Arch 510 Graduate Seminar Graduate Project Preparation Fall 2022

Project Descriptions

1. Editorial Cartoon

This one-frame cartoon should address an issue pertinent to your project. A good editorial cartoon can give praise, point out irony, or criticize. You can make this assignment relevant to the design project you intend to pursue this year. Rule: It must be square in format. Present as a .jpg or .pdf. You may include it in your Integrated Design Project Report.

2. Project Proposal

This presentation gives you the opportunity to express your design intentions and show what your project will entail. It will be assessed for suitability as a Graduate Project, and thus may require revision or re-thinking. It should set the context for your graduate project by describing background or history of the project; its relevance to the world, society, the local community, and you; your design philosophy or parameters for this project; and anything else that you deem important. Present as a Powerpoint or PDF. A prose version (not Powerpoint slides!) of the proposal should be included in your Integrated Design Project Report.

3. Editorial Essay

This essay should be an eloquent, passionate, and poetic exploration of one or two issues pertinent to your project. Present as a hard copy draft for review by at least two of your classmates. A revised version should be included in your Integrated Design Project Report. Archival compilations from 2007, 2008, 2009,  2010,  2011, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2021 & 2022.

4. Research Agenda

This one-page document should state your research agenda. It should include a title, your design intent—a simple statement of what you will accomplish, a brief project introduction, key points or questions that you intend to address, design concept, and performance goals with the methods that you will use to determine if you've attained them. Present as a .pdf and a hard copy for peer review. A revised copy should be included in your Integrated Design Project Report.

5. Case Study

This detailed analysis should explore a building(s) or project(s) that can serve as an exemplar or inspiration for your graduate project. It should be illustrated with images, drawings, and analytical diagrams, showing not only what it looks like but how it performs. Present as a Powerpoint or PDF. A prose version should be included in your Integrated Design Project Report.    

6. Project Program

This document should describe the project and serve as guidance for its design. It should present all the requirements and data pertinent to your project. Include location maps, site drawings, context photographs, functional analysis (spaces needed and functions to be accommodated); climatic analyses (not just the data!); code requirements; and all else that describes what you intend to design. Building programs are the starting point for design; through design you will investigate the parameters set forth in your program and modify them as needed. In that sense a program is a working draft. Turn in an electronic copy in .pdf format. It will be incorporated in your Integrated Design Project Report.

7. Schematic Design Proposal

This presentation gives you an opportunity to begin to integrate the research and writing that you've done into an initial design proposal. This initial schematic should include a parti, siting options, building massing options, spatial zoning options, and materiality options. It will be enriched by citing context and history as well as your philosophical position. Present as a Powerpoint or PDF. It will be incorporated in your Integrated Design Project Report.

8. Integrated Design Project Report

The first draft of this document is due at the end of the term. This draft represents about 75% of the final documentation (the design development, mid-term work, and final design solutions will be added next term). The project report should be well-organized, well-designed, and include all the work that is pertinent to your graduate project. During the design phase it will be a good idea to document work-in-progress as well as finalized work. When you interview for jobs, this will be the document that employers will want to see. It should represent all you know and all your talents...your finest work. At the end of next term both digital and hard copies are required. At the end of this term only a digital version in .pdf format is required. It will be read and critiqued over winter break.