        1060 ullrichKen Mai 1. My favorite lecture has got to be the City: Beltline; Peachtree Street by Paul Moore. Just by comparing and looking at the before-and-after images of a street or a public space was alone mesmerizing to me. I just never knew how much impact the street and its accompanying space can have in a particular area. 2. I thought the reading on the history of the street was mind-provoking, especially after I connect it to the lectures that we have had. 3. I thought that the Fifth Street project was interesting because I never knew that I would be able to write a whole essay on just a street. The ideas of critiques kept pouring in one after another after I started writing. 4. a) summarize lectures; b) summarize readings; c) essay writing (drawing upon readings and observations); d) research: extended group research on the way buildings are 'time stamped' ; e) formulation/preparation of a question (that reflects back upon the semester) for the take-home final. A. effective note-taking, critical listening B. understand the main points and the author’s perspective, critical reading C. formulating own ideas and joining ideas from references D. group meetings/discussions, site-visiting, attentive observations, formatted bibliography, library research E. analysis of concepts from different sources, investigation of time 5. The periods gave way for free discussion and opinions, but it was very limited. The TA should be more organized and take the time to expand on the materials with the students. Overall, it was very sporadic and almost senseless. 6. To be successful designers and builders, we need to look from a distance and from different points of view. We must understand the history , the present, and the possibilities of the future. 7. Yes, not only am I interested in taking a design-and-built course, but I think it is crucial that all CoA students understand the concepts of inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary perspective. Our design and built world today is not as linear as it was in the past! 8. I’ve learned to listen critically and not to listen ignorantly. In addition, I was surprised to learn that architecture can affect one’s health in various ways. As Wiston Chruchill puts it, “We shape our buildings and afterwards, our buildings shape us.” 9. How has the Three Gorges Dam environmentally, socially, and politically, affected China? Does the negative impact of this engineering marvel outweigh its positive impact? (Humans tend to strive for the best and the biggest because we like to show off our abilities: Is bigger always better?) 10. I would like them to focus on the intelligent designs of today and how humans are coping with major advancements in technology, which directly influence today’s designs and its processes. I wondered if we are thirsting for another classical age. Also, it would be wonderful if they can focus on the natural disasters of today and how we students of COA should work around the problems. Ethan Brown 1) As I wrote in my final essay, my favorite lecture was Dean Allen's exploration of prior frameworks and their influence on what is now current development. It was a nice bridge between the “hard” and “soft” lectures – that is to say those backed up my empirical data and those more nebulously floating on, though perhaps reasonable, ultimately unsubstantiated theory. Also, it was inspiration to see that small changes in initial planning documents could compound over time and ultimately determine the character of an entire city. 2 & 3) The Fifth Street readings and assignment were the most interesting this semester. I was great to take something so small, and yet intimately local, and disassemble it formally. You can look at works of art or major buildings, even ones that are located around Atlanta, but they don't resonate quite as keenly as something that most of the students have encountered every day and yet to which they've given little thought. It's poignant to learn so much about something that you've ignored so readily before. 4) Summarizing the lectures was relatively mundane as far as what information it required, although it did help reinforce the content of the lectures. I think I'll take away a lot more from the lecture series because of the summaries than I would have otherwise: both because I've done the repetitive regurgitation and because I've actually given them more thought / distilled them in my mind. Summarizing the readings was somewhat different, as there was more original material present and it was already well-organized and fleshed out. Similar to the lectures, the personal reorganization of the content reinforced a lot of the material in my mind. I think the ideal application, however, is the “essay method” – using the readings as additional material to texture and deepen my understanding of the lectures and physical sites. This way, there would be less time spent on transcription and more on synthesis and the thought processes that accompany it. The group research component was interesting, although it did feel less formalized than what the program consisted of a year ago. Personally, I'm in favor of this semester for transfer students, who tend to already know how to carry out hard research, and the previous semester for true freshman, who are still somewhat cloudy on the difference between digging up information from Wikipedia and formally documenting a source trail. In both cases though, things feel a little loose, in the difference between 'good' and 'bad' work isn't particularly distinguished – it's more a case of whether or not you get a check mark on having done something. Finally, the preparation of the final question and writing of the essay were fun. It was a nice opportunity to opine on a specific component of the semester that was of personal interest. 