Lecture & Lab Courses

Architecture 472-01: Housing Concepts

Course Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 7 – 9 PM

Faculty: Team taught by
Daniel L. Panetta, Architect, Landscape Architect, Ph.C. Urban & Regional Sciences
R. Thomas Jones, Dean, College of Architecture and Environmental Design

Contact: Prof. Daniel Panetta at 756-5371, Bldg. 34-220 or email dpanetta@calpoly.edu.

Three images showing housing at three different scales from single family to mixed use to high riseThis class will present a series of housing projects covering a range from rural, suburban, to urban communities. We will explore facets of unit layout, building design, and site planning. We will examine the influences of user needs, public policy, project financing, zoning, design, and construction issues that must be balanced to produce successful housing. We will compare and contrast how various designs seek to meet the needs of different markets and different users, across a spectrum of lifestyles and incomes.

There will be several presentations by local and nationally recognized professionals currently engaged in issues of housing and community development. The presentations will consist of a project overview followed by interactive dialogue.

This course will meet requirements for the RPD Minor.

Tentative Presenters

George Garcia: Principal, Garcia Architecture and Design

Tom Copeland: Principal, Copeland Properties, San Luis Obispo, CA

Steve Olson: President, The Olson Company, Seal Beach, CA

Doug Austin, FAIA: President, Austin, Veum, Robbins Partners, architects and real estate developers. Cal Poly graduate. San Diego, CA

Woody Dike: Landscape Architect and Planner Michael Pyatok: Perhaps the best-known architect specializing in low-income housing. Principal Pyatok Associates, Oakland, CA

Charles Durrett: of McCamant & Durrett Architects, specializing in cohousing and authors of the widely acclaimed book: CoHousing

Dan Wu: of Charities Housing Development. A non-profit developer of affordable housing in the greater San Jose area

BofA Low-Income Housing Challenge
Looking for 4th or 5th Year Architecture Majors

Photo of 2008 BofA Team MembersThe Cal Poly Affordable Housing Team is currently recruiting students to work in a multi-disciplinary team, which will include: Architecture; Business; City Planning; and CM majors. Our objective is to create an affordable housing proposal that is financially viable, physically attractive, and buildable. Application Deadline: If you are interested, please submit your application ASAP.

The project involves partnering with community organizations, selected experts, and a nonprofit developer to propose a viable project which addresses: the market; the community; financing; architectural design; and constructability. The team decision processes, work schedules and deadlines will be made primarily by the team with significant input from the faculty coach and other experts. The competition begins in Jan. and finishes with a May presentation in San Francisco.

Valuable Experience: One participant described the competition saying: "this project was my best experience at Cal Poly;" he subsequently received a position as Project Coordinator with Hawaii’s largest land developer. More importantly, several of the past proposals have been constructed locally. The competition is with graduate student teams from UC Berkeley, Stanford, and UC Davis.

Course Credit: Students selected to participate will enroll in Arch 480: Independent Study for 1 unit in Wtr.. and 3 units in Spr. 09.

Credit for Arch 453: Architecture majors doing design & presentation receive 1 unit additional in Spr. allowing 4th year students to receive credit for Arch 453.

Skills Needed: We need a couple of exceptional individuals with: the ability to work in teams; good communication skills (oral & PowerPoint presentation); outstanding architectural design and computer skills (3D modeling, including fly-throughs). Knowledge of sustainability is crucial. Team meetings will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time, probably on Tuesday and Thursday.

Contact: Prof. Daniel Panetta at 756-5371, Bldg. 34-220 or email dpanetta@calpoly.edu.

Note: If you are interested, please make an appointment with Prof. Panetta. We would like all members to be well informed before starting and committed to completing the competition once it’s begun.

Design Studios

Arch 253: Art Chapman and Howard Weisenthal

Phot of a BMW in front of a modern glass structure

Arch 253: Art Chapman & Howard Weisenthal Architecture 253 is the third in a three part series of classes intended to build a foundation in the theories, principles and skills for students studying to be environmental design professionals. This course will integrate with Arch 207, Environmental Control Systems and utilize the lessons of Arch. 251, Arch. 252, Arch 241, and Arch 242 as well as reinforce and extend the drawing and visual communication skills acquired in the first year courses.

The focus of this quarter is on three major issues effecting the design and organization of architecture: the site, the structure / materiality of the project, and climate. The projects will emphasize the development of concepts, organizational strategies and solutions to issue specific problems.

