UNITE
T2 / 25
49.26600538365908, -123.25618055844977
M1 : Drawing Things Together
M2 :
DES 402 explores relational and trans-scalar understandings of the built environment, focusing on how mundane details—a wall assembly, a pocket park, a bus stop, or the width of a street—reveal intricate networks of relations. Through collaborative investigations and speculative mapping, we examine pre-existing conditions and the socio-economic, political, and environmental relationships that determine and shape urban spaces.
Learning Expectations
Develop Critical Models: Engage with contemporary discourses, precedents + methodologies related to relationality
Conduct Self-directed Research: Pursue individual inquiry within the studio framework
Map Complex Systems: Document, analyze, and speculate on chosen subjects at multiple scales
Create Representations: Translate observations and concepts into sophisticated visual expression
Foster Collaborative Exchange: Contribute constructively to design dialogue and studio culture
Course Themes
- IN THE MIDDLE
- In-between/interval/interstitial positions offering fresh perspectives
- Intermediary relationships connecting entities and conditions
- Media/tion exploring both digital and analog means
- Milieu examining built environment as medium
- In the midst of multiple fields and methodologies
- TRANS-SCALAR ENTANGLEMENTS
- Examining relationality across scales
- Understanding embeddedness within broader frameworks
- Building conceptual lenses and methodologies
- Engaging with contemporary practices
- DRAWING WITH, DRAWING TOGETHER
- Using drawing as both representation and (re)composition
- Working across analog and digital media
- Assembling heterogeneous elements
- Composing new linkages collaboratively
- SPECULATIVE MAPPING/FABULATION
- Conducting inquisitive and speculative research
- Exploring SF (speculative fabulation, feminism, fiction, fact)
- Developing graphic narratives
- Creating visual storytelling
Evaluation
Exercise 1 (precedent study) | 10% Exercise 2 (trans-scalar mapping) | 20% Exercise 3 (design project part 1) | 25% Exercise 4 (design project part 2) | 35% Participation, Effort & Growth | 10%
The course explores the use of generative AI tools in urban design. Active participation, sketchbook submissions, and project uploads are essential, with grading heavily focused on process, media use, and completeness.