Chabot College
Fall 2010
Course Outline for Architecture 14
CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN
Catalog Description:
14 - California Architecture and Urban Design
3 units
California architecture and urban design from indigenous beginnings to the contemporary avant
garde. Historic, cultural, and environmental influences on the shaping California’s distinctive
buildings and cities. Work reviewed ranges from anonymous adobes to historic masterpieces by
Maybeck and Morgan to new works by Gehry, Moss, and others. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills: None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
describe ways of seeing the environment for the purpose of design;
explain how architecture can affect our lives;
describe architectural design in the community;
identify basic design movements in California architecture;
identify basic historic, cultural, environmental, and technological influences which have
shaped California’s built environment;
6. identify the work and design principles of California’s leading architects and urban designers;
7. explain planning fundamentals and how they affect architecture and city design;
8. use rudimentary vocabulary of architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning.
Course Content:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Theory and practice of environmental design
Historic development of California architectural forms and styles
Basic structural systems, enclosures, and details; their effect on form and appearance
Effect of codes, zoning, and environmental controls on design
Analysis of functional values and aesthetic qualities of buildings studied
Influence of California’s diverse ethnic populations on the design of its buildings and cities
Methods of Presentation:
1. Lecture
2. Chalkboard demonstration; slide projection
3. Field trips
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. Read
1) architectural and landscape design history, including Native American, Spanish
Colonial, Victorian, Craftsman, Beaux Arts, City Beautiful Movement, Art Deco, Early
and late Modernism, Post Modernism, and the Santa Monica School
2) Architects including Maybeck, Morgan, Wurster, Schinlder, Neutra, Wright, Gehry,
Venturi
3) Urban design issues relating to land settlement practices of California’s Missions,
California and the car, suburban sprawl, and contemporary sustainable design
theories (an example article: what is Urban Design?)
b. Write an expository essay with annotated graphics on one of the following topics:
1) a published architect, landscape architect, or urban designer who has completed
work in California
2) the evolution of an architectural, landscape design, or urban design style
Chabot College
Course Outline for Architecture 14, Page 2
Fall 2010
c.
3) An analysis of a controversial California urban design issue
Annotate field trip notebook with photos and drawings
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a. Expository essay
b. Quizzes
c. Final Examination
Textbook(s) (typical):
Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice, Ted J. Ligibel and
Ilene R. Tyler, W.W. Norton & Co., Second Edition, 2009
The Visual dictionary of American Domestic Architecture, Rachael Carley, Holt, 1997 (Because
this is a reference book, it doesn’t go out of date as quickly as a textbook)
Special Student Materials:
Disposable or digital Camera, minimal drawing materials, i.e., sketch book and pencils.
G:/Curriculum2009/533570774
AWH Revised: Nov. 09