Provides an introduction to visual communication, emphasizing the development of a visual and verbal vocabulary through the lens of typography. Presents the fundamentals of shape, composition, visual hierarchy, word/image relationships, and type systems as building blocks for communicating with clarity, emotion, and meaning. Students develop their ability to analyze, discuss, and critique both their work and the work of the designed world, with an emphasis on type as a visual and conceptual medium.

Also open to undergraduates.

This design studio and seminar is about the creative opportunities that emerge in copying, reproducing, and translating content—specifically in the slipped and botched, the illicit and bootlegged, and the overly literal and "bad" translations. Using theoretical frameworks in linguistic translation and media theory, we will examine the ways in which these “bad” translations can serve as both a prompt and a method for creative inquiry.

We will start first by examining the histories of typographic printing and the technological precedents for fixing forms of language. Students will work with and expand on various “translation” machines, such as the printing press, and consider the various ways through which we copy, reproduce, and translate texts and images. Students can expect to test these methods, build their own fonts, and learn how to bind their own books. These will be supplemented by readings, guest lectures, and site visits. By the end of the term, each student will have developed a project and accompanying printed and bound publication, grounded in a specific translation topic of their choosing.

This workshop explores movable architectural strategies to reduce indoor overheating and improve energy efficiency in response to extreme future climates with large daily temperature swings. Investigated strategies could examine movable and adjustable architectural features that selectively promote or limit heat exchange between the building and its occupants, its surroundings (including the night sky), or other passive heat sinks--in response to daily and seasonal cycles.

Students will analyze precedents across two scales: vernacular and low-cost solutions (to understand principles and constraints) and high-tech solutions (to explore material possibilities and architectural control strategies). The class will draw inspiration from researchers in related fields. Students will also explore materials and technologies not typically used in buildings, such as geotextiles, phase-change materials, automated wall panels, or motorized zippers.

This workshop is related to a studio to be offered starting in Fall 2027. Students in this course may also optionally take the fall studio, but neither course is required for the other.

4.608 Grad | 4.609 UG

Examination of historical method in art, design, and/or architecture, focusing on periods and problems determined by the research interest of the faculty member leading the seminar. Emphasizes critical reading and viewing and direct tutorial guidance. Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

4.432 UG | 4.433 Graduate

Given their outsized contribution to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and their critical role in sheltering occupants from climate extremes, buildings are a key lever for both climate mitigation and adaptation. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, many buildings will become increasingly unable to protect human health and economic well-being, contributing to an estimated 14.5 million premature deaths and US$12.5 trillion in economic losses by 2050. Yet, despite these mounting risks, we have surprisingly limited climate-actionable information about individual buildings worldwide. In this course, climate-actionable information encompasses three key dimensions: (1) a building’s ability to protect occupants' health during extreme heat waves and cold spells; (2) its potential for retrofits that reduce operational carbon emissions and energy costs; and (3) its capacity to support the long-term economic security and well-being of owners and occupants.

This hands-on, interdisciplinary course equips students with the tools to generate and explore climate analytics for thousands of existing and proposed buildings across multiple cities and regions. Students will use this evidence to formulate long-term health, environmental, and economic policy goals and collaborate with local policymakers to develop realistic implementation strategies. Working in small teams, students will focus on selected case study regions, drawing on established partnerships with local stakeholders and existing urban datasets to translate building-scale analysis into actionable climate policies.

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version.

Examines the complex development of cities through history by tracing a diachronic accumulation of forms and spaces in specific cities, and showing how significant ideas were made manifest across distinct geographies and cultures. Emphasizes how economic, spiritual, political, geographic and technological forces have simultaneously shaped and, in turn, been influenced by the city.

Part of the "Common Ground for Computing Education" initiative.

This is a pilot common ground class that bridges computer science, mathematics, and architecture by exploring computational approaches to design and manufacturing. The course will introduce students to how algorithms and computational methods solve real-world fabrication challenges in architecture and design practice. Each session will combine theoretical foundations with hands-on exploration of computational and fabrication methods.

Class themes include:
•    Overview of modern computational design and fabrication practices
•    Introduction to computational design workflows in design and architecture
•    Scanning and surface reconstruction
•    Geometric representations for curves, surfaces, and volumes
•    (Discrete) differential geometry for modeling and analyzing shapes
•    Freeform surface rationalization and shape segmentation
•    Form-finding for structures and materials
•    Parametric and procedural modeling
•    Design optimization with physical constraints
•    Digital fabrication processes overview
•    Robotic fabrication and motion planning at architectural scale
•    Generative AI for design and fabrication

Examines the contemporary challenges and history of city planning on three continents - Africa, Asia, and South America. Students study a number of city plans, from the 'informal' settlements of Delhi and Nairobi, the modernist master plans of Brasilia and Baghdad, to climate action plans in various cities. Explores the relationship between dwelling and building in the design of cities, in conjunction with the environmental, social, political, and intellectual environments at the time of their planning. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students. MArch students can register for 9 credits.

Focuses on innovative propositions for shaping the cities of tomorrow, responding to emerging trends, technologies, and ecological imperatives. Students take part in "what-if?" scenarios to tackle real-world challenges. Through collaborative, project-based learning in small teams, students are mentored by researchers from the City Science group. Projects focus on the application of these ideas to case study cities and may include travel. Invited guests from academia and industry participate. Repeatable for credit with permission of instructor.

Info session: October date TBD
Applications due: Wed, Nov. 19 (link TBD)
Participating students notified: Wed, Nov. 26

15 units Spring Workshop + 6 units IAP  (total: 21 units); Required to do IAP travel to New Orleans from January 20-30, 2027.

Introduces a range of practical approaches involved in evaluating and planning sites within the context of natural and cultural systems. Develops the knowledge and skills to analyze and plan a site for development through exercises and an urban design project. Topics include land inventory, urban form, spatial organization of uses, parcelization, design of roadways, grading, utility systems, off-site impacts, and landscape strategies.