Also open to undergraduates.

This course is the first of a series of workshops looking into material practices that see architecture as an assemblage of parts to sponsor life’s activities. While this course will focus heavily on diy material cultures, our subjects of study will range from the living structures of Ken Isaacs to the ready to assemble online warehouse kits to the itinerant designs of Sam Chermayeff to community-based barn raising to temporary vendor kiosks and many other parts-based and nomadic architectural references. We will study each of their technical particularities, through the tools and documents that aid these building cultures: manuals, catalogs, inventories and drop down menus, while also interrogating the larger themes they bring to focus: products, collectivity, material circulation, temporality and activity.

In this first edition, the course will specifically focus on architectural assemblages that sponsor cultural production and enjoyment. We will be looking at pop up raves, outdoor movie rigs, festival rental gear, speaker systems and performance infrastructures.

We will be hearing from our friends at QNCC (Queer Nightlife Community Center) in Brooklyn and we will go on a daytrip to visit the Sonic Warehouse at Dartmouth College where we will attend a small digital sound production workshop.

Master/Piece Wordshop is an exploration of 3 pioneering and creative practices that are considered influential in contemporary architecture, and are crucial in shaping the landscape of architectural thinking today. The discussion will revolve around some key works of these practices and the processes and thinking methods that have shaped their projects. We will then study the impact of these chains of thought and focus on constructive ideas that will be discussed with the masters who will join the class to culminate the analysis and conversation.

Research and project activities, which cover the range represented by the various research interests and projects in the Department.

Research and project activities, which cover the range represented by the various research interests and projects in the department. Students who wish a letter grade option for their work must register for 4.URG.

Research and project activities, which cover the range represented by the various research interests and projects in the department. Students who wish a letter grade option for their work must register for 4.URG.

Research and project activities, which cover the range represented by the various research interests and projects in the Department.

Introduces critical theories and contemporary practices in the field of urbanism that challenge its paradigms and advance its future. Includes theoretical linkages between ideas about the cultures of urbanization, social and political processes of development, environmental tradeoffs of city making, and the potential of design disciplines to intervene to change the future of built forms. Events and lecture series co-organized by faculty and doctoral students further engage and inform research.

Design+ is a first-year undergraduate advising seminar made up of approximately 30 first-year undergraduate students, 4 faculty advisors, and 4 or more undergraduate associate advisors.

The academic program is flexible to account for diverse student interests within the field of design, and students work with advisors to select a mix of academic and experiential opportunities.

Design+ assists incoming first-year students in their exploration of possibilities in design across MIT. 

Design+ includes a dedicated study space, kitchen, lounge, and a variety of maker spaces which offer Design+ students a second campus home for making and braking.

Design+ introduces first year undergraduate students to opportunities 
Design+ around design such as internships, international travel, and 
Design+ UROPs with some of the most exciting design labs at MIT

For registration and other administrative questions contact The Office of the First Year.

Note: the Architecture Design section will meet with subject 4.130 for the Fall 2026 term

• Architecture design section taught by Brandon Clifford
• Urbanism section taught by Miho Mazereeuw

Students select thesis topic, define method of approach, and prepare thesis proposal for SMArchS degree. Faculty supervision on an individual or group basis. Intended for SMArchS program students (Computation students register for 4.588 instead)  prior to registration for 4.THG.

8/21/26 - schedule change from W 2-5 to W 2-5:30; new room: W41-1101

Critical introduction to key contemporary positions in urbanism to the ends of researching, representing, and designing territories that respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Provides an overview of contemporary urban issues, situates them in relation to a genealogy of urban precedents, and constructs a theoretical framework that engages the allied fields of architecture, landscape architecture, political ecology, geography, territorial planning, and environmental humanities. Comprised of three sections, first section articulates a framework on the urban as both process and form, shifting the emphasis from city to territory. Second section engages a series of related urban debates, such as density/sprawl, growth/shrinkage, and codes/exception. Third section calls upon urban agency in the age of environment through the object of infrastructures of trash, water, oil, and food.

MIT Certificate-Protected Syllabus