5) From talking with other sections, the bi-weekly discussion periods seemed to be of considerably varying quality. I personally remember the discussions from a year ago being more in depth, although very much less interesting. This semester, it seemed like the general focus was on creativity and agility/adaptability, and this carried through into the TA discussions: the content was very varied, but also quite interesting. Considering that most of the formal points that needed to covered were in the readings and assignments, I think it was a nice addition to have the TA sessions be a little more free. I learned interesting things there that, while perhaps only tangentially related, ultimately produced what I felt was richer work. 6) As I've said above, I think the research-oriented projects are unfortunately trying to target two very different types of students matriculating into the COA. Aside from that though, I'd almost rather emphasize quality over quantity. A lot of the time, it felt like as long as you threw up enough sources, you would get a good grade on the assignment. I'd almost rather (to take it to the opposite extreme) there only be a requirement of a single source, but have your grade completely dependent on the quality of that source and the path you took to find it. As far as the way of looking at the world, of course I thought it was interesting! It's virtually the same idea as my favorite lecture! Try and identify the tiny shifts in the past that produced great movement in the future. 7) Yes!! Please, please, please have some sociological or psychological courses! It's great designing things according to the wisdom of COA, but I feel like I'm missing out on so much that other fields have to offer. It's like watching philosophy and the general science community decide that humans aren't fundamentally different from animals, and then have taxonomy and anthropology shamble on for not a few decades before finally getting the memo. Another discipline being right in no way impacts on our importance as DBE professionals, so why not learn from equally smart people who happen to be in a different field? 8) The most surprising thing I'll be taking away is how different two semester in the same program can actually be. Despite only being a year apart, the experience this year and the experience a year ago was completely different – because of the curriculum, because of the instructors, and most of all simply because of the 'leading' students being different individuals than their previous counterparts. It was also a delight to have the curriculum adjusted to accommodate these people, despite that taking no small amount of administrative time and frustration. As the CFY program grows older though, I expect you guys will be able to semi-formalize these 'paths' that classes seem to want to go down. Then, it'll be easier to dig out the specifications from the last time you had a group 'like this.' 9) “Why should a person spend their life's effort as a DBE professional?” 10) I would like them to focus on whatever their passion is. Invariably, the most interesting lectures this semester (and a year ago) were those that obviously stemmed from the lecturer's heart (f.ex. Tristan's). As a counterpoint, the most boring lectures are invariably those that the lecturer is only giving so that CFY can have had a lecture about _X_. So let lecturers within the program, like lecturers invited and scheduled by the college for the lecture series, lecture on what they want to lecture on. They'll enjoy it, the students will enjoy it, and there will be creative energy put back into everyone as opposed to drained out of them. Molly McCarthy 1. My favorite lecture was the Palladio lecture. I had never really heard of him before and I was fascinated that his work was so complex. 2. I thought the reading on Fifth Street was the most intriguing because it put the street in a whole new light. Never thought of it that in depth until that reading. 3. The most intriguing assignment was one of the very first ones where we had to describe the instillations because it allowed us to begin to learn how to look at something in depth. 4. a. In order to summarize the lectures you first of all had to be present during them. Then you should take it upon yourself to investigate the topic further. b. In order to summarize the readings, you have to read actively. This means maybe take notes or highlight and really take n what you read. Then you must digest and write about what you learned. c. In order to essay write, like the one we did for our final exam, you must draw upon some of the lectures and readings and synthesize all of the information you have taken in and what kinds of questions stay with you. d. In order to do good research you must have a large wealth of good sources. When you are able to gather huge amounts of information you can then weed through it and put the valuable information into your research. e. In order to formulate a good question you have to take what you are given and find figure out what could be altered or made better. My question dealt with making being environmentally conscious also convenient because I believe that is one of the biggest reason more people aren’t. 5. I think next time a weekly GTA discussion period should be tried out. I found the sessions very helpful and it would be nice to have our questions answered in a smaller setting after the week’s lectures. 6 I thought the multiple part methodology let us get a really good look at the topic. It let us see it from all angles. 7. Personally, I am not as interested in this as some people. We focused on that a lot during the lectures and I do not think it was that interesting. 8. I think the most surprising thing I am taking away from this course is that no I have a whole new way of looking at things and formulating good questions. 9. My question was: How can we make being environmentally conscious more convenient so more people will take part? 10. I would like to see the practical application of our majors. Maybe show a day in the life of an architect or industrial designer so we can see where we are headed. Ali Karimi 1. Probably Craig Zimring's lecture. It combined a variety of topics , it introduced us to new things, but most importantly it still stayed relevant and interesting. The subject was just really interesting and provocative. 2. The Whyte readings on the street, the author's voice shone through the text and made it much more personal. It also seemed less dry and more humble than some of the others which seemed to me to be somewhat pretentious and overwritten. His findings were interesting and asked some practical questions. This just makes the Solnit text look so much worse as it was both uninteresting and poorly written. 