The teaching style involves the concept of discovery, believing that it is more meaningful to explore and discover possible solutions than to be given examples of what is expected. Projects are open-ended and demanding. There are no preconceived solutions. All points of view are respected and appreciated if supported by discovery and reason.

Project Sequence Summary

To download Course Syllabus.

For additional information contact: Prof. Art Chapman, and Prof. Howard Weisenthal or at 805.756.1316

Arch 253: Richard Schmidt

Should California architecture be unique, or is the same stuff built elsewhere just fine here too? Our section will read about, discuss, and try to come to terms with being a California architect. Together we’ll read the book Five California Architects, looking at it both as informative historical document and inspirational resource. We’ll do related case studies and class reports. We’ll try to come to terms with materials appropriateness, climate-and-place appropriateness, lifestyle issues. And we’ll try to just enjoy spring.

For additional information contact: Prof. Richard Schmidt or at 805.756.1316.

Arch 353: Joseph Amanzio

Phot of public space in San Francisco

The Public Architecture, Public Space Studio will focus on exploration and development of design process issues for buildings and city squares that serve public needs.

"Public architecture" consists of buildings that provide communities with a physical response to the service and social needs of society and the growing impact and involvement of government. Public architecture promotes social discourse, social stability, and the transmission of knowledge and information. "Public space" (i.e. the "public environment", "public realm" or "public domain") as used here is defined as an urban amenity in the form of a city square or public plaza designed in association with a public building.

Goals

This studio is designed to integrate and enrich diverse design experiences from previous course work. Assignments will provide opportunities to develop and refine a professionally relevant design process, a design process that integrates building structural systems and Arch 342 building envelop content within a schematic design process.

Architectural design ideas and concepts, as well as design process methods that are professional in their foundation will be introduced. This involves a vocabulary of architecture and public space as well as a strategy for thinking and designing as a way to see, to understand and to interpret the world of architecture and urban public space. An emphasis will be placed on development of methods of concept formation and methods for graphic schematic design visualization processes in schematic design.

Got to Full Prospectus (.pdf).

For additional information contact: Prof. Joseph Amanzio or at 805.756.1316.

Arch 353: Jim Doerfler

Phot of a BMW in front of a modern glass structureThe main project for Spring quarter will propose a new building for an Advanced Auto Design Center on a prominent site in Santa Monica, CA. at Ocean Avenue near Colorado Avenue. The site is a "gateway" site to the city of Santa Monica, with high exposure to the intersection of Ocean and the Pacific Coast Highway which marks the end of the  10 freeway, the main link to the city of Los Angeles. The site is in a commercial office development area with one side on against the freeway, the Rand Corporation down the street and the Santa Monica Pier close by.

The main project will focus on the brand and car design that you have worked on in the short introductory project. You will design this building for the brand and design team that designed the car you placed in the Auto Show Pavilion.

The concentration of automobile design studios in Southern California helps automakers tap into the region's trend-setting influence. According to Joel Piaskowski, chief designer at the Hyundai/Kia Motors Design and Technical Center, Southern California is where the pen meets the pavement. With 14 automobile manufacturer design studios located throughout Southern California, the creation of a new design center in Santa Monica fits comfortably into the region.

"LA is the epicenter of automotive design," Piaskowski states. "One of our goals here at the California design studio is to provide concept cars on an annual basis that can provide a hint at the future of the American market, or what we feel is a new market or design trend."

Freeman Thomas, head of advanced product design at DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Advanced Design Studio, echoes Piaskowski's sentiments. "The Chrysler Group is constantly thinking of the ever-changing California landscape. California is the cultural mecca of the automobile," Thomas explains. "Creating the Ultimate LA Machine is one of our specialties."

For additional information contact: Prof Jim Doerfler or at 805.756.1316.

Arch 353: Dan Panetta
Salinas Mixed-Use, Affordable Housing
City of Salinas’ Chinatown Redevelopment Efforts

Photo of a building showing living above commmercial with a latin flavorThe focus of this studio is related to the development of design proposals for a mixed-use, affordable housing facility within the City of Salinas. This is an actual project being undertaken by the City of Salinas’ Redevelopment Agency as part of a larger, strategic effort to revitalize its Chinatown district. This 29-acre historic district within the city is currently plagued by numerous social problems: people living on the street, drug use, prostitution, etc. To mitigate these issues the city is undertaking a three-pronged strategy. The efforts include the development of a mixed-use, affordable housing project; creating a set of Community Design Guidelines; and the rehabilitation of one of the neighborhood buildings into an Asian Cultural Center.

