Course Descriptions

The following courses are subject to change; certain courses are offered in alternate years or are temporarily suspended when the instructor is on leave or for other reasons. 500 level elective courses are open to students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The Course Offering Directory is available on-line at www.virginia.edu/cod.

Common Course

BACK TO TOP

SARC 600 - (3) (Y)
The Common Course
The Common course analyzes the existing and potential contributions of our four disciplines to the process of contemporary urbanization. The goal is to introduce all incoming graduate students to both the range of distinct perspectives and common threads represented in the School with respect to the land, history, environmental ethics and the role of design. Through lectures and workshops, students develop skills in representation, research and communication with an understanding of the methodologies of each discipline. All Master’s students in programs two years or longer must take this course.

Architectural History

BACK TO TOP

AR H 555 - (S) (3)
Field Methods in Historic Preservation
This course is dedicated to training students to "read" and record the material fabric of historic buildings. Lectures on historic materials area followed by field experience recording in descriptions, photographs and measured drawings.

AR H 570 - (2-3) (IR)
Selected Topics in Architectural History
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Special topics pursued in a colloquium.

AR H 585 - (3) (Y)
Historical Archaeology
Studies the theory, problems, and techniques of the archaeology of the American colonial past on the Atlantic seaboard. Field trips.

AR H 590 - (3) (Y)
Historic Preservation Theory and Practice
Surveys the history of preservation, focusing on the changing nature of its ideals and practice. Preservation is discussed in the context of cultural history and the changing relationship between existing buildings and landscapes, and attitudes toward history, memory, and invented tradition.

AR H 592 - (3) (Y)
Community History Workshop
An in-depth historical analysis of the architecture, urban form, and planning of a selected community. Focuses on the historical significance of the built landscape as an element in, and an expression of, the social and cultural life of the community.

AR H 594 - (3) (Y)
Community Public History Seminar
Explores a variety of approaches to conveying the architectural and cultural history of a community to a diverse public constituency. Builds upon AR H 592 (Community History Workshop). Also analyzes the preservation implications of the work undertaken in collaboration with students in ARCH 881 (Community Preservation Studio).

AR H 599 - (3) (SI)
Independent Studies in Architectural History
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students. Departmental approval of the topic is required.

AR H 703 - (3) (Y)
History of Modern Architecture
A survey of architecture (and allied arts including urban form and landscape architecture) from c.1800 to the present, emphasizing the development of the modern movement.

AR H 721 - (3) (O)
Later Medieval Architecture
The architecture of Western Europe from c. 1140 and 1500.

AR H 722 - (3) (Y)
History of Medieval Architecture
Examines the architecture of Medieval Western Europe, emphasizing the period from 1000-1400. Includes the iconography, function, structure and style of buildings, and the use of contemporary texts.

AR H 723 - (3) (O)
Early Medieval Architecture
The architecture of Western Europe from c. 800-1150.

AR H 731 - (3) (Y)
Italian Renaissance Architecture, 1400-1550
The development of classicism in Italy between 1400 and 1550, including urban form and landscape.

AR H 732 - (3) (Y)
Italian Architecture, 1550-1750
Developments in classicism in Italy between 1550 and the advent of neoclassicism, including urban form and landscape.

AR H 733 - (3) (Y)
European Classical Architecture Outside Italy, 1400-1750
The development of classicism primarily in France, England, and Germany between 1400 and 1750 including discussion of cities and landscape design.

AR H 751 - (3) (Y)
Nineteenth-Century American Architecture
The development of architecture from Thomas Jefferson to Frank Lloyd Wright, along with consideration of issues in housing, landscape design, city planning, and influences from Europe.

AR H 761 - (3) (Y)
East-West Architecture
A study of cultural exchanges and interactions in architecture between East and West. Major events and master architects like F.L. Wright and L. Kahn who contributed to the exchanges are discussed. The forms and meaning of East-West architecture are compared.

