Spring ARCH 453/CM 431: Dan Panetta
4th Year Architectural Design-Build Studio: Affordable Housing for FarmWorkers

Schedule: M/W/F 1:10 - 6:00pm rm. 26-110

In this coming quarter our 4th year design project will be focused on developing a proposal for a small scale farmworker village just outside of Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County. If students are interested in a 'very' realistic experience focused on designing affordable housing this is it. The project has the potential to make a substantial difference in the lives of others and your work can have a strong influence on the outcome.

For additional information, pleased contact: Dan Panetta

Course Flyer (.pdf 2MB)

computer drawingSpring ARCH 400-03: Elizabeth Golden
architectural presentation / (re)presentation

Schedule: T/R 10:00 - 12:00, Room 21-131a

This course will explore architectural drawing and the possibilities of presenting space, atmosphere, and materiality in non-conventional ways using manual and digital techniques. Assignments will include analysis and the incorporation of graphic techniques such as collage, montage, and ideas related to cinema, comics, and contemporary art. Basic concepts of composition and color will be addressed. This is a 2-D drawing course. Intermediate skill level in Illustrator and Photoshop is a prerequisite.

For additional information, please contact: Elizabeth Golden

Spring ARCH 353: Margarida Yin

During the Spring Quarter 2008, Margarida Yin will be conducting a field trip to China with her third year students. Not only is this a wonderful opportunity for students to travel abroad and discover one of the most fascinating and adventurist countries, but student enrolled in her design studio ARCH 352, Section 9 will receive a stipend to defray some of the expenses associated with this field trip.

Margarida was selected as the recipient of the 2008 2nd/3rd/4th Year Travel Fellowship Award in the amount of $ 5,400 that will be disbursed equally among students.

The theme of ARCH 353 will be to design an East-West Center for Cal Poly’s campus, and as a part of the research phase, Margarida will be organizing a one week field trip to China to study contemporary architecture in Shanghai and Beijing. Students planning to do the China field trip must have a valid passport on the first day of class.

Student interested in ARCH 353 are not required to participate in the China field trip.

For additional information, contact Margarida Yin.

Program

In order to design a sensible east-west center focusing on the study of Chinese and American interactions, we need to understand how this era of globalization has transformed China, and the level of importance traditional architecture has on contemporary avant-garde architecture in China. With the experience of the Chinese context one can better incorporate a Chinese contextual sensibility into the design of an east-west center in a contemporary American educational setting.

Process

To architecturally explore two major international mega-cities in China. The field trip to Beijing and Shanghai is to learn from the impact of contemporary global forces on the traditional urban fabrics of these two great cities and discover what hybrid ideas resulted from this collision. From this understanding of contemporary architectural design in China, the students would have a better understanding of the intellectual issues relevant to the design of an East-West Center.

Both cities are filled with new major buildings and transformed by a new sensibility about modernity. In Shanghai, Western influences have impacted Chinese culture and design from the Colonial Era until the present time. In Beijing, for the 2008 World Olympics, the most daring and innovative mega structures were built right in the heart of the crowded Chinese historical capitol city. And, ultimately, What are appropriate architectural languages for this project?