In an effort to help the City accomplish these objectives student participants will be involved in a rich, educational experience encompassing several components:

The Affordable Housing Project

The third year design studio, along with two 4th year students will aid the City’s redevelopment efforts by producing up to 20 design proposals showing potential variations for this key revitalization project. The redevelopment agency plans to use our proposals as a strategic means of working with the community and its consultants in clarifying and formulating an overall vision; the housing’s final program; this project’s relationship to the proposed community design guidelines; as well as its relationship to the cultural center.

Student’s Role

The student’s emphasis will be on developing the architectural program and design proposal through familiarization and analysis of selected primary form determinants. At a minimum, the student will review and synthesizing the following key form determinants: site analysis; analysis of the zoning and land-use ordinance; the 2006 IBC; the emerging work done on developing the Community Design Guidelines (done by the CRP students); affordable housing precedent studies; and meetings with community representatives, City of Salinas Redevelopment Agency Staff, their consulting professionals to aid in establishing a viable user profile. The design proposal shall be presented through, but not limited to final architectural drawings, a physical model, and preliminary cost analysis.

For additional information contact: Prof. Daniel Panetta or at 756-5371 .

Arch 353: Margarida Yin

Photo of a building showing living above commmercial with a latin flavorThis Spring Quarter, the third year design studio students will aid the City of Salina’s redevelopment efforts by producing up to 16/18 design proposals showing potential variations for this Asian Cultural Museum/Center rehabilitation project. The redevelopment agency plans to use our proposals as a strategic means of working with the community and its consultants in clarifying and reformulating an overall vision; the Center’s revised final program and conceptual design ideas; the project’s response to the proposed community design guidelines; as well as its relationship to the Affordable Housing project.

In addition, students will be involved in a rich, educational experience encompassing several components:

For additional information contact: Prof. Margarida Yin or at 805.756.5628

ARCH 453/CM 431: Margot McDonald (ARCH), Dr. Barbara Jackson (CM), and Nick Watry (CM)

Design-Built Collaborative Studio

Design-Built Collaborative StudioTaught since 2003, the Design-Build Collaborative Studio is a course coordinated between the Departments of Architecture and Construction Management. In this course, students will learn and experience a design process that involves working as an integrated team to develop solutions for a client and their site.

For Architecture students enrolled in Arch 451, there are several main differences that distinguish this class from the traditional 4th Year design studios. First, the class will have a lecture component that covers the elements of design-build. Second, the design project will be approached in interdisciplinary teams that are formed based on individual strengths and weaknesses. Third, students will be co-located (seated) with their teams to facilitate communication on the project. Fourth, architecture students will have their own time working with the design instructor to develop deeper knowledge of sustainable design issues as well as what may be less familiar topics such as cost estimating and scheduling. And, fifth, all students completing this course – whether coming from Architecture, CM, ARCE, or other majors – will emerge as “design-build integrators” who share equal knowledge and passion for integrated building design and integrated project delivery.

Past studio projects include "A Visitor's Center and Entry for the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Systems" (Fall 2008), and "A Building for Education and Research on the Cal Poly Pier in Avila Beach. CA" (Winter 2009).

This Spring 2009, the studio project will focus on the renovation and adaptive reuse of historic Crandall Gym on the Cal Poly campus as a teaching and learning facility for the CAED.  Design students will learn and apply principles of preservation and sustainable design, as well as design-build, in this course.

For additional information contact: Prof. Margot McDonald, Dr. Barbara Jackson, Nick Watry

Seminars

Arch 407: Troy Peters
ARCH 407 Building Science Investigations (BSI)

Course Time: Tuesday / Thursday / 6:30-8:30pm
Location: TBD

Through hands-on research and testing, we will investigate the vital signs of a building to evaluate its performance with regard to energy use and other environmental technology topics. The class will began with an initial, observational visit to a building to formulate questions, develop hypotheses for study and to generate methodologies for gathering information. On-site measurements will be taken and later evaluated. The final case studies will be part of a growing knowledge base of material related to Agents of Change and the Vital Signs projects. Some of the tools and techniques we will be using are Energy Analysis Programs, Hobo Data loggers, Light Meters, Infrared Thermometers and High Dynamic Range Photography.

For additional information contact: Prof. Troy Peters or at 805.756.1316.