Master of Architecture Curriculum, Full Program

Introduction of fundamental architectural elements - walls, doors, windows, stairs, rooms – through research, precedent study and related design assignments. Establishment of quality criteria and core communication skills—verbal, graphic, and written - allow studio members to detect and avoid chance and arbitrariness in order to arrive at rational clarity and intellectual order. Studio projects focus on deployment of fundamental architectural elements into a whole and unified, small structure. Open only to Architecture majors.

During the last one hundred years, a number of cultural, economic, and social changes have moved architectural discourse and practice into a global network. This survey course focuses on the rise of new educational, financial, geo-political, professional, and technological scenarios that transformed architecture and urbanism from the end of World War One to the present. Canonical buildings and sites are discussed within the context of global modernism.

The development of visual acuity through the analysis of aesthetic expression. Exercises in visual perception and aesthetic judgment transition from traditionally hand manipulated to digital media. Critical inquiry of media; isolation and analysis; interdependence and integration of sensuous qualities. Exercises include the study of proportion and rhythm, texture and color, mass and space. Topics of inquiry vary. Open only to Architecture majors.

Basic understanding of the system involves forces, vectors, equilibrium, statics, supports with free body diagrams, material properties, stress, strain, and deformation (force or temperature). Simple structural systems will be analyzed using simple statics and free body diagrams. The latter part of the course will concentrate on structural typologies. Load paths will be analyzed for several different types, construction materials, and structural systems. Principles of deflection will be presented along with vertical and lateral displacement issues.

The second semester of the Master of Architecture focuses on the development of the fundamental aspects of building - space, structure, and materials - which are explored through designing a small house. Students expand their notions of scale and context through the investigation of current issues, historical and contemporary precedents, and the careful analysis and documentation of a specific site within a neighborhood of the city. Through a series of assignments, the studio is guided step by step through an iterative design process that culminates in imagining the home of the future. Open only to Architecture majors. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 541)]

A comprehensive investigation of building design viewed through the mechanics of elemental forces. The focus of the class will be the understanding and reduction of complex building concepts into understandable components of the detail, the element, and the system. Topics include lateral resisting components, diaphragms, moment frames, shear walls, and braced frames in historical and current precedents. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 485)]

This course investigates the state of contemporary architecture as represented by significant practices, buildings, theories, and criticisms. Themes to be considered include globalization, the role of digital design media, the ethics and aesthetics of sustainability, contemporary urbanism, new approaches to materials and structure, and recent interests in ornament and pattern-making. Current conditions will be related historically to postwar reactions to modernism and contextually to the social and technological shifts of recent decades. With a focus on primary readings and building documentation, the course places an emphasis on the great complexity of social, political, intellectual, and technological forces affecting design. Critical reading and writing skills will be emphasized. Open only to Architecture majors.

The course will include the research and study of the architectural surface and the integration into built form. Facade systems, enclosure assemblies, and related materials will be investigated as part of a graphic study as well as full scale built application. The relationships of materials and construction methods will be evaluated with respect to architectural expression and performance. Open only to Architecture majors. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 506)]

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.

In the third semester students move beyond the single building and elements that make up the home to consider the spaces between buildings, infrastructural elements, and neighborhoods. More complex sites and programs are introduced through the study of mixed-use buildings with hybrid structures and projects comprised of multiple building elements. Research of neighborhood typologies culminate in an urban design study that becomes the basis for individual building designs. The introduction of sustainable design concepts and material selection increase the students understanding of the building as a whole and are precursor to the comprehensive building design studio. Finally students explore the architect’s role in the making of a neighborhood and end with a project considering the neighborhood of the future. Open only to Architecture majors. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 542)]

Selection and design of building support systems: heating, ventilating, air conditioning, water supply, sanitary and storm drainage, power distribution, lighting, communications, and vertical transportation. Systems are analyzed for their effect on building form, construction cost, and operating efficiency.

An exploration of digital design applications and techniques as a means of architectural information expression. This class will look at the elaborate toolset of digital design in architectural practice with a primary focus on Building Information Modeling. Utilizing BIM and Parametric modeling, the students will generate 3D building models for use in design, energy analysis, estimating scheduling and renderings. BIM provides continuous immediate feedback for the student and, through utilizing this model, the student will also be aware of this new efficient way for multi-disciplines to work collaboratively. Open only to Architecture majors. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 506)]

An immersion in the history, discourse, and culture of cities in the modern era with an emphasis on Chicago and a focus on the needs and influences surrounding urban growth, development, and culture. Readings, lectures, case studies, film screenings, field trips, and discussions will provide a basic set of conceptual and theoretical resources for understanding the origins and development of cities. This course will develop a context for understanding the role of design in shaping the urban environment.

ARCH 480, 482, ARCH 483, 509 or by Strand Director approval.

