Architecture

Course 4 offers a program introducing students to the department's five discipline areas: art, culture and technology; architectural design and urbanism; building technology; design and computation; and history, theory and criticism of architecture, art and design. The requirements for the SB in Architecture (BSA) curriculum begin with two introductory subjects taken in sequence, 4.021 Design Studio: How to Design and 4.022 Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies, intended for sophomores. The remaining core subjects include study in the arts, design and computation, building technology, and the history of architecture. The BSA includes four or five sequential architecture design studios. The approach fosters investigation and discussion in the development of sensitivity to the built environment. These sensibilities are linked to values and responsibilities to the community at large. Students in design studios develop technical and analytical skills and learn synthesis and invention using the elements of architectural form: material, structure, construction, light, sound, memory, and place. A thesis is optional and taken during the senior year. Students who plan to continue their studies in a professional graduate program in architecture must apply for admission to a school offering the Master of Architecture (MArch). The Bachelor of Science in Art and Design (BSAD) provides undergraduates with a cohesive program of study that exposes them to cross-disciplinary fields of art and design. It provides a rigorous conceptual foundation along with strong practical skills that can be applied across diverse design domains. Students will be introduced to the design process, from concept to completion, through contextual critical thinking, experimentation, representation, and physical production techniques, critique, iteration, and reflection . The objective is to prepare students to pursue diverse career paths from product design...