MT-481: Architectural Design Fundamentals - Spring 2014
Craig Weber, R.A., Associate Professor, Engineering Technology
Assessment Institute Report – Part II Requirement for the Assessment Work Shop
As shown in Part I, these are the Student Learning Outcomes and general education objectives related to
those SLO’s.
Student Learning Outcomes
The following curricular outcomes are essential to the assessment:
1. Students will demonstrate mastery of the knowledge, techniques, skills, and tools of the
discipline.
2. Students will develop the ability to apply their current knowledge and adopt emerging applications
of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics/Physics).
3. Students will demonstrate an ability to apply creativity in the design of systems, components
(assemblies), or processes appropriate to program objectives.
4. Students will develop an ability to identify, analyze and solve technical problems.
5. Students will communicate efficiently.
6. Students will develop a commitment to quality, timeliness, and continuous improvement.
Gen Ed (General Education) – that relate to the curricular student outcomes are the following:
1. Reason quantitatively and mathematically as required in their field of interest and in everyday
life.
2. Use information, management and technology skills efficiently for academic research and lifelong learning.
3. Integrate knowledge and skills in their program of study.
MT-481, Architecture Design Fundamentals is a 3 credit 6 hour per week class. The grading is based on
the following:
1. Written mid term and final exams consisting of short answers, true – false questions, multiple
choice and sketch drawings – these cover handouts, text book readings and instructor’s lectures.
2. The viewing of a 2 part video outside class time, titled ‘Contracting a House, vol. I’ for the mid
term and vol. II for the final exam. The instructor reviews these before each exam.
3. Screening of 4 videos, during class hours, relating to historical architectural styles, relation
between structure and design and surveys of contemporary designs.
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4. Three (3) Design Projects: a guest house and a main house and a Community Service on
Campus Project. It is the latter that is the focus of this report, utilizing 6 rubrics tables.
5. The course also has a WI (Writing Intensive) component which involves an architecture topic
(e.g., it could involve an historical building analysis, a monograph of an architect, use of specific
architectural materials in contemporary design, etc.) approved by the instructor.
6. Time requirements (dead-lines) are announced at the beginning of the term and on the beginning
of each task with constant reminders in order to keep the student on track, and avoid rushing
near the due date, though architecture demands focus and many homework hours to complete
the work on time as correctly as possible. The instructor’s 3 required office hours are greatly
exceeded every term. Also, the instructor allows students additional hours in the studio and
computer lab to provide them with more then the basics, motivating them to finish on time and so
succeeding.
Student assignment
The Community Service on Campus Project is to design for a given area on a plot of land on QCC
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Campus at the corner of 56 Avenue and Cloverdale Boulevard, an open –ended response to the given
parameters which include existing physical conditions, (e.g. soil, wind direction, frost line, sun angle over
the year, drainage), and client need, including zoning and city building codes, as well as historical
perspectives as they relate to a formal design solution.
Evidence of Student Achievement
Rubrics have been designed for the accrediting agencies that review the department. These are for the
assessment of student learning, utilizing written exams and also with this course, preliminary or schematic
drawings, starting with a functional matrix analysis, a bubble diagram drawing (proportionally correct for
space adjacencies), a single line drawing shown to scale, leading to the final drawings on CAD and/or
manual of a Site Plan, Floor Plans, Elevations, Sections, Details. There is an oral presentation involved
as an essential part of the critique of the final product of presentation (for client) and working (for
contractor) drawings, shown to the instructor and campus architect. They will both review each
individual’s design and make appropriate criticism and suggestions for improvement in the solution as
regards objective technical / functional, and subjective aesthetics issues.
1. The student drawings will be evaluated on the clarity of the drawing graphics so that a licensed
contractor, professional engineer, and the client can interpret the site, floor plans, elevations,
sections, and details with a minimum of questions.