This studio is the last of the four milestones of the curriculum, consisting sequentially of Element, House, Neighborhood and Institution. As a bridge between the concerns of the neighborhood and the metropolitan scale issues to be encountered in the subsequent Cloud Studios, this semester will deal with problems, programs and contexts that are unique to institutional architecture within the city and will challenge students to create forward-looking strategies for renewed civic and cultural development. Because this studio is the only required comprehensive studio for the Master of Architecture degree program, all students must demonstrate that they are capable of producing a single building project demonstrating the synthesis of ecological planning, programming and code analysis, structure and building systems. Students will research and produce a building program based on the themes introduced in the studio sections consisting of all necessary code research, context documentation and analysis, building theme research and logistics research. Project will vary by studio section. Open only to Architecture majors. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 543)]

Selection and design of building support systems: heating, ventilating, air conditioning, water supply, sanitary and storm drainage, power distribution, lighting, communications, and vertical transportation. Systems are analyzed for their effect on building form, construction cost, and operating efficiency. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 513)]

ARCH 502 Advanced Topics in History & Theory I – Intended to build on the knowledge and abilities gained in the foundational architectural history and theory courses. This seminar focuses on advanced topics in history, theory, and criticism. Students select from varying and diverse topics such as urbanism, sustainability, design methodology, aesthetics, ethics and law, history of technology, and architecture in relation to other arts. Seminar may also offer intense focus on particular architects, periods, regions, or movements. Critical reading and writing skills will be emphasized. In addition, the advanced seminar will teach research skills, will expect the students to formulate and pursue original research topics, and will expect oral presentations of these projects. These abilities will be evaluated through in-class presentations and research papers. Open only to Architecture majors. ARCH 503 Advanced Topics in History & Theory II – Intended to build on the knowledge and abilities gained in the foundational architectural history and theory courses. This seminar focuses on advanced topics in history, theory, and criticism. Students select from varying and diverse topics such as urbanism, sustainability, design methodology, aesthetics, ethics and law, history of technology, and architecture in relation to other arts. Seminar may also offer intense focus on particular architects, periods, regions, or movements. Critical reading and writing skills will be emphasized. In addition, the advanced seminar will teach research skills, will expect the students to formulate and pursue original research topics, and will expect oral presentations of these projects. These abilities will be evaluated through in-class presentations and research papers. Open only to Architecture majors.

Lectures and practical problems dealing with specifications, specification writing, administration of construction, contracts, building law, and professional practice.

Students will develop sensitivity to the environment in which architecture is created. Emphasis will be placed on an in-depth exposure to the integration of natural features of site, sustainable components of both natural and man-made systems, and the synergy of ecological design. Open only to Architecture majors.

The cloud studio is a research-based design studio focused on investigating the complex forces that shape the built environment and proposing new strategies for urban development. The aim of the studio is to build a commentary and transformative agenda toward the future metropolis and to drive urban and architectural design solutions with the most advanced technologies and critical thought. The studio production is oriented toward the development of new strategies and future urban models with the aim of advancing the knowledge of relationships between urban thinking and materiality, technology, energy, ecology, emerging media, and socio-political and cultural concerns. Strong emphasis is put toward engagement with external parties and agencies to connect the academic environment with the professional practice and to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration. Students will be able to select from a variety of studio topics. Vertical studio integrating advanced BArch, MArch, MS, and PHD students.Open only to Architecture majors. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 544)]

ARCH 502 Advanced Topics in History & Theory I – Intended to build on the knowledge and abilities gained in the foundational architectural history and theory courses. This seminar focuses on advanced topics in history, theory, and criticism. Students select from varying and diverse topics such as urbanism, sustainability, design methodology, aesthetics, ethics and law, history of technology, and architecture in relation to other arts. Seminar may also offer intense focus on particular architects, periods, regions, or movements. Critical reading and writing skills will be emphasized. In addition, the advanced seminar will teach research skills, will expect the students to formulate and pursue original research topics, and will expect oral presentations of these projects. These abilities will be evaluated through in-class presentations and research papers. Open only to Architecture majors. ARCH 503 Advanced Topics in History & Theory II – Intended to build on the knowledge and abilities gained in the foundational architectural history and theory courses. This seminar focuses on advanced topics in history, theory, and criticism. Students select from varying and diverse topics such as urbanism, sustainability, design methodology, aesthetics, ethics and law, history of technology, and architecture in relation to other arts. Seminar may also offer intense focus on particular architects, periods, regions, or movements. Critical reading and writing skills will be emphasized. In addition, the advanced seminar will teach research skills, will expect the students to formulate and pursue original research topics, and will expect oral presentations of these projects. These abilities will be evaluated through in-class presentations and research papers. Open only to Architecture majors.

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.

The design-based research studio is a continuation of the ARCH 545 research based design studio. It is focused on the development of the specific proposals based on the critical findings of ARCH 545. The aim of the studio is to develop formal solutions which address the complexities of modern metropolis and advance disciplinary knowledge at large. The studio production is oriented toward the development of projects in a variety of scales from large-scale master plans, urban designs, and landscape designs to new urban typologies and singular buildings, all of which can address a variety of the issues pertinent to the modern metropolis. The studios are formed in few thematic clusters which complement each other or serve as dialectical opposites. Each studio explores variety of techniques from parametric design, digital fabrication, model making, and advanced geospatial software to cultural and theoretical discourses. Vertical studio integrating advanced BArch, MArch, MLA, MS, and PHD students. Students will be able to select from varied studio topics. Prerequisite(s): [(ARCH 545)]

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.

Architecture students may choose from a variety of courses within the architecture course catalog to meet minimum credit-hour requirements and to further their training for specializations and/or personal interest. Students should consult their academic advisors to confirm which classes are available and applicable to fulfill their degree requirements.