3. The 5th street essay was definitely the most interesting, the other assignments were redundant and felt like an unnecessary task. 4. a ) Very little thinking involved, tedious, repetitive and mindless at times. b) I don't recall summarizing any readings c)Engaging, fun , interesting and informative. d)Could have been great, but it was rushed and poorly planned. e)Great great great, made the test actually about learning rather than regurgitating trivia (which was the first test) 5. Yes, but in no way as they were intended. Our TA was pretty good, but only in conversation or when he was explaining something. I learned a lot from him, I wish he was given a chance to present his work. I would recommend meeting with them and planning the work out, our TA seemed lost at times. 6. That reading was pretty uninteresting, very very dry and certainly given the subject could have emphasized the human factor better. The research was very helpful though. I just wish the sources homework was not as extensive. 7. Without a doubt, add me to any email list if there is one. 8. The smaller details really, I got the overall themes but I think the small elements of each lecture just made the course more worthwhile. 9. "How can design precipitate change ?" 10. Please. Please. Please. No more BC lectures. If you feel the need to have them then make sure they are more specific. Hearing about the industry and then the promises of Dubai were pretty much the format for all the BC lectures. Tell us more about specifics, case studies. I want more stories than just generalities. I want to hear more about psychology , creativity, and basically why I decided to become an architect. _ Alex Pittman 1. The introduction to building construction lecture was my favorite. It initially grabbed my attention as it was the first lecture based solely on my major. Also, it was an easy lecture to follow on PowerPoint with limited text. Too many previous PowerPoint’s were filled with written pages of information that can drown the audience out in a short time. Kids’ attention span is growing shorter everyday and keeping students attentive for a full hour cannot be done with paragraphs of text. Quick points and graphics which are used in the BC lecture is the best way to get across ideas. 2. The Fifth Street essay called the street was the most intriguing reading to me. It explained the history of the street and how it has developed from a trade route in ancient times to a building block in every city developed in the modern era. It informed me on how architects and city planners are thinking of new ways streets can be used to separate pedestrians from vehicles. This was a very informative essay that provided a great deal of information. 3. The Fifth Street essay because it gave me a chance to become very familiar with an area that I interact with everyday. I am now more intelligent on the topic and pay attention to different objects and designs along the street that at this point catch my attention. 4. Summarizing readings and lectures becomes repetitive but through this repetitive act is how most of the lecture material is retained. The essay required is to research on a topic nobody was familiar with and then bring in lectures to help explain relate the research to our class. The research project was freer allowing us to go deeper into our topic. More direction on the project would have helped towards the end when it became unclear on what was wanted of us. The question and final essay was an odd experience for a final. Without bringing in any notes to help it was difficult to write a comprehensive paper that was linear with a short time limit. 5. The GTA meetings were sporadic and poorly planned. They were changed on a day’s notice and inadequately prepared. Throughout the semester, my peers and I faced constant confusion on what was coming from this class. 6. This type of methodology was o.k. but was not any more helpful than other strategies. 7. No I felt that this class was too broad and focused on too much information never going deep into one topic but rather treading in multiple ones never allowing me get an understanding on the topic and gain interest. 8. The most surprising takeaway from this course is everything I have learned regarding a street and how affects so much of the surrounding environment. 9. How do buildings affect us socially, economically, and culturally? 10. I want to see COA limit the topic speakers are allowed to have so students may enrich their learning on a few topics regarding each major. Tyler Anderson 1. among the range of lectures on various topics, which was your favorite lecture and why? My favorite lecture was the one on design and how it can affect the health of people given by Craig Zimring. I was fascinated with the fact that design cues such as staircase placement and layout can influence people to get more physical activity on a daily basis. 2. which reading did you find most intriguing or provocative? The reading describing what a street is was my favorite. It opened my mind to the different responsibilities and uses a street has to offer. 3. which assignment did you find most intriguing or provocative? My favorite assignment was the research paper. I have lived on 5th street now for over 2 years and I have seen part of the transformation of the streetscape around me. I like this project because I can relate to the information. 4. describe the kind of thinking and doing required by EACH of the following types of assignments: a) summarize lectures; b) summarize readings; c) essay writing (drawing upon readings and observations); d) research: extended group research on the way buildings are 'time stamped' ; e) formulation/preparation of a question (that reflects back upon the semester) for the take-home final. a) the lecture summarizing worked to recall information previously presented to me and gave it a more concrete place in my memory b) summarizing reading helped me to pick out the information that was vital and disregard all that was extra c)essay writing gave me practice for the rest of college and challenged me to open my vocabulary even more extensively than I have in the past d) the group project aided me in communication and conveying my ideas more clearly, I also learned to comprehend what my members were conveying more effectively e) preparing the question invited me to calculate an argument to answer my question and gave me an understanding of how questions can more clearly and concisely be answered 5. this year was the first time we did bi-weekly GTA discussion periods. were they helpful? what would you recommend for the next time we do them? The break outs were helpful but too inconsistent to begin with. I would recommend having a preceptorial every Friday during class time to more consistently spend time on our outside research. 