AR H 762 - (3) (Y)
Architecture of East Asia
A survey and introduction of traditional architecture and allied arts in China, Japan and Korea. Study of the main features and major monuments of East Asian architecture and landscape architecture.

AR H 765 - (3) (Y)
World Buddhist Architecture
The history of Buddhist architecture and allied arts in the Buddhist world which includes East, South, and Southeast Asia. Lecture starts from the Indian stupas and ends in Japanese Zen gardens.

AR H 767 - (3) (O)
Modern Japanese Architecture
The history of architecture in modern Japan from the Meji period to the present. Focus on post-WW II development. Influential architects, like Tange, Kikutake, Maki, Isozaki, Kurokawa, and Ando are discussed along with urban issues.

AR H 771 - (3) (Y)
Cities in History
This lecture course introduces the history of cities around the world, from the beginnings of cities to the present, locating urban forms in their social, cultural, political and symbolic contexts.

AR H 781 - (3) (Y)
Early American Architecture
A survey of American architecture from the first European contact to 1800 including Jefferson, urban form and landscape design.

AR H 782 - (3) (Y)
Later American Architecture
A survey of American architecture from 1800 to present including landscape and urban design.

AR H 783 - (3) (Y)
Nineteenth-Century American Architecture
A survey of American architecture from 1776 to 1914, or from Thomas Jefferson to Frank Lloyd Wright. Treatment includes Landscape architecture and decorative arts.

AR H 784 - (3) (Y)
Twentieth-Century American Architecture
A survey of American architecture emphasizing the development of modernism.

AR H 800 - (3) (Y)
Methods in Architectural History
Required for candidates for the degree of Master of Architectural History. An investigation of the nature of architectural history, materials, methods, and writings.

AR H 870 - (3) (F)
Venice
The seminar will present a concise introduction to the city of Venice, seen through the lens of its architecture, painting, sculpture and landscape. Emphasis will be on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which saw the most dramatic transformation of the urban fabric; this transformation will be considered in relation to style, materials, ritual, geography, economics and ideology.

AR H 873 - (3-4) (F)
Venice Research Seminar
Study of selected topics related to coursework in Venice.

AR H 920, 921 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Medieval Architecture
Special research topics pursued in a seminar. Past topics have discussed Gothic/non-Gothic, Norman, and Monastic architecture.

AR H 930, 931 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Renaissance Architecture
Seminar discussion of special research topics. Past topics have discussed anthropomorphism in Renaissance and Baroque architecture; Alberti’s De re Aedificatoria; Renaissance and Baroque buildings in their larger settings; the Rome of Julius II; Renaissance and Baroque classification of Buildings; Renaissance Space; Brunelleschi and Alberti; Renaissance urbanism; Rome and the Renaissance; and the Renaissance palace.

AR H 940 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Baroque Architecture
Special topical treatment of architecture and related arts from 1600-1750.

AR H 950, 951, 952 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in Modern Architecture
Special research topics pursued in a seminar. Past sessions have discussed 19th-century Publications on the House; Le Corbusier; What was Modern?; High Victorian Design; 19th-Century European Architecture; 19th-Century Theory; Art Nouveau.

AR H 960, 961, 962 - (3) (IR)
Seminar in Non-Western Architecture
Special research topics pursued in a seminar. Past sessions have discussed East Asian Cities and the Tao of architecture.

AR H 978, 979 - (3) (SI)
Independent Studies in Architectural History
Advanced work on independent research topics by individual students. Departmental approval of the topic is required.

AR H 980, 981, 982, 983, 984, 985, 986, 988, 989 - (3) (Y)
Seminar in American Architecture
Special research topics pursued in a seminar. Past sessions have discussed the American Renaissance; Frank Lloyd Wright, Architecture of the Arts and Crafts; Jefferson’s architectural world; Skyscrapers; and Material Culture, Machine Age and Colonial Revival.

