Course Descriptions - Undergraduate Calendar 2023-2024

Introduction to the use of graphic media in architecture. Students will engage in exercises in drawing using various media, acquire digital skills, and develop fluency in diverse forms of architectural presentation. [Offered: F]

Introduction to computing techniques in architecture. Students will be instructed in the conceptual foundations for computer use in architecture, graphic applications for the computer and skills for two-dimensional drawing, three-dimensional modelling and graphic techniques for visualization and portfolio development. Students will gain fluency in a range of software applications for the purposes of developing technical and visual proficiencies to be integrated into the design process. [Offered: W]

This course offers a broad introduction to the evolution of ideas, principles and vocabulary of architecture over time, establishing the concept that architecture conveys meaning through its own expressive language. It will familiarize students with the primary concepts of architecture; develop an awareness of the influences of architectural form; and introduce students to different modes of verbal and written communication, including the language of architectural criticism, analysis and interpretation. [Offered: F]

An introduction to environmental design practices leading to low carbon design. Topics of discussion include passive heating and cooling, solar geometry, climate and meteorological influences, microclimate, site design, daylighting, active systems, embodied energy, sustainable rating systems, sustainable design philosophies such as cradle to cradle, biomimicry and design for disassembly. Energy-related issues will be addressed and energy-based software design programs will be introduced. Understanding the role of design in an energy efficient or passive solar building will be a central learning outcome.

This course will introduce cultural history and the ethical dimension of the role architects play. Localizing the realities of modernity as an enduring cultural force and a global economy on one hand, with global threats to the future of humankind on the other. This course will explore the commonality of human experience, the interdependence of humans, and the natural environment. By considering narratives, artefacts, and buildings, this course will present how architecture and other cultural creations intersect with issues of race, gender, and identity, within a range of spiritual, social, political, and environmental contexts. Through orientation, disorientation, and reorientation, this course introduces human constructs and environmental conditions from a variety of perspectives such as location, foundation, habituation, accommodation, exile, and displacement. [Offered: F]

This course introduces buildings, cultural practices, and worldviews of nomadic and sedentary societies across a broad range of geographies and periods. Beginning with the earliest shrines and cities that appear in the Middle East, the Far East, and India, and exploring settlements in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas up to the year 1000CE. This course examines the origins of sacred and civic architectures in the landscapes and environments in which they emerge, moving across continents to recognize patterns of life, concepts of order and conduct, symbols, rituals, and myths embodied in our building practices and settlement patterns. Analysis in this course foregrounds the relationships to the lands that inform cultures, the formation and movement of societies, their temporary and permanent constructions, looking at the ecological and social bearings of cities as spaces of power, sanctuary, and exchange. [Offered: W]

A focus on the construction of small-scale buildings will introduce the fundamentals of building construction demonstrating relationships between contemporary design and material selections. Design development practices will reference; regulatory frameworks, building science, soils, foundations, light wood construction, engineered wood, masonry (brick, concrete block, load bearing, veneer systems), shallow foundations, residential codes, barrier free design.

Focusing on the construction of medium-to large-scale buildings examines relationships between design development, and the building science, and construction practices of structural systems and enclosures. Case studies and projects will be used to investigate steel framing systems (traditional, long span, architectural exposed structural steel [AESS]); reinforced, precast, fibre reinforced and prestressed concrete construction; heavy timber construction (traditional, glulam, cross laminated timber [CLT]); deep foundations; building envelopes (curtain wall, window walls, glazing, insulation strategies, and roofing systems); fire protective design. [Offered: W]

This course offers a vehicle for introducing additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

This course offers a vehicle for introducing additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

Development of the means to appreciate the art and science of building; introduction to the study of theories of architecture; development of skills in graphic communication; introduction to a study of building elements; promotion of the application of theory in the practice of design.

Further development of basic skills, and the application of theory and design in small scale architectural design projects. Introduction to issues of inhabitation, program, and context.

This course will introduce students to the tools, work-flows, and culture surrounding computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) and its creative applications within architecture. Students will learn how to work with CAD/CAM technologies such as laser cutters, three-dimensional (3D) printers and computer numerical control (CNC) routers while expanding their knowledge of two- and three-dimensional CAD geometries that inform the digital fabrication process. [Offered: F]

This course will elaborate upon the graphic and communication conventions established in the fundamental architecture curriculum through a series of assignments ranging from conventional architectural techniques to introductory principles of graphic and industrial design. The intention is to: cultivate an understanding of fundamental concepts and techniques in leading vector and raster-based graphic tools for design development and presentation; to develop an understanding of the paradigm shift from digital media as a representation tool to that of design development; to expand the depth and breath of skills necessary for modern design industry; and to apply design techniques and technologies to and from industrial and graphic design. [Offered: S]