6. what did you think of the multiple-part methodology we asked you to use for one of the assignments (the reading on post-katrina new orleans) and for the 'time stamps' research project? why do you think we emphasized this way of looking at the world? I believe this was an effective method of completing the assignments. I think this methodology gave me a different perspective of how others interact in society. 7. would you be interested taking courses, over the next few years, that look at the designed and built world from an inter-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary perspective? No I would not. 8. what is the most surprising take-away from this course? (it could be an idea, fact, skill, or something else). I learned to investigate things before formulating an opinion about them at first sight. 9. please write down the question you formulated for the take-home final. you can either just write the question. or you can copy and paste the answer you prepared in response to the five-part scaffold. How do the buildings we build affect the way we use them? 10. the lecture hour in coa 1012 will focus on the three majors: arch, bc, and id as well as on issues shared by all of them. we plan on inviting both students and professionals. what would you like them to focus on? I would like them to focus on these three topics on more of a real-world level. I feel that people could more effectively choose their major if they knew the occupations that are available to them with each different major. Matthew Moldavan 1. The campus master plan lecture was my favorite. It was interesting to hear the plans for the campus over the next few years. It was also interesting to see how much goes into developing new campus facilities and areas. This lecture, after hearing some of the city lectures, made me aware of the issues that have to be dealt with when designing new developments. 2. The readings for the fifth street essay were the most intriguing for me; the readings that focused on the history of the street and street grid in particular. It was interesting to learn the history of the street and street grids and how they have changed from the mid 1900s to today. Street grids have become broken up. 3. The fifth street essay was the most provocative for me. It provided an opportunity to truly learn about the history of street, and the issues with streets and traffic here in Atlanta. 4. Summarizing lectures became repetitive having to do for multiple assignments, however the thinking back to the lectures did reinforce what was covered in the lectures. Summarizing readings required us to think back to the readings, also reinforcing it. The essay required us to think about everything we had covered in the lectures and then also think about our own observations of the street. The research project required going and finding our own resources and sources, and thinking about the issues associated with the buildings and events we were researching. Formulating the final question required thought back to all the lectures and observation and reflection upon them, and then further thought once we found a question to answer on how to answer it. 5. The GTA discussions were not consistent in my opinion, nor very helpful. Sometimes I felt like the discussion classes were a waste of time as the TA would not be prepared or there was nothing major to discuss, while other times they were helpful in clearing up any questions we have. The meeting dates were inconsistent. Even though they were scheduled for every other week, they were commonly changed to lecture meeting or canceled, then they were changed to once a week half way through the semester. 6. The multiple-part methodology assignments were helpful in looking at the world in different lenses. Each aspect had its own issues associated with it in the research project, as well as the New Orleans research. The different aspects we were asked to look through allowed for much more discovery than if we had just focused on 1 or 2. 7. Yes, cross-disciplinary classes would be interesting to take. It’s interesting to hear perspectives from other professions besides just one specific perspective. It would be much like looking at the world through the different lenses in the research project and other assignments. 8. The course has opened my mind to others’ opinions on various issues and has made me look at the world and design and build environment differently. 9. How can we improve the transportation issues associated with our cities and the broke street-grid layouts we have created? 10. I would like the lectures from the different professions to focus on certain specific aspects of their respective fields. For example, there might be a lecture for each profession that just discusses the use, importance and necessity of teamwork on projects, or another that just focuses on the gatech program of each. Will Youngblood 1. My favorite lecture was the one about the construction of Atlantic Station. The video was awesome! Not only was the material really cool and relevant, but the presentation was very good. 2. I found the readings on streets the most provocative. I had never really thought so in depth about something that had previously seemed so boring. It is amazing the amount of thought that goes into the construction and layout of a simple street. 3.I found the Fifth Street paper the most intriguing by far. It helped to reinforce the lectures about layout and efficiency. Many of the other assignments, like the Katrina thing, felt like busy work. 4. Summarizing both the lectures and the readings was very repetitive, but I feel like it was necessary to reinforce the material from them. The essay writing actually helped to reinforce what I have learned in CFY. I found myself often pulling ideas and information from the lectures for the paper. For the final I looked back upon the lectures and chose to write about the importance of layout. It seemed like half of the lectures dealt with this in some way so there was an abundance of information to pull from. 5. Next time I would set up a structure for this meeting. Everything was very ambiguous and I always felt lost. 6. This assignment seemed like busy work to me. I fail to see the connection to anything we did. 7. I liked the class most of the time. I found it interesting and I liked how it covered a broad cover of issues. However, I wouldn’t want to take it for the next few years. 