Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...

and critical thinking. While not resting on the traditional formal and literary
devices of classic representation, these methods rely on empirical and
quantitative evidence; in this sense they are more descriptive in nature. In
the Integrated Technologies components of the curriculum (ATCS 410 and
ATCS 420) students are asked to assess—primarily through mathematical
formulations, diagrams, and measured descriptions (materials constitution,
length, height, etc.)—the nature of a building, building complex, or urban
space. The critical assessment of these conditions is most often
undertaken in terms of the “work” that something does. For instance, does
the building envelope have enough glass or too much glass, depending on
the nature of the use? Are there too many or not enough means of egress?
Can a particular structural system work in the manner it has been applied
and is that the most efficient use of that particular system?
In the space between these two areas are the more complicated areas of
“critical thinking”—the places where the quantitative and the qualitative
intersect. This occurs in the area of human inhabitation (“quality of life”
issues), light quality, and acoustic quality. The Tulane School of
Architecture introduces students to these areas in the design studios and in
the technology courses, in both cases developing “measuring” devices or
skills, which enable a student to both qualitatively and quantitatively assess
the nature of a building, building complex, or urban space.
3. Graphics Skills
Ability to use appropriate representational media, including freehand
drawing and computer technology, to convey essential formal elements at
each stage of the programming and design process
Like the use of verbal and writing skills—verbal literacy—the development
of graphic skills represents visual literacy. From the beginning of their
educational career, students are introduced to a wide variety of
representational techniques, including two- and three-dimensional
traditional media, model-making, and computer technology. The entire
Design Studio sequence (DSGN) focuses on the development of
representational skills, with the first two years of the studio sequence
devoted to the presentation as many different media techniques as
possible. This is particularly true in the First-year Design Studio (AVSM
110, ADGM 120). In both semesters, representational “modules” (courses)
are required. Each one of these modules stresses a particular
representational method: 2-dimensional representation, 3-dimensional
representation (including model-making), or computer applications (AVSM
110; ADGM 120).
In addition, the first Technologies course, Technological Systems I (ATCS
110) offers problems in graphic skills, as they are associated with building
technology.
In the second semester of First-year, students cycle back through the
sequence, thereby developing a broad awareness of the representational
techniques. These techniques are applied in studio projects, while
additional techniques specific to the expertise of various faculty members
(computers, plaster, wood, watercolor, etc.) supplements the student’s