COOL X
View this PageEdit this PageAttachments to this PageHistory of this PageTop of the SiteRecent ChangesSearchHelp Guide

1060 research project

Research Project: Links

Library 101 assignment
http://cool.coa.gatech.edu/coolx/833

Library Tutorial
http://cool.coa.gatech.edu/coolspace/915
Research Project: Overview

TIME STAMPS

Every artifact of human culture and civilization carries with it the marks of the Time in which it was conceived, made, and used. Buildings are especially rich sites for unpacking the diverse issues that influence man-made artifacts. More than just bricks and mortar, buildings are
Time Stamped by their cultural, social, political, economic, material, and technological moment.

This Research Project asks students to unearth and discover the multiple histories within which buildings are implicated. Each preceptorial will be assigned six buildings within a particularly period – the buildings will be both on campus and in the city of Atlanta.

Students will be asked to develop a complex portrait of the buildings in their time and in their current state. This mutli-part portrait will be assembled out of research in seven different subject areas. Each subject area will require students to research a different set of source material, both in the library and online.

At the end of the semester each preceptorial will put together an exhibit of their research. With each preceptorial assigned three decades (and the fifth focusing on two sites over time), the class will produce, collectively, a chronological account buildings in Atlanta and on campus, from 1880 to today. This collective account of buildings and their multiple contexts will be assembled into an exhibition that will be displayed on campus in the spring semester.

The goal of this project is three-fold:
  • introduce students to research methods and a diverse set of sources
  • reinforce the notion that buildings, like all artifacts, are not only implicated in their multiple times but that their multiple histories continue to resonate through time
  • reinforce information design and presentation skills
The Research Project will be carried out collaboratively by smaller groups within the larger collective of the preceptorial. The groups will be assigned by the preceptors.

This project will require regular work over a nine-week period. Starting 10.12 the preceptorials will meet every friday.

Periods

1880-1910: Hyun
1910-1940: Mitch
1940-1970: Chris
1970-2000: Geoff

Two sites over time: Miharu
• The High Museum, 14th to 16th street, Peachtree to West Peachtree. 2007 to
• The ‘Academic Village’, Georgia Tech. Library, Skiles, Dm Smith, Hinman, Achitecture, Textile, the proposed Undergraduate Learning Center. 2008-

Six Buildings

Minimum six buildings with at least one on campus.

Seven Subject Areas

1. Architecture
  • Photographic portraits of the six buildings and their contexts, today and over time to when they were built
  • Disciplinary descriptions (using the terms and categories of architectural history and design): formal, stylistic, typological description and analysis; examples of other similar buildings

2. Material Culture
  • Designed and vernacular objects, products, and artifacts of everyday use: furniture, food, fashion, clothing, appliances, automobiles

3. Building and Construction
  • Materials and methods of construction and assembly
  • Building technologies: lighting, heating, cooling, safety, circulation
  • Building engineering: structural, civil

4. Social Conditions and Issues
  • Demographic portrait focusing on race, class, gender, ethnicity, age, workforce, civil society

5. Cultural Production
  • Literature, fine arts, music, film, popular culture

6. Economic and Political Conditions
  • An economic and political portrait: organization and structure of the economy, politics, government; headlines, events, etc.

7. Science and Technology
  • The state of science and technology: discoveries, advances

Six Scales

• Building
• Campus
• City
• Region
• National
• International


Procedure
  • Get familiar with library and online resources. Library 101.
  • Get familiar with subject area and time period: General sources
  • Drill down deeper: Specific sources for detailed information
  • Establish data documentation and cataloging protocols
  • Establish curatorial strategies
  • Establish criteria for selection
  • Establish formatting and printing protocols

Schedule

10.05
Introduce project; Library 101 assigned

10.12
Go over project; divide into groups
Research task: become familiar with subject area and period. Consult general sources
Overview of subject area and period

10.19
Research task: become familiar with more specialized sources. Identify specific sources
Identify specific aspects, examples, to research further
Go over procedures for gathering, saving, sorting, material

10.26
Inventory research to date
Establish criteria for selecting material
Continue to research
Consolidate information gathered

11.09
Curate material
Discuss layout strategies
Discuss formats for summaries, overviews

11.16
Review draft formats

11.23
No preceptorial

11.30
PPT presentation work session
Finish up final sheets

12.05
PPT presentations in class

12.10
All materials due








Links to this Page

Click to edit soapbox.
gone home.