8. The most surprising thing I took away from this class had to be the importance of layout and how it effects the people who are in an environment. 9. How does the layout of a space influence the mood and movement of the people who inhabit it? 10. I would like to continue upon what they did this semester, maybe get a little more in depth by speaking about more specific aspects of each field. David Brimanson 1. Craig Zimrings lecture was one that was most interesting to me. It concentrated on concerns of our built environment that are very important but seem to be under the radar and considering that health was an issue I never new had such a big influence on designs. 2. I feel like the lecture/reading on Atlantic Station was most intriguing. For the first time we were given a strong opinion from a professional in practice. I feel like I learned the most through this reading considering the amount of terms I had to look up in order to understand it, and by exploiting myself to knowledge of Atlantic Station I was able to create an opinion for myself. 3. If I HAD to choose which assignment was most interesting, it would be the essay on the street. It forced us to make connections and produce our own ideas about a current issue. It was also interesting to read others essays, discovering altering opinions. 4. A) Forced me to research and learn beyond what that lecture revealed to me. B) Expanded my vocabulary by taking time to find definitions of terms I didn’t understand previously. C) Forced me to create my own opinions and supporting them with a substantial amount of convincing ideas. D) Forced me to make connections between different professions along with economic, political, and social issues. E) Forced me to truly understand connections, and create and idea and opinion that could be expanded on in the future. 5. Meeting with the TA was extremely helpful. He was informative on the course goals and guidelines, and also provided his two sense on certain projects such as Atlantic Station that forced us to think, rethink, and then think again. 6. I enjoyed the research project. We approached this form of learning to understand influences on our professions and the issues they involve. 7. Yes, any class that I feel will help me for the future I will take, and this is an important approach to our built environment. 8. I enjoyed the lecture that focused on the different professions, architecture, building construction, and industrial design. Details about the profession and education were very informative. 9. What influence do production models contribute to our built environment? What’s successful? What’s not? How does the design-build methodology relate and is it healthy towards our built environment? 10. I would like for them to focus on their personal experiences and important concepts to learn from each profession. I would like for them to provide advice and fill us in with their own personal wisdom about the profession. Dorian Pirau 1. My favorite lecture has to be the one on Architecture, Culture and Behavior by Craig Zimring. I liked this lecture because I could never have envisioned the effects that architecture has on Health and Fitness, and I have never thought about the different points that he has brought up through his lecture. 2. I really enjoyed the reading about the Street. Although it was very lengthy it brought up many interesting issues about the street, and it greatly impacted the ways I viewed Fifth Street, and the ways I critiqued it in my paper. 3. The most intriguing lesson was also the one about the Palladio. I had heard of him before, however I did not know the different aspects of his designs. 4. A) Summarizing lectures requires for one to sit through the lecture, and remember most of the things discussed in that lecture. B) Summarizing readings requires for one to read through the readings, and paraphrase the most important aspects of the readings, one can also look back through to see if they missed anything. C) Writing an essay requires critical thinking, and assessing something based on both the readings and the lectures. D) Research requires the student to use his previous knowledge of the subject to find even better information about the subject. E) I formulated my question based on what I thought was the most interesting aspect of the lectures, and it took a lot of thinking, and of eliminating the ideas that I thought were weaker than the one I chose. 5. I think that they were very helpful, and I believe that they were perfect the way they are now, and do not need any changes. 6. I think that it is necessary to look at the world from different points of view, and not just the one of a designer. History, Economy, Design all of these aspects are interrelated, and in order for one to create a successful building, one must have some level of education or experience in all of these. 7. Yes I think that courses that do that would greater expand my horizons, and would be very interesting. 8. The most important take away is the knowledge that I have acquired about the many different ways that architecture affects us. Whether it is combating obesity, or simply creating a roof over one’s head. 9. How does Architecture and design impact Obesity? 10. I would really like to find more information about the work environments of each of them, and the job opportunities that will develop when we graduate from college. Rachael Jacob 1. I loved “Architecture, Culture, and Behavior” by Dr. Zimring. The exploration and observation of how individuals interact with architecture and how architectural environments can influence behavior was fascinating. 2. All of the Whyte readings were great. Whyte’s tone throughout the writing is personable and friendly rather than patronizing like that of other authors. The information was thoughtful and practical, and was presented in an uncomplicated manner that provided for an interesting series, not just another assigned reading. 