Classes

Explore all classes offered by the Department  — use the filters in the right column below to view classes by discipline groups or by semester.

The Department of Architecture is “Course 4.” The method of assigning numbers to classes is to write the course number in Arabic numerals followed by a period and three digits, which are used to differentiate courses. Most classes retain the same number from year to year. Architecture groups its numbers by discipline group.

Please select both Aga Khan and HTC to search for Aga Khan classes. 

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(Non-Credit Workshop)

Let’s Design Board Games! — Explore a playful way to tackle social and cultural issues

Workshop Flyer

Hello, game designers! Welcome to this two-week long, 5-session board game design workshop. Board game design is an inclusive art method, creating a relatively free and safe space for all ideologies and opinions. We believe in the board game’s power to deliver touched narratives, make unapproachable themes accessible, and build intimacy in social relationships. In this workshop, we will focus on the board game’s overlooked educational and intellectual aspects that could serve as a tool to tackle social and cultural issues in daily life. There’s no prerequisite for the workshop, and we welcome all from the MIT community regardless of background, age, and experience.

During class, we will play, discuss, demonstrate, design, and play-test board games. Through a mixture of learning methods, you will understand how board game design can help raise awareness, propose interventions, and resist existing problems in a playful tone, and gain knowledge that allows you to evaluate and analyze any board games in the future. Most importantly, this workshop will help you start designing and developing your board game prototype. You can bring any topics, themes, or questions you might have been thinking about into this course and explore them within the framework of gameplay design. You are encouraged to work in a group of two for the final deliverables.

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

  1. Utilize the four elements of game design (aesthetic, story, mechanics, and technology) as a tool kit to assess any kind of board game and set goals for your design.
  2. Gain familiarity with board game mechanics, and be able to identify fair and balanced gameplay strategies for your board game.
  3. Articulate a main theme and a preliminary storyline of your board game and how they support the game in tackling social and cultural issues.
  4. Deliver a playable game prototype

- Click here to register

Funded by the Council for the Arts at MIT and the MindHandHeart Innovation Fund

Ziye Zhang
Summer
2023
N/A
Schedule
Sect. 1: June 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 — 9:30 am -12:30 pm
Sect. 2: June 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 — 1-4 pm
Location
TBA
Enrollment
Limited to 30
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
11.s938

Trash to Treasure: Landscape, Planning, Design and Development at Bordo Poniente Mexico (Part 1 of 2)

This is the first in a 2-class project; register for 6 units. You must also register for Part 2, 5 units of 4.255 or 11.304 for the Spring 2025 term (21 units total).

INFO SESSION: Friday Nov 15 @ 1:10PM Stella Room 7-338 (also on zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/96150219429)

Format: Studio ; Required IAP Travel - Intensive workshop in Mexico City in January (01/20- 01/30) (Expenses covered)* 

The studio is an international collaboration with UNAM School of Architecture, Sustainable Environments Lab  (LES) and Generadora FENIX, S.A.P. an energy company that manage and run Bordo Poniente. It is part of a long-term partnership between DUSP, the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism (LCAU) MIT and the Mexico City Government with the purpose of addressing the city's environmental, and planning goals through research, innovation, design and civic discourse.  

Building on the Spring 2024 Mexico City practicum studio, this year's effort will explore landscape planning, alternative energy, and potential industrial development at Bordo Poniente—Latin America's largest urban landfill.  Identified through collaborations with partners in Mexico, the project will test new design ideas, landscape strategies, and energy transition approaches for Bordo Poniente, situated in Mexico City's outskirts. This 1,000-acre capped waste site, closed in 2011, offers redevelopment and ecological restoration opportunities despite its environmental challenges. Methane gas and leachate wastewater production continue, presenting economic development potential. The project's objective is to apply innovative planning, ecological restoration, and integrate production through an "industrial remix." The strategy combines industrial urbanism, landscape restoration, and energy transition, leveraging the site's energy potential, natural environment, and proximity to disadvantaged communities. This work aims to provide insights and expertise applicable to other disturbed sites in Mexico and globally. 

Some specific goals include:

  • To explore landfill zones focusing on site planning, infrastructure, ecological systems, design and policy recommendations.
  • Examine Mexico City’s environmental and industrial history, highlighting the spatial impacts of hydrology, ecology, and industrial development.
  • To contribute to a strategic plan proposing sustainable design for the integration of energy production and urban development of Bordo Poniente.
  • To provide new insights and design techniques in areas such as site planning, clean energy integration and industrial urbanism that can be utilized for the future development of the city.

Application Process

Please submit by November 19th by 5pm in PDF format and as one file : a one-page letter of interest, a one-page CV, as well as up to three 8.5" x 11" pages of visual material/portfolio (class or professional work).