AR H 997 - (3-6) (S)
Non-Topical Research
For doctoral dissertation, taken before a dissertation director has been selected.

AR H 999 - (3-6) (S)
Non-Topical Research
For doctoral dissertation, taken under the supervision of a dissertation director.

Architecture

BACK TO TOP

ARCH 501, 502 - (3) (SS)
Introduction to Architectural Design
Introduction to analysis, representation, and design of buildings, cities and landscapes.

ARCH 505 - (2) (SS)
Architectural Graphics
Descriptive geometry, perspective, and presentation techniques used in architecture. Required for Path A graduate students.

ARCH 511 - (3) (Y)
Design Approaches to Existing Sites
Explores various approaches by designers to the contexts of their work. Examines buildings, urban infrastructure, and landscape interventions; includes lectures, discussions, and presentations by visitors and students.

ARCH 516- (3) (Y)
Contemporary Architectural Theory
Readings and lectures covering 1966 to the present, and tracing the development of postmodernism, post-structuralism, and other current movements in architecture. Reference is made to other disciplines, the influence of criticism, the role of the media, and distinctions between theory, criticism, and style.

ARCH 518 - (3) (Y)
Ecology/Technology: Theories and Practices of Nature and Design
This course proposes two parallel investigations. First, the course places current debates and imperatives about design and the natural environment in an historical and theoretical context. Secondly, operating in parallel with historical and theoretical investigation, the course involves a series of experiments in visual representation. This draws on work in cinema, digital modeling and fabrication, and traditions of scientific and statistical analysis to explore the way in which our understanding of natural and manmade systems is controlled by the way in which we can envision their existence as time-based phenomena.

ARCH 521 - (3) (Y)
Advanced Architectural Detailing
An exploration of the life of details in building. Examines the ways in which technical decisions are made, and focuses on details and constructions within particular regional contexts.

ARCH 528 - (3) (Y)
Lighting Design
Development of knowledge and skills in lighting design through the study of exemplary buildings, design exercises, case studies, and analyses of lighting conditions. Considers quantitative and qualitative lighting design issues and their synthesis through design.

ARCH 529 - (3) (Y)
Constructed Weather
Focuses on the wild energies of sun, wind, water and earth. Students learn to perceive and to represent these "invisible" energies, and then to invent the means through which architecture can be conceived in concert with them.

ARCH 534 - (3) (Y)
Construction Practice Management
Provides future architects, engineers, lawyers, and developers with an overall understanding of the construction process for commercial, industrial and institutional projects. Follows the history of a typical commercial, industrial, or institutional project from selection of architect to final completion of the construction. Topics include design cost control, cost estimating, bidding procedures, bonds and insurance, contracts and sub-contracts, progress scheduling, fiscal controls, payment requests, submittals, change orders, inspections, overall project administration, and continuing architect-owner-contractor relationships. Lectures and related field trips.

ARCH 538 - (3) (Y)
Construction and Modernism
A discussion of the role of construction in design, focusing on industrialization and its impact on architecture in this century. Emphasizes the ideals and reality of mass production and the ways in which it has and does affect architectural form, both in a direct constructional way and in a conceptual way.

ARCH 541, 542 - (3) (Y)
Computer Aided Architectural Design
Explores design worlds that are made accessible through computer-based media. Lectures provide a theoretical framework for computer-aided design, describe current methods, and speculate on advanced methods. Workshop exercises focus on computer-based 3-D geometrical modeling, including photo-realistic and abstract methods of rendering, materials simulation, texture mapping, reflection mapping, image processing, color-table manipulation, photomontage, lighting, animation, and combined media applications.

ARCH 544 - (2) (SS)
Computer Graphics and Design Application
Application of geometrical modeling to design problem-solving using an array of solid modeling, geometrical modeling, rendering, and image processing tools.

