Course Descriptions

Architectural Studies
Fall 2007

Architectural Studies majors are required to take 4 core courses (History of Architectural Theory, Architectural Studies Seminar, Architectural Studies Internship, and Portfolio), 4 visual skills courses (Foundation Design, Foundation Drawing, Foundation Sculpture, and Perspective Drawing) and 4 HAA courses (Introduction to Architecture and 3 other additional HAA courses, of which 2 must be at the 1000 level). Students persuing graduate school are recommended to take core math and physcis courses as well.

HAA 0040 Introduction to Architecture

Franklin Toker

This course introduces students to the art of architecture from the ancient world until today. Major emphasis is on the western tradition, although reference is made to the architecture of Africa, India, Islam, China, and Japan. The course works both chronologically as a history of phases and styles, and methodologically, examining the contextual issues that give each period a distinctive architecture. Discussion plays a key role at all meetings. Students who take this course will learn to understand and make critical judgments on buildings and be ready for more specialized studies in the history of architecture or any other branch of art history.

HAA 0440 Frank Lloyd Wright

This course is an introduction to the major works of architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright, whose career spans much of the 20th century. His incomplete projects and goals to create an American-style architecture will be compared to his interests in Far Eastern architecture and the European art movements like Cubism and Bauhaus architecture.

HAA 0480 Modern Architecture

Drew Armstrong

From the late eighteenth century, new processes and cultural phenomena that may be globally described as effects of modernization have impinged on architectural design and urban planning throughout the world. The development of new technologies and materials, of colonial expansion and extensive state planning in the 19th century, of multi-national corporations and sprawling urban centers in the 20th century, continue to reshape societies and environments. Through case studies of texts, monuments and sites, this course will investigate the consequences of these trends on architectural design and thought from 1800 to the 20th century.

HAA 1010 Approaches to Art History – Berlin: Episodes in Architectural History

Gretchen Bender

A consideration of the significant public and monumental structures and spaces that define Berlin will be considered in this seminar: Unter den Linden, the Reichstag, Museum Insel, Alexanderplatz, Potsdamer Platz, the Kulturforum, the Berlin Wall. We will trace the history of modern Berlin through these spaces, from its origins through the city's emergence as the capital of an Imperialist power, from the turbulent Weimar period through the grandiose plans of the Third Reich, to the Cold War when the city was severed in two. Particular focus will be given to the growth pangs that have reshaped the city in the last two decades since the fall of the wall resulted in an unprecedented opportunity to redefine a city from its core. Major contemporary architects, including Norman Foster, Daniel Libeskind, Peter Eisenman, Piano and Rogers, Helmut Jahn, IM Pei, and Frank Gehry, have flexed their muscles here in monumental corporate, governmental and public projects that have attempted to redefine the city for a new century. A close examination of the controversial work of Libeskind (The Jewish Museum) and Eisenman (The Holocaust Memorial) however, will explore how difficult it is to disentangle the new world capital from its violent past. Approaches to Art History is restricted to History of Art and Architecture Majors, and is an intensive writing and reading seminar limited to 15 students. Each student will be expected to present oral and written critical evaluations of the assigned texts as well as produce a significant research paper. HAA 1010 is offered every fall and spring term, but specific topics change every semester.

HAA 1250 Gothic Architecture

Alison Stones

This course concentrates on the emergence of Gothic Architecture in and around the royal abbey of Saint-Denis in the 1130s and 40s and its impact on medieval architecture in the following century and a half. Particular emphasis is given to French monuments, particularly the Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Chartres on which we have prepared a searchable web site. Students will choose monuments outside France for individual projects. Reading knowledge of French, German, Italian and/or Spanish is an advantage.

HAA 1530 Early American Architecture

Franklin Toker

Architecture often serves as a prime document and indicator of America's past and future. The theme of this course is the search for identity in American architecture in the centuries from the colonial settlements to the Civil War. The course studies both the recorded history of American architecture and the unrecorded millennium before that, to show its surprising cohesion in the face of great cultural and territorial diversity. The first part of the course particularly stresses archaeological evidence and historic preservation; throughout the course the instructor and the students will together be "reading" the buildings both for their own visual pleasures and as documents of American society.

HAA 1900 Architectural Studies Internship

Academic credit is awarded for practical professional experience gained through a directed internship. The internship is arranged by the student through the Architectural Studies Office (104 Frick Fine Arts Building) in consultation with the Academic Advisor or the Director of Architectural Studies. Open to advanced Architectural Studies majors with a QPA of 2.75 or higher. Students must consult with the undergraduate advisor and program director to get approval for the internship.

HAA 1913 Architectural Studies Seminar

Georgia Petropoulos and Daniel Kiefer

This seminar is intended to bring the intellectual discipline of the architectural studies major to bear upon design studio problems. Taught by practicing professionals. The methods employed will be those of the architecture academy and of professional practice.

HAA 1913 Architectural Studies Seminar

Jozef Petrak and Utkarsh Ghildyal

This course introduces a fundamental approach to architectural design. Through a continuous sequence of design projects, students will learn to develop a set of principles that inform/dictate the production of architecture. These principles will be used to clarify the interrelationship of geometry, form, and composition, thus defining a systematic strategy for an architectural solution. Additionally, various methodologies, including case study analysis, site analysis, analytical diagramming, and strategic programming, will be taught in order to further inform this solution. The design principles, in coordination with the methodologies, will allow students develop an understanding of the complex relationship between design practice and architectural discourse. Finally, a range of drawing and model-making skills will be introduced as a means of seeing, understanding and presenting.