* Note that per sponsored travel policies if an enrolled student decides to drop the course after the paid trip, they will be
responsible to reimburse the department for all covered expenses.
† The studio will count both as an M.Arch option studio and fulfill the studio requirement for SMArchS Urbanism

Eran Ben-Joseph
Alberto Meouchi
Mary Anne Ocampo
IAP
2025
6 units IAP (+15 units of 4.255 or 11.304 for the Spring 2025 term)
G
Schedule
Consult instructors - travel
Location
Consult instructors - travel
Prerequisites
Urban Design Skills (advanced preferred) and/or design background. Knowledge of Spanish is highly desirable.
Enrollment
Limited to 12-15 graduate students in DUSP or Architecture †
Open Only To
DUSP and Architecture graduate students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
11.S940

Joy & Grief Workshop

How do we design places that reflect and elicit joy? How about places that allow us to acknowledge or express grief? We will examine the role of care in architecture and design and how it finds expression through joy and grief as expressed by interventions in public space. We will look at memorials, playgrounds, parks, promenades, and a variety of places of gathering and solitude. Students will be invited to engage with essayists, poets, artists, psychologists, and musicians—some of whom will be guests—along with urban planners and architects; expect to read Zadie Smith, Carolina Miranda, Alexandra Lange, Layli Long Soldier, Edwidge Danticat, and Rita Dove, and to look at the work of Roy DeCarava, Tyler Mitchell, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Felandus Thames, David Adjaye, Rachel Whiterhead, Tadao Ando, Kara Walker, and others. Students will be invited to design a public space that invites joy and (or?) another that wrestles with grief. (No prior design experience necessary).

Garnette Cadogan
Spring
2022
3-0-9
G
Schedule
W 9-12
Location
9-450Ai
Prerequisites
Application Letter Required: Submit a letter of no more than 500wds that explains your interest in the course and give an example of a design or artwork that invites joy and of another that helps people confront grief. Permission of Instructor.
Enrollment
Limited to 15
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.021

Design Studio: How to Design

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Spring
2024
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
7-434 studio
Prerequisites
None
Required Of
BSA, BSAD and Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
HASS
A
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors and minors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.021

Design Studio: How to Design

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Fall
2023
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
N52-342C
Prerequisites
None
Required Of
BSA, BSAD and Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
HASS
A
Preference Given To
BSA, BSAD, Arch minor; 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.021

Design Studio: How to Design

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Fall
2024
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
N52-337
Prerequisites
None
Required Of
BSA, BSAD and Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
HASS
A
Preference Given To
BSA, BSAD, Arch minor; 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.021

Design Studio: How to Design

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Spring
2025
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
Studio 7-434
Prerequisites
None
Required Of
BSA, BSAD and Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
HASS
A
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors and minors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.021

Design Studio: How to Design

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Spring
2023
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
studio
Prerequisites
None
Required Of
BSA, BSAD and Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
HASS
A
Preference Given To
BSA, BSAD, Arch minor; 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.021

Design Studio: How to Design

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Fall
2022
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
N52-342C
Prerequisites
None
Required Of
BSA, BSAD and Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
HASS
A
Preference Given To
BSA, BSAD, Arch minor; 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.022

Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies

Introduces the tools, techniques and technologies of design across a range of projects in a studio environment. Explores concepts related to form, function, materials, tools, and physical environments through project-based exercises. Develops familiarity with design process, critical observation, and the translation of design concepts into digital and physical reality. Utilizing traditional and contemporary techniques and tools, faculty across various design disciplines expose students to a unique cross-section of inquiry.

Spring
2023
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
studio
Prerequisites
4.021 or 4.02A
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 and 4B majors; Design/Arch minors; and 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.022

Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies: Thinking through Making

Introduces the tools, techniques and technologies of design across a range of projects in a studio environment. Explores concepts related to form, function, materials, tools, and physical environments through project-based exercises. Develops familiarity with design process, critical observation, and the translation of design concepts into digital and physical reality. Utilizing traditional and contemporary techniques and tools, faculty across various design disciplines expose students to a unique cross-section of inquiry.

Fall
2022
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.021 or 4.02A
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 and 4B majors; Design/Arch minors; and 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.022

Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies: Thinking through Making

Introduces the tools, techniques and technologies of design across a range of projects in a studio environment. Explores concepts related to form, function, materials, tools, and physical environments through project-based exercises. Develops familiarity with design process, critical observation, and the translation of design concepts into digital and physical reality. Utilizing traditional and contemporary techniques and tools, faculty across various design disciplines expose students to a unique cross-section of inquiry.

Spring
2022
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
studio
Prerequisites
4.021 or 4.02A
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 and 4B majors; Design/Arch minors; and 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.022

Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies

Introduces the tools, techniques and technologies of design across a range of projects in a studio environment. Explores concepts related to form, function, materials, tools, and physical environments through project-based exercises. Develops familiarity with design process, critical observation, and the translation of design concepts into digital and physical reality. Utilizing traditional and contemporary techniques and tools, faculty across various design disciplines expose students to a unique cross-section of inquiry.