ARCH 545 - (3) (Y)
Digital Moviemaking and Animation
Prerequisite: ARCH 541/542 or 544, or instructor permission.
Explores the simulation of architecture, urban design, and environmental design through movie making. Examines parallels between the treatment of motion in movies and the treatment of motion in design. These parallels include how moviemakers and designers may treat the space-time continuum, three dimensional depth, movement, change over time, lighting, and montage. Further examines movie making as a medium for design exploration, for architectural aesthetic expression, and for undertaking a critical analysis of design.

ARCH 548 - (3) (Y)
Computables of Architectural Design
Explores the quantitative basis and geometrical order of forms occurring in nature and architecture. Covers instructions, exercises, and examples of coding in a programming language during the first two thirds of the term. Students develop a case study in design methods that extends a CAD system as the basis for a computational project in the last third of the term. Programming knowledge is not assumed; class pace is individually adapted for students with previous experience.

ARCH 551 - (3) (Y)
Photography and Digital Media
This course seeks to give students the ability to conceive and create digital photographic imagery with control and sophistication. Topics include fundamentals of photography, color theory, digital control of visual qualities, and methods of image montage for both still images and short animations. Methods include production and presentation for both printed hard copy and for the world wide web.

ARCH 552 - (3) (Y)
Future Cities
Investigates topics in the digital analysis and representation of the modern metropolis. Explores the shift in architecture and urbanism from classical notions of universal order to practices informed by dynamic models of structure, form, and movement.

ARCH 554 - (3) (Y)
Architectural Drawing and Sketching
Seeks to develop an increased desire for architectural exploration and discovery by providing instruction in architectural graphic notation, analytical drawing, and free hand sketching. Focuses on the ability of architectural drawing conventions and techniques to expand our understanding of natural and built form, in context.

ARCH 559 - (3) (Y)
Diagram and Detail
A seminar that focuses on the development of inventive means of representing, through the diagram, the explicit and implicit relationships between idea and form at all levels: from city to material assembly.

ARCH 563 - (3) (Y)
Design of Cities
Cities are physical artifacts that are experienced psychologically and socially. This course investigates the theories surrounding these processes to reach an understanding of humanistic urban design intentions. Experiential realities are explored through case studies, readings, and mapping exercises.

ARCH 567 - (3) (Y)
Theories and Practices of Modern American Urbanism
Explores the design and transformation of the American urban landscape. Encourages a broad understanding of the many forces that determined the shape and form of our cities and towns, and helps students to develop more detailed and critical models of urban analysis.

ARCH 582 - (3) (S)
Architectural Crafts
Applies design process and theory to the design and construction of furniture. Investigates jointing, finishing, and construction techniques. Experience with tools is not required.

ARCH 601, 602 - (6) (Y)
Architectural Design
Introductory design problems in architecture for Path A students. Emphasizes developing a systemic approach to design on the land and in the city through experience with a constructional kit of parts and an awareness of the role of architectural theory and history in the design process. The faculty reviews all work in ARCH 601-602 to determine the progress and potential of each student.

ARCH 612 - (3) (Y)
Architectural Theory
Investigates the role that ideas play in the conception, making, and interpretation of buildings and cities, and assists students in clarifying their own values and intentions as designers. Lectures cover a broad range of topics, with special emphasis placed on contemporary issues.

ARCH 614 - (3) (Y)
Architectural Analysis: Key Buildings of Modernism
Investigates the link between ideas and forms of significant buildings in the canon of modern architecture.

ARCH 623- (3) (Y)
Building and Climate
This course examines the role of design in mediating between dynamic climatic forces such as wind, energy and light and the human response to the environment. Weaving discussions of fundamental principles with case studies and illustrative exercises, the course focuses on the design of the boundary between the internal and external environments.

ARCH 624 - (4) (Y)
Introduction to Structural Design
Prerequisite: College-level physics.
A first course in structures for undergraduate or graduate students with degrees in other disciplines. Develops analytic and critical skills through both mathematical and visual investigation of structures. Topics include static; mechanics of materials; computer-based structural analysis; and the design and behavior of basic structural elements and systems.