This course provides an historical overview of the ideas of nature and landscape in Western thought. 'Nature', 'Ecology', and 'Landscape' are treated as cultural constructs, related to specific philosophical, technological, economic, political, and social issues. Many of these issues will be considered as the course of study traces the evolution and transformation of contemporary landscape. [Offered: S]

This course will engage students in a range of topics that include historical, practical, or theoretical investigations centering indigenous topics and epistemologies. This can include indigenous architectures, spatial and land practices locally or globally, indigenous typologies and worldviews, traditional ecological knowledge, and practices of restoration. This course will also look at critical and decolonizing frameworks for research methods and creative practices in order to introduce other ways of knowing and engaging the world. [Offered: S, first offered Spring 2023]

This course presents encounters across peoples, worldviews, belief systems, and empires, following the movement of ideas, practices, and objects to consider significant cultural transformations resulting from conflictual or peaceful interactions. From Indigenous civilizations and imperial dynasties, to sites of economic, political, and religious encounters such as the Silk Road or the Crusades. This course thematically presents creative works across all continents and includes proto-capitalist and proto-colonial phenomena. Representational, material, and spatial practices studied range from visual and oral discourses, drawing, mapping, printing, land markings, places of burials, worship, and teachings, as well as the organization of cities, landscapes, and territories, all studied as windows into ways of knowing, patterns of life and relationships to the land. [Offered: F]

This course critically examines the period from the 17th century to the first years of the 20th century, studying revolutions in science, agriculture, and industry, and considering the social, political, and economic changes engendered globally in their wake. Selected works from philosophy, literature, the arts, architecture, landscape, and city design reveal complex social and political upheavals. The increasing influence of technology, and the power struggles around access to and extraction of the globe's resources. Topics considered include the birth of industrial nations driven by Enlightenment reason, science and the emancipative promise of political liberty, as well as the fall of that early idealism with the realities of capitalism, colonialism, racism, and the destruction of the natural environment. Considering encounters between people, as well as between people and the earth, this course studies both the promises and shadows of the complex global society that emerges in this time. [Offered: S]

Introduction to the main concepts in creating and using photographic images. This will be accomplished in the context of various academic applications including site and model documentation, portfolio, and thesis presentation. The course will include both analog and digital procedures but with a heavy emphasis on monochrome silver images. A limited number of analog and digital cameras are available on a loan basis. Materials at student's expense.

Fundamental concepts of mechanics and structures, as related to architectural design, study of loading conditions, forces, moments, systems of forces, conditions of equilibrium for two- and three-dimensional structures, centre of gravity of loads and areas, bar forces in trusses, simple frame analysis, moment of inertia. Concepts of simple stress and strain; shear and bending moments in simple beams; shear and moment diagrams, qualitative deflected shapes, flexural and shearing stresses, deflection calculations; compression members; Euler's formula. [Offered: F]

This course offers a vehicle for introducing additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

This course offers a vehicle for introducing additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

Architectural case studies are used to examine conceptual development, structural design, building process, and the selection of structural timber systems. Topics such as flexural, compression and truss members, connections, and plywood construction are studied using calculations, design aids, rules of thumb, and the latest CSA design standards. [Offered: S]

Architectural case studies are used to examine conceptual development, structural design, building process and the selection of structural timber systems. Topics such as flexural, compression and truss members, connections, and plywood construction are studied using calculations, design aids, rules of thumb and the latest CSA design standards. [Offered: S]

This course offers a student an opportunity for independent research into architectural problems not offered in the regular curriculum, guided exploration of specific architectural problem areas, of appropriate complexity to the particular term.

This course offers a student an opportunity for independent research into architectural problems not offered in the regular curriculum, guided exploration of specific architectural problem areas, of appropriate complexity to the particular term.

The exploration of design as a thinking process through the medium of small scale design projects. The development and analysis of architectural propositions concerning personal space within the context of a larger community.

Design involving problems of human perception and dimension in more complex environments, and dealing with issues of public and private space. Development of skills in analysis and programming, and further exploration of questions of siting and context.

This intermediate level course provides a more in-depth theoretical foundation in architectural design by computer, including three-dimensional modelling, light and colour, rendering, image processing and animation. Practice is provided by weekly tutorial exercises and a small term design project.

