Bachelor of Architecture [B.Arch] From Academy of Art University

Undergraduate students will meet the following student performance criteria:

Conceptual Thinking and Process

• Communicate conceptual thinking verbally and in writing
• Articulate and extend conceptual thinking through diagrams
• Develop a rigorous material logic for model-making to test ideas
• Produce critical analyses of canonical precedent buildings recognizing the significance to the discipline of architecture.
• Produce critical analyses of contemporary, historical, global precedents inclusive of buildings, theoretical texts, and related arts applicable to studio projects.
• Develop a design identity which synthesizes critical thought, architectural intent, and urban design strategies

Fundamental Design & Drawing and Making

• Develop methodologies to generate and evaluate an architectural order and formal language
• Develop architectural proposals sensitive to the site context in scale and use
• Produce architectural drawings with appropriate drawing conventions to convey spatial qualities and design intent
• Demonstrate an understanding of materiality through making
• Construct drawings and models with a high level of craft and attention to detail

Presentation Skills

• Clearly explain and defend design projects in verbal presentations
• Create presentation boards, slides, and/or printed materials which exhibit logical sequencing and a hierarchy of information
• Develop effective representational strategies to convey information that build towards an argument
• Determine appropriate media to describe the spatial qualities and human experience of the design proposal

Leadership and Community

• Demonstrate a commitment to community building and social responsibility through programming and organization of an architectural project.
• Demonstrate cultural literacy capable of designing for cultures with different values
• Engage a collaborative process in the development of a design, with a range of design and engineering disciplines.
• Demonstrate and articulate knowledge of professional practices and contractual conventions.

Integrated Design Project

• Develop an innovative concept for the comprehensive design of a building
• Complete a thorough user & programmatic analysis
• Communicate analyses of the urban and environmental conditions of a site with clear graphic devices
• Develop a research-driven strategy for integrating building systems into the design
• Integrate sustainable strategies into the design
• Communicate analyses of environmental performance systems of the design with clear graphic devices
• Develop an energy-conscious strategy for the design of building envelope systems and material selection
• Integrate structural systems into the design
• Produce technical documentation describing the integration of architecture and building systems
• Address accessibility and life safety requirements in the design

Academy of Art University Learning Outcomes?
Graduates of the Academy of Art University will demonstrate the ability to: