecture 4, Feb 04 2014: Knowledge/epistemology

______Lecture 5, Feb 06 2014: Bess Earls, WPP talk

______

WEEK 4: INTERPRETING DATA

Readings

Pierce Lewis. 1979. "Axioms for Reading the Landscape" in The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes. Donald Meinig (Editor), Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Chapters 4, Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013)

Optional

James Corner, “The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention.” In Mappings, Denis Cosgrove, Ed., (London: Reaktion, 1999), 213-52.

Assignment 1 due in section

______Lecture 6, Feb 11 2014: Grid as material culture

______Lecture 7, Feb 13 2014: The transitional spaces as public artifact

______

SECTION 2

Weeks 5-9: Structure

WEEK 5: FORMAL STRUCTURE

Readings

N. John Habraken, The Control of Complexity, Places 4: 2 (1987), 3-15.
Roger Trancik, “Three Theories of Urban Spatial Design.” In Finding Lost Space: Theories of Urban Design, (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1986), 97-124.
Julia W. Robinson, “The Question of Type,” In Ordering Space: Types in Architecture and Design, Karen A. Franck and Lynda H. Schneekloth Eds., (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994), 179-194,

Optional

Thomas Hubka, “Just Folks Designing: Vernacular Designers and the Generation of Form,” Journal of Architectural Education 32 (February, 1979), 27-29.

Assignment 2 handed out

______Lecture 8, Feb 18 2014: The American home as a cultural artifact

______Lecture 9, Feb 20 2014: The Study of Types, possibilities and shortcomings

______

WEEK 6: NUMBERS DATA

Readings

Emily Talen, Design for Diversity: Exploring Socially Mixed Neighborhoods, (Architectural Press, 2008)
Chapters 7, Jan Gehl and Birgitte Svarre, How to Study Public Life, (Washington DC: Island Press, 2013)

Optional

James Borchert, “Visual Landscapes of a Streetcar Suburb.” In Understanding Ordinary Landscapes. Paul Groth and Todd W. Bressi, Eds., (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), 25-43.

______Lecture 10, Feb 25 2014: People and public

______Lecture 11, Feb 27 2014: Mutope Johnson Guest Talk

______

WEEK 7: CULTURE AND SOCIAL DATA

Readings

Quentin Stevens, “The Social Dimension of Urban Space,” Ludic City: Exploring the Potential of Public Spaces, (New York: Routledge, 2007), 54-66.
Irwin Altman and Martin M. Chemers (editors), “Privacy,” and “Personal Space,” Culture and Environment, (Monterrey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 1984): 75-119

Optional

Howard Davis, “Shared Architectural Knowledge,” In The Culture of Building, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 131-158.

Watch before class: The Social life of small urban spaces

______Lecture 12, Mar 04 2014: Body and behavior (qualitative and aggregate data)

______Lecture 13, Mar 06 2014: Somatic and affective (cognitive and precognitive)

______

WEEK 8: SENSORY

Readings

Karen A. Franck and R. Bianca Lepori, “Inside, outside, and inside out,” In Architecture Inside Out, (New York: Wiley-Academy, 2000), 10-29.
Kent C. Bloomer, Charles W. Moore, Robert J. Yudell, “Body Movement,” In Body, Memory, and Architecture, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977), 57-76.

Optional

Juhani Pallasmaa, "Hapticity and Time: Notes on a Fragile Architecture", The Architectural Review (May, 2000), 78-84.

Watch before class: DVD-5307 Claiming open spaces

______Lecture 14, Mar 11 2014: Midterm and Review

______Lecture 15, Mar 13 2014: Midterm and Review

______

WEEK 9: SPRING RECESS

______

SECTION 3

Weeks 10-12: Infrastructure

WEEK 10: IDENTITY

Readings

Craig E. Barton, Sites of Memory: Perspectives on Architecture and Race, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2001), 1-12.
Amos Rapoport, “On the Cultural Responsiveness of Architecture,” Journal of Architectural Education 41: 1 (Autumn, 1987), 10-15.
Mona Domosh, Joni Seager, “Home,” In Putting Women in Place: Feminist Geographers Make Sense of the World, (New York: Guilford Press, 2001), 1-34