An introduction to the structure and form of urban environments as understood through the urban architecture. The forces that determine the creation and development of urban places will be examined. Topics include the plan as a generative form, urban building types, urban morphology, and the shape of the public realm, infrastructure as both system and architectural object, nature and the park, and real estate and development controls. Of special interest will be analyses of the suburb, and urban master plans. [Offered: W]

The course develops a trans-disciplinary overview to design approaches in architecture and urbanism using image- and symbol-making as key activities in designing environments. The course evaluates the quality of results and the quality of process of design of environments. The students address topics within a wide range of subject matter groupings, from sustainable architecture to engineering, landscape and infrastructure, to branding and aesthetic practices, to design within the municipal political forum. Students present seminars on diverse categories of design as a means to develop a personal design ethos. The final submission includes a set of drawings, diagrams and images that represent a set of design principles allowing students to consciously take a position in the world as a designer. [Offered: F, W]

This course focuses on understanding the premise that hand skills can facilitate and help inform conceptual and academic skills. The content provides a broad-based introduction to woodworking equipment, its fabrication methods and methodology. A combination of lectures and hands-on experiences are used to equip students with the basic skills and knowledge required to conceptualize, fabricate, and finish a designed object from wood. [Offered: W]

A design/build workshop which offers opportunities for hands-on experience in three-dimensional design. Advancements of technical and design skills provide the underpinnings for the projects. Students are encouraged to explore a variety of media and techniques such as woodworking and metalworking, allowing for both individual and small team investigations. A logbook will be kept to record creative intentions and the design process from conception to completion. [Offered: F, W]

This course examines the cultural, architectural, urban, and environmental history of those complex movements designated as "modernism". Through selected works, projects and texts, this course studies the changing social, industrial, aesthetic, and ecological ambitions of these movements, critically reviewing their development and examining forms of acceptance and resistance to the "modern project". Through the examination of selected Canadian and international artistic, cultural, architectural, and landscape works, this course questions the technological, political, and social ideologies that continue to inform our buildings and cities as well as our relation to the earth and environment. Using a thematic approach to address the complexity of modernization, modernism, and modernity, this course presents issues related to habitat, health, craft, economy, and labour; histories of displacement, global narratives, resistance movements, and processes of emancipation and decolonization. [Offered: W]

Beginning with the introduction of important theories of architecture in vogue prior to 1850, this course examines texts, movements, buildings, projects, and urban proposals of the period in order to understand the structure of contemporary architectural theory.

This course provides an opportunity for the student to independently engage in the respected tradition of the Architectural Competition. The competition entry and accompanying research paper must focus on the use of architectural precedents as the basis for the creation of typologically based propositions. Submission to the external competition is mandatory, the timing and detailed requirements of which will determine the personalized academic requirements for this course. [Offered: W, S]

The course introduces the study of philosophical issues as they pertain to architecture, urbanism, image-making and symbol manipulation. The course focuses on the work of a selection of living and recent philosophers whose issues are relevant to questions of everyday 21st century life, with reference to their basis in the history of philosophy. Work by philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben, Kwame Anthony Appiah and Judith Butler on ethics, Gilles Deleuze on meaning, Friedrich Kittler on media and technology, Jean-Luc Nancy on community and Slavoj Zizek on psychoanalysis and political economy, as well as Canadian scholars such as Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis is addressed. Students participate in a seminar format with a series of presentations linking their design projects with philosophical issues, and submit a final project making use of text and diagrams. [Offered: F, W]

Architectural case studies are used to examine conceptual development, structural design, building process, and the selection of structural steel and concrete systems. Topics such as tension, flexural, and compression members; and connections are studied using calculations, design aids, rules of thumb, and the latest CSA design standards. [Offered: W]

The physio-technical factors that influence building design for performance, durability, efficiency, health, and sustainability will be explored. Common building design construction problems, their causes and solutions, will be examined with the aid of case studies. Using the principles of building science, good details of masonry, wood, steel, and glass will be developed. [Offered: W]

This course allows for additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

This course allows for additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

This course offers a student an opportunity for independent research into architectural problems not offered in the regular curriculum. It allows guided exploration of a specific architectural problem area, of appropriate complexity to the particular term.

This course offers a student an opportunity for independent research into architectural problems not offered in the regular curriculum. It allows guided exploration of a specific architectural problem area, of appropriate complexity to the particular term.

Development of design skills and theoretical knowledge through their application in projects involving various building types in urban situations. Emphasis is placed upon issues of materiality and technology in architectural design.

This design studio is subdivided into distinct studio sections, each of which provides a specific platform for advanced research and design presented within the context of a topic or set of issues to be explored in relation to a specific design project, program and site. These studios range in both scale and scope, traversing an array of academic investigations, design hypotheses, research agendas, interdisciplinary explorations, and pedagogical intentions. These topics foreground the disciplinary arenas within architecture in the areas of architectural theory, media, technology, urbanism, and landscape.