3. I personally enjoyed describing the installations inside and outside of the COA. It was a good introductory assignment for CFY; it really allowed students to start developing observational and investigative skills that would be used for future assignments (like the 5th Street essay). 4. A) Lecture Summaries: Rather tedious and repetitive, but summarizing lectures did help with retaining facts and definitions for the midterm…although the general average doesn’t reflect that. There was very little actually thought necessary, though; most of the lecture summaries were composed of online definitions + lecture facts packed into a paragraph. B) Reading Summaries: These mainly involved taking down all of the facts one remembered from the reading itself, as well as incorporating notes taken during the reading. However, there was some thought involved in writing reading summaries, especially if a particular article or series was interesting and well-written. C) Essay Writing: This involved lots of thought processes and various methods of subject analyzation. The doing part should have been fairly intensive in terms of the investigations, readings, and the like, but many students started too late on their essays to be able to formulate an investigative plan and carry it out. D) Research: The research project, investigating ‘time stamps’, was a great idea and had enormous potential…but it fell apart. The actual project was redefined numerous times, and with each class doing something different, it was quite unorganized (even within individual preceptorials). There was some thinking involved in terms of making some between subtopics in groups; however, a lot of assignments involved the simple placement of facts of a timeline of sorts. Repetitive, somewhat tedious. E) Final: A really great idea; it involved lots of internal conversation and thought in terms of defining a question. I just wish that I had spent more time exploring my question; when it came time to write the actual essay, I was at a loss for actual points to make. 5. I didn’t see much of a point in the classes with a GTA other than to receive our grades. Granted, as a class we had multiple interesting discussions with our GTA, usually involving a recent lecture. So while the sessions weren’t absolutely necessary, they did allow students to discuss and debate thoughts on lecture topics in a sort of casual ‘open forum’. 6. The multiple-part methodology was beneficial in that it allowed students to observe a topic from many different viewpoints. 7. Definitely, especially with cross-disciplinary perspectives. The designed and built world incorporates many elements other than just design or architecture; it would be informative as well as interesting to examine such topics from varying angles. 8. The skills I have developed in terms of observing and investigating a topic from varying viewpoints; the immense social, cultural, and environmental effects that good/poor design, architecture, and construction can have. 9. Is it possible to reinvent classical design so that it allows for contemporary and modern elements while still maintaining its traditional roots? 10. Their personal experiences in their individual fields, perhaps addressing specific aspects of their professions/majors. Jasmin Gonzalez 1. among the range of lectures on various topics, which was your favorite lecture and why?
2. which reading did you find most intriguing or provocative?
3. which assignment did you find most intriguing or provocative?
4. describe the kind of thinking and doing required by EACH of the following types of assignments: a) summarize lectures; b) summarize readings; c) essay writing (drawing upon readings and observations); d) research: extended group research on the way buildings are 'time stamped' ; e) formulation/preparation of a question (that reflects back upon the semester) for the take-home final. a.) To summarize lectures one had to be able to take good notes or to recall information fairly well and to really understand the ideas presented. Writing the summaries actually required a lot of thinking on my part because we had to pick out the most important information for the summary, and I spent a lot of time thinking and trying to understand the main ideas so I could write good questions about them. b.) Summarizing readings also required the ability to understand information and pick out the most important or relevant points one wants to convey. c.) Essay writing required investigation as well as a more intense level of analyzing and understanding. One cannot write a strong, thoughtful essay if one does not understand the material being discussed. d.) The research project required investigation, collaboration, and organization in addition to the thinking and doing of summarizing and essay writing, which were incorporated in the project. e.) The formulation of a question obviously involved reflection and, for me, further investigation. I wanted to know as much as possible about the issues involved in my question, and it took some research. It also took some time to sift through the information I gathered and choose what was most applicable to the prompts. 5. this year was the first time we did bi-weekly GTA discussion periods. were they helpful? what would you recommend for the next time we do them?
6. what did you think of the multiple-part methodology we asked you to use for one of the assignments (the reading on post-katrina new orleans) and for the 'time stamps' research project? why do you think we emphasized this way of looking at the world?
7. would you be interested taking courses, over the next few years, that look at the designed and built world from an inter-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary perspective?
8. what is the most surprising take-away from this course? (it could be an idea, fact, skill, or something else).
9. please write down the question you formulated for the take-home final. you can either just write the question. or you can copy and paste the answer you prepared in response to the five-part scaffold. 10. the lecture hour in coa 1012 will focus on the three majors: arch, bc, and id as well as on issues shared by all of them. we plan on inviting both students and professionals. what would you like them to focus on?
