Architecture (M.Arch Track 1)

Gain an understanding of how structural systems and materials impact architectural form and structural design. You will study the elements, connections, and organizations used in the construction process, from elemental to complex structures in different materials.

Gain proficiency in the technical and tactile aspects of architectural design by developing a sophisticated wall section. You will design key details, which provide a significant portion of a completed documentation for a building design.

Investigate the integration of all building systems and services with regard to their influence on architectural design. You will learn to make design decisions based on the inter-connectedness of building shape, building envelope systems and assemblies, climate, occupant comfort, environmental control systems, lighting systems, and measurable outcomes of building performance.

Carry your conceptual design ideas into the concrete building details of an actual project. You will gain the knowledge to develop a set of construction documents incorporating applicable building codes and technical requirements to realize your designs.

Engage in an intensive and stimulating process through which you will address architecture on an abstract conceptual level while questioning and considering broader implications at the finer scale of architectural idea, tectonics, space, and detail.

Explore an experience-driven design methodology where you develop phenomenologically focused spatial circumstances that come together in an architectural composition to fulfill scale-specific program requirements.

Learn passive and innovative strategies to minimize a building's aggressive energy and resource consumption. You’ll examine the benefits of renewable resources and well-building design, focusing on best practices revealed both in vernacular architecture and forward-thinking contemporary design case studies. (This course is cross-listed with ARH 430.)

Investigate the actual business of conducting an architectural practice. You will gain an understanding of the organization of professional architectural firms, including methods of project management, contracts, compensation, professional ethics, insurance, and relationships with consultants and contractors. (This course is cross-listed with GLA 614.)

Engage in integrated building design from early concept to final detail. You'll participate in an investigative and analytical process that employs multiple building systems, assemblies, services, variables, and performance factors to explore ways where design and construction are interconnected to successfully complete a sophisticated integrated architectural design project.

Learn how to use the computer beyond representation as a generative design tool. Using 3D modeling software, you will gain the essential skills necessary to generate and design an architectonic proposal.

Learn about the development of architecture and urbanism since the Industrial Revolution. You will examine cultural and technological implications on contemporary design and trace the global impact of the modern movement.

Immerse yourself in the world of contemporary architectural theory to understand the relationship of architectural theories to social, political, technological, and scientific events. You will learn about different schools of thought in architecture, current architectural discourse, and global practice.

Explore methods of advanced architectural fabrication in relation to architectural design and construction processes. Through your work, you will engage in several techniques, processes, and technologies that are applicable towards architectural production.

Prepare for the final Master of Architecture Thesis course. You'll begin by critically thinking through an architectural problem and researching related topics to your proposal: social equity concerns, environmental considerations, program development, and typology studies, among others.