ARCH 626 - (3) (Y)
Construction and Intention
Explores and evaluates the properties of basic building materials and construction assemblies. Introduces building construction from a variety of viewpoints, with emphasis on ecological thinking in architectural decision-making. Students will analyze and critique materials and construction systems, and how they correspond to aesthetic, technical, financial, and ethical issues.

ARCH 701 - (6) (Y)
Architectural Design
Intermediate-level design problems, emphasizing analysis and synthesis of complex contextual, cultural, and constructional issues.

ARCH 702 - (6) (S)
Architectural Design - Comprehensive Studio
Intermediate-level design problems, emphasizing structure, enclosure, life safety and building systems.

ARCH 713 - (3) (SI)
Selected Topics in Preservation
Lecture and seminar as arranged.

ARCH 721 - (3) (Y)
Structural Design for Dynamic Loads
Examines wind and earthquake loads in structural design, reviewing the vocabulary of lateral resisting systems, and the basic dynamic theories that underlie building code requirements. Explores recent developments in research and practice. Student projects include reviewing and presenting literature on lateral load research and design.

ARCH 723 - (4) (Y)
Design Development
Design Development is run as a laboratory design session twice a week for two hours. Formal and experiential design intentions are balanced with principal issues of comfort, life safety, structural stability, etc. in the resolution of a constrained design problem. The systems that shape the building are addressed at the scale of the urban block down to constructions at the scale of the hand but are made evident primarily at the scale of the building and the scale of the room.

ARCH 725 - (4) (Y)
Environmental Systems
Study of the fundamental principles applied to the design of thermal and luminous environments as well as plumbing/drainage and electrical systems. A studio project is selected for additional analysis and design development focusing on the energy-conscious building envelope, mechanical systems selection, natural and artificial lighting schemes, and the building services layout.

ARCH 782 - (3) (SS)
Independent Study
Prerequisite: Permission of the chair.

ARCH 801, 802 - (6) (Y)
Architectural Design Option Studio
Design studies of selected architectural problems through extensive site analysis and strategic constructional rigor.

ARCH 807, 808- (6) (Y)
Design Research Studio
Prerequisite: ARCH 897 and permission of the chair.

ARCH 809 - (6) (Y)
Venice Studio
Explores urban issues in the city of Venice. Part of Venice Program.

ARCH 821 - (3) (Y)
Design Research Seminar
Prerequisite: Permission of the chair.

ARCH 848 - (3) (Y)
Professional Practice
Introduces the primary issues involved in the practice of architecture: professional ethics, business practices, project process and management, personnel management, management of the process of producing a building, and the methods available to do so.

ARCH 870 - (3) (F)
Venice Courses
The seminar will present a concise introduction to the city of Venice, seen through the lens of its architecture, painting, sculpture and landscape. Emphasis will be on the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which saw the most dramatic transformation of the urban fabric; this transformation will be considered in relation to style, materials, ritual, geography, economics and ideology. Part of Venice Program.

ARCH 873 - (3-4) (F)
Venice Research Seminar
Study of selected topics related to coursework in Venice. Part of Venice Program.

ARCH 875 - (3) (F)
Venetian Cities Landscape
This course explores the reciprocity between human constructs and the land on which they sit and from which they derive. It is structured as an analytic workshop exploring these relationships at three scales. The three scales of study include the forms of land and water structuring the Venetian landscape, the forms of the cities of the Veneto, and urban artifacts in the form of significant building and landscapes. Part of Venice Program.

ARCH 880 - (3) (IR)
Teaching Experience
Prerequisite: Permission of the chair.

ARCH 881 - (6) (S)
Community Preservation Studio
This interdisciplinary architecture and landscape architecture studio works on new and adaptive re-use design problems in a community context. Analysis of the area’s form and the narratives of its historic significance, developed in AR H 592, provide the practical and theoretical point of departure for studio projects. Collaborative work is undertaken with students in AR H 594 (Community Planning and Public History Seminar).