Spring
2024
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
7-434 studio
Prerequisites
4.021 or 4.02A
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
Preference Given To
Course 4 and 4B majors; Design/Arch minors; and 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.022

Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies: Thinking through Making

Cancelled

Canceled for Fall 2023.  Two sections will be offered in Spring 2024.

Fall
2023
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
studio
Prerequisites
4.021 or 4.02A
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 and 4B majors; Design/Arch minors; and 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.022

Design Studio: Introduction to Design Techniques and Technologies

Introduces the tools, techniques and technologies of design across a range of projects in a studio environment. Explores concepts related to form, function, materials, tools, and physical environments through project-based exercises. Develops familiarity with design process, critical observation, and the translation of design concepts into digital and physical reality. Utilizing traditional and contemporary techniques and tools, faculty across various design disciplines expose students to a unique cross-section of inquiry.

Spring
2025
3-3-6
U
Schedule
MW 2-5
Location
Studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.021 or 4.02A
Required Of
BSA, Architecture Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 25
Preference Given To
Course 4 and 4B majors; Design/Arch minors; and 1st- and 2nd-year students
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.023

Architecture Design Studio I

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development within design constraints including architectural program and site. Students engage the design process through various 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media. Working directly with representational and model making techniques, students gain experience in the conceptual, formal, spatial and material aspects of architecture. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.

Fall
2023
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.022
Required Of
BSA
Restricted Elective
Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors and minors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.023

Architecture Design Studio I

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development within design constraints including architectural program and site. Students engage the design process through various 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media. Working directly with representational and model making techniques, students gain experience in the conceptual, formal, spatial and material aspects of architecture. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.

Cherie Abbanat
Fall
2022
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.022
Required Of
BSA
Restricted Elective
Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors and minors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.023

Architecture Design Studio I

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development within design constraints including architectural program and site. Students engage the design process through various 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media. Working directly with representational and model making techniques, students gain experience in the conceptual, formal, spatial and material aspects of architecture. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.

Fall
2024
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.022
Required Of
BSA
Restricted Elective
Architecture Minor
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors and minors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.024

Architecture Design Studio II

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development with an emphasis on social, cultural, or civic programs. Builds on foundational design skills with more complex constraints and contexts. Integrates aspects of architectural theory, building technology, and computation into the design process. 

Spring
2024
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
studio 7-403
Prerequisites
4.023, 4.500, 4.401
Required Of
BSA
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.024

Architecture Design Studio II

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development with an emphasis on social, cultural, or civic programs. Builds on foundational design skills with more complex constraints and contexts. Integrates aspects of architectural theory, building technology, and computation into the design process. 

Spring
2025
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
Studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.023, 4.500, 4.401
Required Of
BSA
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.024

Architecture Design Studio II

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development with an emphasis on social, cultural, or civic programs. Builds on foundational design skills with more complex constraints and contexts. Integrates aspects of architectural theory, building technology, and computation into the design process. 

Spring
2023
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
studio
Prerequisites
4.023, 4.500, 4.401
Required Of
BSA
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
Document Uploads
4.025

Architecture Design Studio III

Cancelled

Class canceled for Fall 2022.

Fall
2022
0-12-12
U
Prerequisites
4.024, 4.440
Required Of
BSA
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.025

Architecture Design Studio III

Provides instruction in more advanced architectural design projects. Students develop integrated design skills as they negotiate the complex issues of program, site, and form in a specific cultural context. Focuses on how architectural concepts and ideas translate into built environments that transform the public sphere. Studio designed to prepare students for graduate studies in the field.

Fall
2023
0-12-12
U
Schedule
TRF 1-5
Location
studio 7-434
Prerequisites
4.024 and 4.440
Required Of
BSA
Preference Given To
Course 4 majors
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.02A

Design Studio: How to Design Intensive

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

IAP
2025
2-5-2
U
Schedule
Jan. 13-31, 2025:
Lecture: MTWRF 10-12
Lab: MTWRF 1-5
Location
studio
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, A Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 30
HASS
A
Preference Given To
BSA, BSAD, A Minor, D Minor
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No
4.02A

Design Studio: How to Design Intensive

Introduces fundamental design principles as a way to demystify design and provide a basic introduction to all aspects of the process. Stimulates creativity, abstract thinking, representation, iteration, and design development. Equips students with skills to have more effective communication with designers, and develops their ability to apply the foundations of design to any discipline.

Note: Class ends at 4 pm on Fridays.

IAP
2023
2-5-2
U
Schedule
LEC: MWF 9:30-11:30
REC 1: MTWR 12-5
Location
All meetings in N52-342C
Required Of
BSA, BSAD, A Minor
Enrollment
Limited to 30
HASS
A
Preference Given To
BSA, BSAD, A Minor, D Minor
Can Be Repeated for Credit
No