Watch before class: VHS-4736 Creating community

______Lecture 16, Mar 25 2014: Culture and habitus

______Lecture 17, Mar 27 2014: Amin Lecture

______

WEEK 11: POWER AND EMPOWERMENT

Readings

Dolores Hayden, “Contested Terrain,” GIA Newsletter 8: 2 (Fall 1997), (Accessed January 5, 2014)
Irwin Altman and Martin M. Chemers (editors), “Territorial Behavior,” Culture and Environment, (Monterrey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 1984), 120-152

Optional

Kim Dovey, “Power,” In Framing Places: Mediating Power in the Built Form, (New York: Routledge, 1999): 11-18

Watch before class: VHS-2962 Cities for people

______Lecture 18, Apr 01 2014: State and institutions

______Lecture 19, Apr 03 2014: Race, gender, ethnicity

______

WEEK 12: ACCESS AND EQUITY

Readings

Lynda H. Schneekloth and Karen A. Franck, “Type: Prison of Promise?” In Ordering Space: Types in Architecture and Design, Karen A. Franck and Lynda H. Schneekloth (Editors), (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994), 15-40
Susan S. Szenasy, “Towards Social, Economic, and Environmental Sustainability,” Universal Design Handbook, Wolfgang Preiser, Korydon H. Smith Eds., (New York: McGraw Hill Professional, 2010).

Optional

Elaine Ostroff, “Universal Design: An Evolving Paradigm,” Universal Design Handbook, Wolfgang Preiser, Korydon H. Smith Eds., (New York: McGraw Hill Professional, 2010).

Assignment 3 due in section; Assignment 4 handed out

______Lecture 20, Apr 08 2014: Disability, Universal Design and Social Sustainability

______Lecture 21, Apr 10 2014: Age, Universal Design and Social Sustainability

______

SECTION 4

Weeks 13-16: Ontology and Ethics

______

WEEK 13: INVISIBLE FORCES

Readings

Silverstein, M. and Jacobson M. (1978). Restructuring the hidden program: Toward an Architecture of Social Change. In Facility Programming, W. Preiser, Ed.,(Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross).
Marsha Ritzdorf, “Zoning as a Tool for Regulating Family Type in American Communities,” In Ordering Space: Types in Architecture and Design, Karen A. Franck and Lynda H. Schneekloth, Eds., (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1994),117-126.
Dolores Hayden, “Architecture, Roof, Fire, and Center,” In Redesigning the American Dream: Gender, Housing, and Family Life, (New York: W. W. Norten, 2002), 141-189.

______Lecture 22, Apr 15 2014: Evaluation

______Lecture 23, Apr 17 2014: Value

______

WEEK 14: CITIZEN ARCHITECTS

Readings

Margaret Crawford, “Can architects be socially responsible?” In Out of Site: A Social Criticism of Architecture, D. Ghirardo, Ed., (Seattle: Bay Press, 1991), 27-45.
John Cary, “Architecture as a Social Act,” In The Power of Pro Bono: 40 Stories about Design for the Public Good by Architects and their Clients, John Cary and Majora Carter, Eds., (New York: Metropolis Books, 2010), 16-33.

Optional

Kate Stohr, Cameron Sinclair, Design Like You Give a Damn: Building Change from the Ground Up, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2012).

______Lecture 24, Apr 22 2014: AIA and Citizen Architecture

______Lecture 25, Apr 24 2014: Community Based Practice

______

WEEK 15: CONCLUSIONS

Readings

Terence Lee, “A Theory of Socio-spatial Schemata,” In S. Kaplan and R. Kaplan (eds.) Humanscape: Environments for People, (Ann Arbor: Ulrich's Books, 1982), 58-69.

Michael Mehaffy and Nikos A. Salingaros, “Toward Resilient Architectures 1: Biology Lessons,” The Metropolis Blog, Point of View, Mar 22, 2013, (Accessed, January 6, 2014).

______Lecture 26, Apr 29 2014: Resilience and Capacity

______Lecture 27, May 01 2015: Socio-Spatial Schemata and Building Programs

______

WEEK 16: REVIEWS

Assignment 4 due in section. Reviews in section

______May 06 2015Final Lecture

______May 08 2015No class Thesis reviews

Final Exam: 10-12 Noon, Tuesday May 13

Infrastructure