History of settlement and building in Rome and the surrounding area from antiquity to the present. Acts of design in architecture, urban form and landscape related to political, cultural and spiritual authority of Rome. Comparison drawn between the image of the city, represented in literature and art, and the material facts of the place. Field trips, lecture.

A global cities course enabling students to travel abroad and study first hand the architecture and urbanism of cities across Europe, Asia and South America. These course offerings are thematically based and involve field trips to specific architectural sites, cities, and regions around the world.

This course presents a thematically organized survey of contemporary architectural theory that focuses on the relationship between key theoretical texts and critical developments in contemporary architectural theory, practice, and their social and ecological contexts. This course is intended to be a forum for discussion of selected topics in contemporary culture, and to provide students with an advanced knowledge base in contemporary theory broadly, and architectural theory more specifically to ground other forms of advanced architectural research. Themes explored in the course may include ethics in architectural practice, gender and identify in architecture, race and spatial justice, climate, sustainability, and ecological care. [Offered: F]

This course explores the relationship between Architecture and the development of early, modern and science fiction films via the examination of the source and methods of portrayal of architectural expression in film. Films will be viewed to examine precedents for imagery, set design, location selection, as well as the integrated vision of the urban and dystopic environmental future. Futuristic film architecture will provide an opportunity to study a vision of the future of urban built form and provide a forum for critical discussion. Assignments will require that the students become familiar with different methods of media; for example - video filming, sound and visual editing, web page production. [Offered: F]

The course provides a survey of the history of settlement and urban form on the Italian peninsula from antiquity to the present day. In it the influences upon the structure of public and private space are outlined for each historical period. These include constants such as geography and climate, but more especially the factors that induce and manifest change: politics, warfare, economics, social structure, the arts and theory.

The course addresses the issues of architecture and urbanism in Rome and Italy from 1750 to the present. It explores the relationship between cultural, political, and artistic phenomena such as Futurism, Novecento, and Rationalism, that anticipate and create modernism in Italy.

This course is focused on the integrated environmental systems of buildings with an aim to develop the knowledge and skills appropriate to architectural practice. Subjects covered include environmental parameters, air and water systems, heating and cooling loads, energy conservation, ventilating and air conditioning systems, plumbing and waste systems, artificial source lighting and daylighting, acoustics, and fire protection criteria and systems, with reference to building codes and standards. [Offered: S]

Students will investigate and report on technical issues as they relate to the development of the comprehensive building project in the parallel Design Studio. Innovation and integration in architectural design will be stressed with respect to structure, building envelope, environmental systems, health and life safety, movement systems, site planning and the integration of information technology. [Offered: S]

This course allows for additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

This course allows for additional electives to the program on a short-term basis, and for developing future permanent courses.

This course offers a student an opportunity for independent research into architectural problems not offered in the regular curriculum. It allows guided exploration of a specific architectural problem area, of appropriate complexity to the particular term.

This course offers a student an opportunity for independent research into architectural problems not offered in the regular curriculum. It allows guided exploration of a specific architectural problem area, of appropriate complexity to the particular term.

The studio course is mounted in Rome, Italy, with the school's own faculty and premises, and offers a unique opportunity to undertake design studies in a truly rich architectural heritage. The main focus is the nature of the institution and its relationship to the city and its culture. Students participating in the Rome term are expected to defray the costs of travel, accommodation, and food. For students unable to study in Rome, an alternative studio is offered in Cambridge. It presents similar design projects and theoretical questions in a North American context.

This studio represents a culmination of the pre-professional degree, through the integration and application of skills and knowledge to a complex building project. Students will develop designs to a high level of detail. A concern for technical material, environmental, and legal aspects of architecture will support open speculation and innovative design.

A range of special topics within visual and digital media that include course offerings in parametric design and scripting, advanced visualization, interaction design, and digital fabrication. [Offered: F,W,S]

A range of special topics courses within urbanism and landscape. [Offered: F,W,S]

A range of special topics courses within cultural and architectural history, theory and criticism. [Offered: F,W,S]

A range of special topics courses within building technologies, structures, materials and methods and environmental systems including coursework in alternative energy systems, ecological design and design build. [Offered: F,W,S]

The equity and environmental justice electives include courses that are at the intersection of representation, culture, technology, environment, landscape, and urbanism to consider questions of race, space, and environmental justice, addressing a range of topics that can include universal design principles, design norms and standards, exclusionary and inclusive practices in architecture, questions of solidarity, climate crisis, sustainability, as well as social and spatial justice. [Offered: F,S]