ARCH 011

CRANFILL

Pasadena City College

Visual Arts + Media Studies Division
Course Syllabus
Arch 011

Introduction to Architecture

Fall 2015

UNITS:
TYPE OF COURSE:
PREREQUISITES:
COURSE INSTRUCTOR:

CRN:
TIME & LOCATION:

2
Lecture: Total of 36 Hours
Transfer Credit: CSU, UC
None
Justin Sasada
Email: - jsasada@pasadena.edu
Office: Friday 4-5pm, Room CA312
Phone: 323-314-7067
70398
Friday 2:00pm 4:05pm, Room V209

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an exploration of architectural education and the related design professions. The course
will examine the many dimensions of architecture and its profession through topics such as design,
drawing, contemporary philosophies of architectural design and the history and theory that support them.
The course will survey the architectural professions past, present, and future, and include an examination
of the various related design professions of landscape architecture, interior design, industrial design, city
planning, and urban design. The course will survey of the various roles these designers play in effecting
the built environment as individuals and how they interrelate as a design team. Observation of significant
architectural examples will present architecture as a unified expression of an architects dream.
COURSE OVERVIEW:
The topics discussed will be examined through lectures, readings, site visits to case studies, discussions,
group research, and group student presentations. We will examine the social and cultural, philosophical
and aesthetic, functional and environmental, economic and technological, and the contextual and material
forces that underpin the creative endeavors of architects and related disciplines seeking to codify the
unified meaning behind the concrete architectural manifestation.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Describe the architectural profession at a fundamental level.
2. Explain the educational requirements and career development stages in the architectural
profession.
3. Distinguish the social, psychological, historical, environmental, technological and aesthetic
influences on architectural production at a fundamental level.
STUDENT PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:
1a. Explore the unique characteristics of various design professions
a. architects
b. landscape architects
c. city planners
d. industrial designers
e. interior designers
1b. Study the roles of architects and designers and their impact on the built environment.

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2a. Analyze the architectural education and the design professions

a. history
b. development
c. different occupational roles and tasks
d. the future
3a. Look into the past, present, and future of architectural design.
3b. Examine the societal conditions that created major architectural design movements.
3c. Evaluate significant architectural examples.

INSTRUCTIONAL PHILOSOPHY:
Philosophy from the Greek means love of wisdom. I would like people to have a love for architecture. In
part, this is in recognition that architecture is for me something important to the human spirit and well
being. The creation of architecture leads to the creation of cities. A city is formed through the process of
each building being shared and passed on in peoples memories as part of the urban landscape. People
live based on their memories; therefore architecture is a profession of substantial importance, as it is
directly involved in creating the environment that constitutes the basis of these memories.
To have a philosophy also means to hold a certain set of beliefs or ethics as guiding principles. How do
we make those choices? I have been inspired by the many architects I have known, architects who were
my teachers, and still others in whose works and beliefs I have found a strong affinity. With or without
formal training it is important to take the responsibility to educate yourselves, to understand the roots of
architecture, both through the study of work that inspires you and through extensive travel. To truly
understand architecture, you must experience space with your own five senses. However, travel is not
only accomplished through physical migration. Recollection or even daydreaming can also be a means of
travel. Travel is a dialog with yourself that takes you away from the inertia of daily life and deepens your
thinking. As you travel, you lose all that is unnecessary and come face to face with your naked self. This
makes a person stronger.
Your twenties are crucial years; whether you are able to live your impressionable years with vigilance will
greatly impact your life thereafter. During this period, you search for your own ideals and create your own
worldviews. You could say this is when the self is created. During my own twenties, I encountered people
and things that would eventually shape the core of my being. I began to search for my own space and
what architecture meant to me; in fact, I am still searching for the answer. In forming your world view, I
hope that you will study not just architecture but all things with an open-minded attitude.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
Arch 011, Introduction to Architecture meets one day a week. The class is organized with weekly lectures
by the instructor or student group presentation followed with a seminar style discussion. The topics
covered and discussed each week are structured in two parts: the weeks lecture presentation and the
assigned readings.
The class constitutes a combination of lectures, class discussions, student group research, student group
presentations, site visits, and films. It is in the students best interest to attend all classes, as the course
content will not be repeated. Active and engaged participation, as well as detailed note-taking, is required.
On site field work based research is a requirement for this class. Transportation to and from the site will
be the responsibility of the student. Attendance at the site visits counts as attendance in class. Active
participation on the site visits will count towards the students participation grade.
COURSE MATERIALS:
Textbooks:
All students are required to have a copy of the two textbooks assigned for this course. The textbooks are
available in the PCC bookstore, and are also widely available to order or rent on line at Amazon, Borders,
and Barns and Noble.

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Rasmussen, Steen Eiler. Experiencing Architecture.