ARCH 886 - (6) (S)
Urbanism Design Studio
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Landscape Architecture

BACK TO TOP

L AR 501, 502 - (3) (SS)
Introduction to Landscape Design I & II
Prerequisite: Admission to graduate degree program in landscape architecture.
Introduces the fundamentals of design to students without professional design degrees in architecture or landscape architecture.

L AR 503 - (2) (SS)
Landscape Drawing and Representation
Explores techniques of drawing, emphasizing free-hand sketching. Required of students entering the graduate landscape architecture program.

L AR 512 - (3) (Y)
Landscape Architectural History
Examines landscape architecture as an expression of cultural values. Rather than attempt a broad survey of numerous works of a period, the lectures concentrate on a few prototypical examples. Special attention is given to ancient Egypt, 16th-century Italy, 17th-century France, 17th-century Japan, 18th-century Britain, and 17th- to 20th-century America. The comparative case study approach is complemented by primary and secondary source readings.

L AR 513 - (3) (Y)
History of American Landscape Architecture
Studies the development of American landscape architecture from the seventeenth century to the present, emphasizing seminal figures–Jefferson, Downing, Olmsted, Platt, Farrand, Jensen, and selected contemporary designers.

L AR 514 - (3) (Y)
Theories of Modern Landscape
Prerequisite: L AR 512 or instructor permission.
Examines modern built landscapes as cultural products with their own materials, codes, and concerns. Underscores landscape architecture theory’s interlocking relationship with changing societal constructions of nature, environmentalism, and the city. Focuses on exemplary built works of landscape architecture and their impact on, and debt to, specific design treatises or manifestos in light of broader cultural and theoretical practices.

L AR 520 - (3) (Y)
Healing Landscapes
Investigates various topics centered on the general theme of designed landscapes as a means of "healing" human beings. Such healing is understood in a broad sense to encompass both physical and mental infirmities. Includes a historical overview of various healing landscapes, an examination of healing practices in various cultures, and field trips to various hospitals, hospices, and out-patient facilities in the Charlottesville area.

L AR 521 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Contemporary Landscape Theory
Seminar that explores topics in contemporary landscape theory and practice through directed readings and seminar discussions. Subjects will vary from year to year, and may include design drawing and representation, gender and nature, constructs of nature (ecology, sustainability, chaos), or works of specific designers and regions.

L AR 522 - (3) (Y)
Race, Space and Culture
Offers a critical look at built environments and other conceptions of space in relation to racial and other cultural identities. Melding content and methods from cultural studies and from architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and historic preservation, sessions are centered around weekly discussions of readings, videos, drawings and photographs, and field-trips. The course changes forever the way students understand ordinary spaces."

L AR 523 - (3) (IR)
Historic Landscape Preservation
Includes readings and discussions on contemporary theory and practices for preserving historic landscapes. Evaluation of these theories and practices through a close review of a few case studies.

L AR 524 - (3) (E)
Reading the Black College Campus
Seminar that focuses on how historically black college campuses (HBCUs) encode the struggle over black education in America at the turn of the 20th century. Explores built environments as arenas of multi-cultural contests and negotiations. Introduces methods and concepts to interrogate the still predominant paradigm of interpreting built environments art-historically. Seminar readings and field trips.

L AR 525 - (3) (Y)
Urban Topographies
Seminar that explores the constructed nature of the contemporary urban landscape from the starting point of the ground. A series of landscapes that exemplify the ambiguous quality of urban ground–as both floor and roof, "terra firma" and made land–will be investigated through lectures, readings, and discussions.

L AR 526 - (3) (Y)
D.I.R.T. Seminar: Doing Industrial Research Together
Readings, lectures, and class discussions that focus on the evolving definition and reclamation technologies of the post-industrial landscape. Includes field work/visits to a variety of brownfield and industrial sites.