2. The student will have a command of the project and correctly answer any technical questions put
forth by the critics (e.g.: size of studs, spacing of rafters)
3. The student will show ingenuity in the solution, including the technical grasp of building issues.
4. The student will exhibit commitment to excellence, by turning in the drawings on time, and by
his/hers concerns for the presentation of the solution.
5. The student will do independent research incorporating new technologies toward a sustainable
solution proving him/herself to be self-directed.
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6. The student, through due diligence and hard work will increase his/hers chances of transferring
successfully to a 4 / 5 year architectural school, or into the job market with the project put into a
portfolio.
Timeline for the Assessment
In this term there are three assignments given: a guest house / main house on Long Island and this
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assessed on campus project. The project will be done between week 10 (March 31 ) and week 13 (April
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28 ) and the assessed report will be turned in by April 30 2014.
Student Learning Outcomes
The SLO’s are the final product of a concerted and steady effort toward perfection.
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Session 1 - March 31 - 3 hours
Refer to Rubric, table 1
This outcome involves the knowledge of the discipline, as architecture is a complex amalgam of
objective Science (the laws of Physics) and subjective Art (Aesthetics). To require the student to be
cognizant of these 2 essential elements, assignment 1 begins with the site.
After receiving and going over the scope of work for 45 min. with the campus architect, a print of the
existing site (NTS) was handed out to each student. The student is required to draw the site with clarity,
based on the print’s dimensions, correctly in scale to fit the project format (mechanical ”C” sheet 17”x22”).
After analyzing the site dimensions and experimenting with different scales, the student found the
proper scale to fit the site drawing on the sheet and allow space for legend / notes and title block in a
clear and architecturally standard manner. This exercise promoted confidence in using the tools of the
discipline. In the same time the student familiarized him/herself with the proportion of the project and
analyzed the existing conditions. The instructor has found that going ‘one-on-one’ is a most effective way
to produce a positive result for the student who is unsure of the correct path.
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Session 2 - April 2 - 3 hours
Refer to Rubric, table 2
In the first part of the session, the students and the instructor visited the on-campus site, surveying
the existing conditions and surrounding area, and discussing possible solutions to the problem.
Given the site drawing and the first-hand interface with the actual site, now the climate conditions are
essential to a workable response. The student is required to draw with a trace-overlay over the site
drawings, a graphically colorful analysis of the site with respect to climatic conditions. This part of the
project enhances the mnemonics (memory retention) and reduces the errors of forgetting winter wind
directions by designing large areas of glass facing the cold wind. Glass is a poor insulator against
temperature transfer (low resistance factor –R factor). The sun angle as it varies year-wide, should be
considered for energy efficiency by designing roof overhangs that allow the winter sun in and keep out the
summer sun.
The student identified slope inclinations – if cut and filled is called for (re-contouring) to avoid water
coming into the building. The student played the part of the user of the building discovering the best views
of the surrounding area and graphically marked them on the site plan.
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Session 3 - April 7 - 3 hours
Refer to Rubric, table 3
The analyzing of the possible solution for each student project begins at this juncture. The concept is
an essential part of designers’ world. This is an open-ended project, which can be harder to accomplish
than a strict program of given sizes and spaces. The student has to call on creative imagination and
technical expertise in equal parts. The student will first list with a numerical functional matrix, or space
adjacency chart, wherein loud/quite (private/public, active/passive) zoning will be utilized to determine the
layout of the spaces. The next step in the preliminary / schematic phase is the drawing (on trace paper) of
proportionally correct bubble diagrams. The final schematic drawing – also on trace paper and called
single line drawing, is accomplished in a specific scale, based on the two previous exercises (functional
matrix and bubble diagram). This completes the preliminary / schematic part of the design process.
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Session 4 - April 9 - 3 hours
Refer to Rubric, table 4
The student is now going to double-line, or hard line, the schematic concept, so it may be built within
the parameters of acceptable construction practice. Scale comes into play, for floor plan(s) – 1/8” = 1’-0”
or 1/4” = 1’-0” – depending on the solution footprint. The student is required to draw the site plan with the
first floor interior plan drawing in which case the drawing is done at 1/8” = 1’-0”. If the student so chooses
the option of showing more detail floor plan(s) (e.g. furniture, built-ins, etc.), then the 1/4” = 1’-0” is the
desired scale. This will allow the student to convey the information in a clearer method.