HAA 1915 Architectural Studies Portfolio

Drew Armstrong

This course is offered to help Architectural Studies majors prepare a portfolio for purposes of applying to a graduate architecture program or a job. Students work individually and consult with the instructor by appointment. There will be one mandatory informational meeting at the beginning of the term. Contact the instructor for date and time.

HAA 1950 Senior Thesis

This W-course requires the writing of a research paper. The student should discuss a topic with a faculty member and write the paper under that faculty member's supervision. This course is open to History of Art and Architecture majors with an overall QPA of 3.5 and a departmental QPA of 3.5. Successful completion of this course with a A- or higher, and the completion of all requirements for the intensive major will enable the student to graduate with departmental honors.

SA 0110 Foundation Design

Paul Glabicki, Anna Divinsky

This course is a survey of concepts, methods, and issues of Design as a vehicle of visual organization, structure, thought, and expression. The broad scope of the subject is explored through lectures, discussions, critiques, and the process of making images, and objects. Students are introduced to the dynamics of composition, form and content, color systems and theory, aesthetic issues, visual analysis, perception, spatial structure and the value of visual awareness and creativity in an increasingly image-oriented culture. The course also seeks to provide some experience with a variety of media, develop skills in observation and technique, and encourage personal involvement in resolving a visual problem or expressing an idea. Projects focus on specific concepts, preparation and planning, and creative visual thinking. The course offers a relevant introduction and insight into the process of making art. This course is open to art majors and non-art majors. The course requires the purchase of art materials and supplies. It is not advisable to add this course after the second class meeting, as students will be at a significant disadvantage in terms of course work and in regard to the departments policy on attendance. There is a $15.00 lab fee.

SA 0130 Foundation Drawing

Ken Batista

Foundation Drawing is designed to give both majors and non-majors a comprehensive introduction to the art of drawing. The course approaches drawing as a unique graphic and expressive medium rather than as a preliminary or planning process. The course begins from the point of view that the expressive and interpretative potential of drawing can be achieved at the beginning level when knowledge of drawing media and techniques are fused with personal vision and creativity. Drawing 0130 follows a sequence of studies that introduce students to basic drawing media and compositional elements through observation of natural and manufactured forms. The course culminates with an introduction to the human figure. It is not advisable to add this course after the second class meeting, as students will be at a significant disadvantage in terms of course work and in regard to the departments policy on attendance. There is a $20.00 lab fee.

SA 0140 Foundation Sculpture

Joanna Commandaros, Delanie Jenkis, Bryan Lauch

Foundation-Sculpture is a broadly based course that introduces students to the expressive potential of modeled and constructed form. Throughout the course, students experience a variety of sculpture techniques and materials in projects that study certain characteristics of natural and abstract form. The principle goals of the course are to develop skills and to provide a basis for individual creative development. From this course, students should gain sensitivity in the observation of form, develop analytic and compositional skills and begin to formulate ideas through practical experience. The individual must purchase basic sculpture tools. It is not advisable to add this course after the second class meeting as students will be at a significant disadvantage in terms of course work and in regard to the departments policy on attendance. There is a $26.00 lab fee

SA 1430 Perspective Drawing

Ken Batista

This course is designed to provide the student with a working knowledge of the fundamental theories of linear perspective and the role they play in the development of a drawing. The focus is on understanding how these conventions work as an integral part of the drawing process and how to apply them to specific applications. Throughout the term, the class will progress from setting up simple drawings to more complex perspectival compositions. Art materials will be assigned at the beginning of the term. There is a $15 lab fee.

MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1

This is the first course in the basic calculus sequence and is intended for all mathematics, engineering, science, and statistics students. Math 0220 covers the derivative and integral of functions of a single variable. A lab component in which students apply numeric, algebraic, and graphing technologies to calculus problems is an integral part of the course. For addition information refer to the web page http://calculus.math.pitt.edu. A scientific calculator is required, preferably a graphing calculator. One-letter grade rule applies if there is a common final exam.

MATH 0230 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2

This is the first course in the basic calculus sequence and is intended for all mathematics, engineering, science, and statistics students. Math 0220 covers the derivative and integral of functions of a single variable. A lab component in which students apply numeric, algebraic, and graphing technologies to calculus problems is an integral part of the course. For addition information refer to the web page http://calculus.math.pitt.edu. A scientific calculator is required, preferably a graphing calculator. One-letter grade rule applies if there is a common final exam.

PHYS 0174 Basic Physical Science and Engineering, Part 1 (Integrated)

The first term in a two-term introductory lecture-demonstration sequence in physics for science and engineering students. Calculus is used as needed and should be taken at least concurrently. Credit will not be given for both this sequence and the Physics 0110,0111 sequence. Subjects covered in Physics 0174 include: kinematics; Newton's laws of motion; energy; momentum, rotational motion, rigid body motion, angular momentum, simple harmonic motion, gravitation, mechanical waves, sound waves, and the kinetic theory of gases.

PHYS 0175 Basic Physical Science and Engineering, Part 2 (Integrated)

This is the second term in a two-term (0174 and 0175) introductory sequence in physics for science and engineering students. Subjects covered in Physics 0175 include: electrostatics, electric currents, magnetism, induction, simple AC circuits, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, geometric and wave optics, followed by an introduction to quantum physics, including photons, the Bohr atom and spectra, and elementary wave mechanics. Students planning to major in physics are urged to take the equivalent honors course (Physics 0476).

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