Waldrup, Ph.D., Lee W. Becoming an Architect.

Assignments:
All assignments are listed and described in the syllabus. Additional required readings, course materials,
and assignments will be handed out or assigned in class and posted on Canvas. Access for all registered
students is available by logging into LancerPoint or directly at https://canvas.pasadena.edu/login. It is
the students responsibility to access all online resources.
The Shatford Library will also have books on reserve for this course for your reference and computers
with internet connection are also available.

Recommended Resources (Not Required):

Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers. Rules for Writers/ Seventh Edition. Bedford: St. Martins, 2012.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE:
Assignments:
Students are required to complete the assignments listed below. All assignments are due promptly on the
specified date and late assignments will not be accepted without a valid excuse, or marked down one
letter grade at the discretion of the instructor. Present a written excuse from your doctor or other authority
to your instructor.

Group Case Study Research and Presentation: Students will select from a list of contemporary
architectural works for a group Case Study analysis and presentation.
1) Students in groups will first do critical research exploring the formal, social, and theoretical intent of
the work through the study and collection of existing documentation of plans, photographs, and texts
by the architect as well as critical essays on the work.
The Group Case Study Research will be collected as a document and included in the midterm class
notebook submittal.
2) Second the group will visit the architectural work and document it through photography, sketching,
and notes. The Group Case Study Research and Site Visit will be collated into a Thirty minute
PowerPoint presentation based on the format of the instructors PowerPoint presentations.
The Group Case Study Presentation will be given according to the schedule in the second half of the
semester.
Additional information will be provided in class.
Readings: Critical Analysis Essays: Every fourth class (four times a semester) students are
required to submit a critical analysis on two of the assigned readings for those four weeks. These
critical analysis essays will reflect upon a few salient points relevant to the assigned readings. The
essays will compare and contrast central themes discussed in the readings and focus on the
relationship between culture, ideas, and how architectural form expresses these meanings. Each
essay will be a 600 word (Approximately 1page at 10 point, Arial font), single spaced, type written,
cite architectural examples from the text, contain indented and reference numbered quotes from the
text, and have a properly written bibliography. Each essay will have a heading indicating the chapter
titles covered, and the students name. Additional information will be provided in class.
Notebook: Every fourth class (four times in the semester) Students are required to submit a hand
bound 8 x 11 progress notebook. This notebook will be maintained each week to produce a
record of the work for the class. It will be maintained according to the assigned dates on the class
schedule and by the end of the semester will include: 1) a Cover Page which includes your name
and the semester, year, class name, course number, and professors name all found at the heading of
the syllabus. 2)The Class Syllabus 3)The Class Lecture Notes type written in bullet pointed format,
and corrected for spelling, with a heading indicating the topic and date. Use the topic names from the
semester schedule from the syllabus. 4) The Readings: Critical Analysis Essays typed with content
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as per assignment description. 5) The Group Case Study Research as per assignment description
which includes: Research of existing documentation, and On Site Field Work documentation of neatly
organized photographs with descriptive headings, scanned sketches, and on site notes. Additional
information will be provided in class.
Grading
Your final grade for the course will be calculated according to the following formula:
Group Case Study Research and Presentation: 30% (2 assignments at 15% each)
Participation and Attendance:
10%
Readings - Critical Analysis:
40% (4 assignments at 10% each)
Notebook Lecture Notes:
20% (4 assignments at 5% each)

Letter grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

A
=
90 - 100
B
=
80 - 89
C
=
70 - 79
D
=
60 - 69
F
=
00 59
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:
Attendance:
Students are required to attend class. It is always the students responsibility to drop the class.
Attendance will affect your final grade as described in the above performance assessment percentages.
Announcements are made at the beginning of class. If you are late, you are responsible for their content
and for obtaining the information from a classmate.
Attendance sheets will be passed around prior to the history lecture each week. Students must signin on these sheets in order to be counted as present. Students who forget to sign-in or who are tardy
should see the instructor after class to receive a tardy for the class.
Three tardies is equal to one absence. Un-authorized departures from class are counted as a tardies.
The use of cell phones for calling, texting or any other purpose is expressly prohibited and will be
regarded as an un-authorized departure. Any lapse in full attention during class time will result in a
tardy or absence for that class.
Absences will be excused only when accompanied by a letter from a doctor or other authority. If you
have a written excuse, present it to your instructor.
The Instructor may drop a student from the class if the student is absent more than two weeks of
instruction. This is equal to 2 classes or 4 hours. (See guidelines for maximum allowable absences in
the Student Handbook)
Participation:
Students are expected to actively participate in the class. In particular, you should:
Do the assigned readings before class each week.
Be attentive during lectures. Do not talk and do not wander in and out of class.
Take notes.
Ask questions and respond to your instructors questions.
Engage your fellow students in the discussion portion of the class.
Academic Integrity Pasadena City College considers Academic Integrity highly important. Instances of
cheating, plagiarism, wrongful use of intellectual property and unprofessional conduct (including
language, behavior, and destructive treatment of facilities) will not be tolerated.
Faculty members will report each incident to the registrar for inclusion in students files.