Sloane Beeco 1. One of my favorite lectures was the Top Ten of Industrial Design. I’m not even majoring in ID, but I thought the presentation showed so many neat things about the career and the amazing products and ideas that have been created. 2. I think the readings on the history of streets were very interesting. I never thought streets would be that interesting. 3. The research project was definitely the most interesting to me. We got to see how many different aspects of life, like entertainment and new technologies, relate to architecture in a certain time period. 4. a)Summarizing lectures really required us to not only physically be in class, but also mentally. Taking notes and applying the additional comments made by the speakers were very important. b) Summarizing the readings required us to concentrate on the ideas that applied to the topic. c) The essay required a lot of different ‘kinds’ of thinking because you had to apply reading, writings, and research. Critical thinking was required to understand the readings and research and apply what we learned in a creative way. d) In the research project we really just had to think about things that would connect our topic to other topics. We had to think about the project as a whole and not just our group. e) It was really hard to think of a question that we would be able to write about for 30 minute and only write about important information. This also made us think about every lecture from the entire semester. 5. I think they were very helpful, especially when it came to certain assignments and preparation for the mid-term. 6. I think it proved to us that research is very important, even in design. There are so many influences that are used in the design world, and research is necessary to have influences. 7. Yes, I think this it would have a lot of positive effects. 8. I think one thing I learned how to do better is ask questions. I’ve never really been required to ask questions, but I think it really helps. 9. How does design influence and shape our lives? 10. The basics of each profession. Cassandra Syfrett 1. For the fact of pure enjoyment, I really enjoyed the Top 10 Things about Industrial Design lecture.. It was not extremely informative; however, it did give me a better idea of what I could possibly do in Industrial Design in the future. 2. I enjoyed reading all of the posting literature by Whyte. They were incredibly insightful into the interaction between people and other people, people and their natural environment, and people and their manmade environment/architecture. The idea of studying why things work, rather than just assuming that they do, is interesting to me. 3. I did not enjoy any one assignment over another. These reflections are probably the most interesting assignment thus far merely because it is a chance for me to express my interest in the overall class and to give some feedback. Within the individual assignments, I enjoyed the Speculative section because it allowed/forced me to think about more than the information that was just presented. I was able to explore thoughts and questions, regardless of whether they were ever actually answered. 4. a) Summarize lectures – required us to ensure that we understood the material presented and encouraged our attendance in class because most of the lectures did not include text. b) When did we summarize readings? - I would imagine that it would use the same type of thinking used when summarizing lectures, but based off a visual stimulus, rather than an auditory stimulus. c) Essay Writing – Incorporates a subjective analysis of the information we summarized in a and b. d) Research – Utilizes the summarized information as a basis for presenting an argument to other people. The research we do utilizes the inquisitive part of our minds in which we formulate questions which lead us to different points of interest. We then combine these two aspects to create a logical, fact-based report. e) Question Formulation—The type of thinking required here builds off all of the other information previously discussed. One must pool the information into small groups to increase specificity. Then one must identify one underlying concept within one of these groups. The identification of this statement would then come in the form of a question to be answered in a final. 5. I do not feel that the GTA discussion periods were helpful at all. I never felt engaged in class, regardless of my efforts. In the future, I think everyone would benefit from class discussions concerning the lectures from the week. If you feel that a research project is completely necessary, I think it should be standardized and organized much more than it was this year. The majority of people that I spoke to about the research project were extremely disappointed with the outcome due to lacking organization. 6. I think these were probably assigned simply to make us more aware of current events and to re-teach us skills that we learned in high school (i.e. how to make a bibliography). I did not find the Katrina assignment particularly helpful and from speaking with other students, I am not the only one who felt this way. They were probably also assigned to make us more inquisitive about our environment. 7. Maybe after I completely understand my specific major and discipline would I be interested in taking classes that look at the designed and built world from an inter-disciplinary or cross-disciplinary perspective. Either sounds interesting, but I feel that it is important to have a strong basis in one discipline before you can begin to explore others. 8. THINK about what you hear and do not be afraid to ASK questions. 9. I think it would be redundant to post my response to my final question here. The question I asked was the following: How will a new Learning Resource Center affect the sociology and psychology of Skiles Walkway and the surrounding area? 10. I would like for some of the lectures to be very informative into what kinds of options we can look into right after graduating. Perhaps, bring in people who are fresh out of college and some people who have been out of college for years to contrast the interests and involvement. I would also like to hear from some of the students who are involved in the graduate programs in any or all of the programs because I am planning on pursuing en education beyond my first degree. sarah scholz 1. My favorite lecture was the recent one on the many uses and types of industrial design. I liked it so much because it demonstrated the wide range of what an industrial designer can actually do with his or her life, which I’ve actually been wondering. From skateboards that resemble snowboards to cool looking chairs to a prosthetic that analyzes 200 times a second what the wearer will do next, there is a lot more to industrial design that interests me than I thought. 2. My favorite reading was the one about the “relationship of walking and streets” because it was less about the technological side of city planning (which isn’t as interesting to me) but more about use and function and that was more familiar and so interesting. 