Continuing manually, or on CAD, the student has to determine ahead of time the line weights for each
type of information (e.g. walls, windows, visible, or object line, hidden line, center line, dimensions line,
extension line, etc.). The final site plan includes new contour lines determined by each student individual
solution and shown on the drawing with a different line-type to distinguish the existing conditions from the
proposal. Hardscape and landscape will be delineated, indicating walkways, seating areas, etc. and
planting. In conjunction with the drawing, the student is encouraged to research materials for walkways,
outdoor fixtures (seating, lighting, trash receptacles), materials that are environmentally sound, low
maintenance and energy efficient.
The floor plan(s) of any building constructed conveys the following:
• exterior and interior walls and structural elements, clearly identifiable with the appropriate
graphics and student’s material selections called out. This information is available to the student from
the text book, instructor’s lectures, Sweets catalogs of manufacturers’ products, Architectural Graphic
Standards (book form or on the Internet), and handouts from the instructor.
• floor texture (e.g. wood, tiles, carpet, etc.)
• openings (windows, doors)
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Session 5 - April 23 - 3 hours
Refer to Rubric, table 5
The student draws on CAD, or manually, two elevations at 1/4” = 1’-0” or 1/8” = 1’-0”, depending on
how each individual solution fits on C-sheet paper. The third drawing is an exterior wall detail-section of
the building at 1” = 1’-0” showing the structural system and material assemblies.
One of these vertical exterior views of the proposed building will be a presentation drawing for the
client. The student is showing blackened-in windows to enhance visually 3D depth, shade and shadow at
45º, people, and land and hardscape (trees, benches, lighting, etc.) for scale. If so desired, the student is
encouraged to use colors to enhance the presentation.
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The second vertical exterior view is the working (production) drawing for contractors. This drawing
consists of showing:
• dotted-in foundation footing for sizes, frost line depths and ground line (grade)
• elevation height call-outs based on given benchmark and datum information at critical building
junctures
• essential dimensions, both vertical and horizontal
• doors and windows in symbol, with a door and window schedule, indicating type, size, number
required, and manufacturer
• partial exterior wall texture
• roof slope call-out
The exterior wall detail section completes the required drawing series. This involves the student
utilizing sizes for:
• components of assembled structures (e.g., 2x10 yard lumber, W10x14 steel, 8” slabs for in-situ
reinforced poured concrete, structural brick, or prefabricated systems)
• materials for cladding (e.g., brick veneer, prefabricated spandrel panels, glazing, R-11 batt
insulation, 10 mil vapor barrier, 4x8 modular 3/4” plywood sheathing, and 5/8” sheetrock, etc.)
• spacing where applicable (e.g., 2x4’s at 16” O.C.- on center)
The above call-outs are aligned on the drawing and must possess clarity for the contractor.
In addition, the student is to consider sustainability of the project. He/she is utilizing notes from the
book “Green Building Illustrated” by Francis D. K. Ching & Ian M. Shapiro, as given out in class by the
instructor.
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Session 6 - April 28 - 3 hours
Refer to Rubric, table 6
The final outcome of this project is the oral review, which sums up all the knowledge imparted in the
previous 5 sessions
The student will relate how he/she came to his/hers solution and then respond to questions by the
instructor and campus architect.
Objective technical issues were reviewed as were subjective decisions concerning aesthetics.
Sustainability concerns were discussed.
Comportment under verbal exchanges is a valuable lesson for the student, as is his/her corrections on
the entire set of drawings, with a portfolio in mind for transfer to a four or five year architecture school
and/or job placement.
Respectfully submitted,
Craig Weber
April 30, 2014
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