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The nature and severity of the infraction will be determined by faculty who can: ask students to repeat
an assignment, fail students on the assignment, fail students in the course, and/or immediate removal
from class.
For more details about these procedures please see the College Catalog:
http://www.pasadena.edu/academicsupport/Catalog2009_10.pdf

If students use dishonest methods to fulfill course requirements, they are cheating. Examples of this
include, but are not limited to:
Obtaining or offering copies of exams or information about the content of exams in advance.
Bringing notes in any form to a closed book exam.
Looking at another students paper during an exam.
Receiving or communicating any information from or to another student during an exam.
A plagiarism is determined by the rules of documentation and citations and is specifically tailored to
different academic disciplines. Types of plagiarism include:
Including any material from any source other than you in a paper or project without proper attribution.
Using your own work to fulfill requirements for more than one course.
The extensive use of ideas of others in your work without proper attribution.
Turning in work done by another person or a fellow student as ones own.

QUESTIONS:
It is your responsibility to talk with an instructor if you do not understand the Academic Integrity Code or
have any questions. The instructor is available during office hours and by email. Any questions regarding
the requirements of the class may be addressed to the instructor through these means. Assistance with
special needs, academic support services and other issues is available during this time. Please do not
hesitate to contact the instructor if you have questions and concerns after fully reading the class
documents.
The instructor reserves the right to modify the course content described in this syllabus. Students will be
informed of any such changes, in class and by announcement through Canvas.
SEMESTER SCHEDULE:
Week 1: 9/4
Lecture:
Reading:

Introduction
Preface

Week 2: 9/11
Lecture:
Classical Architecture
Reading:
Chapter I: Basic Observations (Rasmussen)
Week 3: 9/18
Lecture:
Gothic Architecture
Reading:
Chapter II: Solids and Cavities in Architecture (Rasmussen)
Week 4: 9/25*
Lecture:
Renaissance Architecture
Assignment:
Hand in Notebook Submittal 1, and Readings - Critical Analysis I-II
Week 5: 10/2
Lecture:
Architecture as a Profession
Reading:
Chapter III: Contrasting Effects of Solids and Cavities (Rasmussen)
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Week 6: 10/9
Lecture:
Being a Designer Guest Speaker
Reading:
Chapter IV: Architecture Experienced as Color Planes (Rasmussen)
Week 7: 10/16
Lecture:
Modernists
Reading:
Chapter V: Scale and Proportion (Rasmussen)
Week 8: 10/23*
Lecture:
Educational Lift as an Architect
Assignment:
Hand in Notebook Submittal 2, Readings - Critical Analysis III-IV,
Group Project: Case Study Research

Week 9: 10/30
Lecture:
Post-Modernists

Week 10: 11/6

Lecture:
Contemporary Architecture - Student Group Presentation:
Richard Meier - The Getty Center, Los Angeles, 1997
Rafael Moneo - Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, Los Angeles, 2002
Reading:
Chapter VI: Rhythm in Architecture (Rasmussen)
Week 11: 11/13
Lecture:
Contemporary Architecture - Student Group Presentation:
HMC Architects Central Los Angeles High School #9, 2013
Diller Scofidio + Renfro Broad Museum, 2015
Reading:
Chapter VII: Textural Effects (Rasmussen)
Week 12: 11/20*
Lecture:
Contemporary Architecture - Student Group Presentation:
Morphosis - Caltrans District 7 Headquarters, Los Angeles, 2005
Frank Gehry - The Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 2003
Reading:
Chapter VIII: Day Light in Architecture (Rasmussen)
Homework:
Read and create questions and points of discussion for week 14 class.
Hand in Notebook Submittal 3, and Readings - Critical Analysis V-VI
Week13: 11/27*
THANKSGIVING BREAK: 11/24-11/27 CLASSES NOT IN SESSION (No Class 11/27)
Week 14: 12/4
Lecture:
Becoming an Architect Book - Discussions
Reading:
Chapter IX: Color in Architecture (Rasmussen)
Week 15: 12/11*
Lecture:
Q&A Tell All Experiences/stories about bring an architect
Reading:
Chapter X: Hearing in Architecture (Rasmussen)
Hand in Notebook Submittal 4, and Readings - Critical Analysis VII-VIII

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Week 16: 12/14 12/18 FINALS EXAM WEEK (No Class 12/18)

*Dates on which Notebook Submittals and Critical Analysis Essays are due