3. If the assignment for the final exam counts, I choose that one as the one that was most intriguing. Just the fact that we got to choose our topics means that obviously, I got to pick something that interested me: environmentalism, and so I liked preparing for the final and even re-writing my essay in class. 4. a. Summarizing the lectures did two very useful things. One: forced us to pay attention because we knew we were going to have to summarize it eventually. And two, allowed us to review what was said in class and to rethink it again and what it means in relation to the other lectures as well as our studies in other classes and studio. We were able to take a step back and look at it from that angle when summarizing it b. Summarizing readings did the same as summarizing the lectures did for us: we were then able to put into perspective everything coming at us from all sources. Also, having everything in summary format is a much more effective way to be able to review it, instead of reading the entire document. c. The essay writing caused us to think for ourselves. Instead of simply digesting what others hand fed us, we had to put together our knowledge from classes, lectures, experience, and readings to come up with our own opinions and thought processes. d. The research showed us how much information there is out there. How everything isn’t necessarily done for a reason but instead that outside forces act on everything in our field and others. Culture for example may have more to do with a building’s structure than we would have previously expected. e. The final exam and all its requirements were like the other essays but to a fuller extent. We had to think for ourselves and this time we got to choose what to think about. So we combined interest and knowledge which will always produce the best results, anyway. 5. They were helpful because its nice to talk about what was discussed in the lectures. That ties it all together better than we could ourselves. I would suggest that the TA’s actually meet with Professor Khan weekly because sometimes there wasn’t any specific plan for the day. 6. I didn’t really like the “multiple-part methodology” it actually kind of restricted what we were allowed to think about. However it opened up a new way of analyzing a structure (e.g. the time period) but it seemed one track minded. There’s more that goes into the design of a building and we didn’t really discuss that. 7. I would be interested to take anything relating to anything in my field. Anything that makes me look at the field in a new way is always useful though sometimes difficult. 8. The most surprising take-away from the course is that I really like industrial design and that I may turn out to be one of the statistics that switch majors after CFY. Or at least on of those students I remember Professor Khan saying has a hard time deciding at the end of the year. 9. ARCH 1060 Final How can the Georgia Tech College of Architecture physically and realistically reflect the concern for the environment that it so methodically promotes (to its students as well as other students, faculty, and alumni around campus)? In 1060 lectures throughout the semester, the question of environmental awareness and safety is periodically brought up by the speakers as an important facet of the profession we study. We study it in terms of providing prevention from further destruction of our resources, protection of those we still have, and consequences that past endeavors have had on the environment. But beyond the proclamation that we should keep environmental safety in mind, should be the action of doing so. The architecture buildings themselves use enormous amounts of energy for many reasons. Architecture west is a building that is mostly hollow. The three floors are basically one very large room with smaller ones on the edge of a vast loft. This design first of all, makes the heating and air conditioning very difficult. The infiltration rate of the warm/cool air is slower in a large room because of the physical fact that the molecules can only affect the ones they are immediately next to, or touching. So to reach the middle of a vast room like the architecture building takes much longer than it would for multiple smaller rooms. For this reason especially, energy saving techniques are extremely important in buildings like the Architecture West (and even East) buildings. The Solar Decathlon competition was an amazing step towards leading by example from the Georgia Tech community. It explored in great detail the uses of photovoltaic energy systems and their research and findings should now be used to incorporate the system logistically into at least the architecture buildings if not others on campus as well. To use the energy this system provides to the greatest extent, fluorescent lighting should be utilized in both buildings. The lighting used in the studio alone, that remains on all day and all night by the way, is a major output of electricity and should at least be powered by fluorescent tubes. There apparently used to be a small garden just outside the doors on the second floor of one of the buildings. Why it isn’t there anymore is probably due to the difficulties of upkeep but it would be a worthy investment to reinstate due to the environmental benefits of the vegetation not to mention the aesthetic benefits. A visible garden would make a just, if not worthier, statement to the campus and Atlanta itself about the priorities of the School of Architecture at Tech. Windows are also a major energy expense when it comes to heating and cooling off a building. The sunlight is a determining factor in how efficiently heat or air conditioning is transported throughout a building/ room. Both the exterior walls on the north and south sides of Architecture west are almost entirely glass. This slows down the process of cooling the building down but can be helpful when it needs to be heated. Replacing the windows with spectrally selective or doublepane ones, would help to take full advantage of the windows without hindering their capabilities of helping. Blinds or curtains would also help to keep the temperature outside from sneaking in. The windows that run along the ceiling should be thoroughly insulated with lining and overhangs could be effective as well in keeping the sun out of the building. There’s so much construction going on now at Tech and the entire campus is an energy nightmare as well as the rest of Atlanta. This fact is simply not acceptable in light of the dwindling resources as well as technological advances in energy use. Our Solar Decathlon group successfully constructed a building using chiefly architectural innovations. This knowledge and capability should be transferred to the function of the architecture buildings because energy saving on the primary level comes right down to architecture, so we should be forward thinking and an example to those in our Georgia Tech and Atlanta community. 10. I would like them to focus on the potential in each field. Where they are going to be moving in the future and what I will specifically be able to do in the field. Basically, what kind of difference can be made in the field. What significant changes are they making on our world. Link to this Page
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