L AR 527 - (3) (E)
Race and American Places
Seminar that explores the ways in which multicultural struggle-particularly racial struggle- is manifested spatially in the built environments of America. Examines this through readings in cultural theory and design literature, as well as through field trips. Relates the concepts introduced in readings to the business of understanding how identity politics influences the way we design and use places around us.

L AR 528 - (3) (Y)
Landform and Urban Form in the Veneto
A historical and ecological overview of the towns and countryside of the Veneto in Northern Italy. Required for all graduate students in the Option Study in Venice.

L AR 533 - (3) (Y)
Sites and Systems
Introduces vocabulary and tools for reading, mapping, and analyzing sites. Emphasis on the watershed as an ecosystem within which sites and systems can be understood and manipulated. Explores the implications of site and systems analysis for shaping landform through grading terraces, buildings, and roads. Issues are examined through the study of existing site design precedents as well as through short mapping and design exercises. Several site visits and field trips.

L AR 534 - (4) (Y)
Earthwork
Prerequisite: L AR 533 or instructor permission.
Applies concepts and principles of earthwork, land manipulation, grading, and drainage in short exercises. Introduces digital applications in a combined lecture and workshop format.

L AR 537 - (4) (Y)
Plants and Environment I
Studies plant types and characteristics in natural and designed environments. Emphasizes field identification, ecological associations and, plant shape and form.

L AR 538 - (4) (Y)
Plants and Environment II
Prerequisite: L AR 537.
Continued study of plant types and characteristics in natural and designed environments. Emphasizes field identification, ecological associations, and plant shape and form.

L AR 543 - (3) (Y)
Landscape Visualization & 3-D Modeling
Prerequisite: ARCH 541 or 542.
Investigates advanced computer-based techniques for landscape visualization, including 3-D geometric modeling, texture mapping and animation. A series of lectures, computer-based workshop exercises and readings of increasing sophistication focus on internal and external representations of terrain elements: landform, vegetation, water, meteorological and atmospheric effects. Photo-realistic and abstract strategies are explored to augment design investigation and presentation.

L AR 544 - (2) (SS)
Computer Graphics and Design Application
Application of landscape imaging and geometric modeling to design, using an array of solid modeling, geometric modeling, and image processing tools.

L AR 546 - (3) (IR)
Digital Media and Design Applications
Prerequisite: L AR 544 and ARCH 541; or instructor permission.
The study of computing as an analytic and design tool, stressing 3D modeling techniques and landscape applications.

L AR 601 - (6) (Y)
Landscape Architecture Design I
Prerequisite: L AR 501, 502.
A series of analysis, research, and introductory design projects that focus on understanding fundamental design compositional principles and developing a hand and digital drawing-based approach to exploring design problems. Emphasizes the roles of history and theory in contemporary landscape design with special emphasis on site interpretation and site structure.

L AR 602 - (6) (Y)
Landscape Architecture Design II
Prerequisite: L AR 601.
Continued study in the applications of fundamental design principles with special emphasis on the relationship of architecture and landscape. Design proposals are explored in multiple media–drawing, model and digital media.

L AR 701 - (6) (Y)
Landscape Architecture Design III
Prerequisite: L AR 601, 602.
Focuses on the public landscape in the context of the town, city, or suburban edge.

L AR 702 - (6) (Y)
Landscape Architecture Design IV
Prerequisite: L AR 601, 602, 701.
Explores contemporary urban public space addressing a range of spatial types, scales and sites, ranging from the urban core to infrastructure landscapes to brownfield sites.

L AR 703 - (3) (IR)
Advanced Landscape Drawing and Representation
Prerequisite: L AR 601, 602, 701.
Explores ways of representing, analyzing and designing the landscape through a variety of media to include drawing, collage, image processing, model making and digital modeling.

L AR 731 - (2) (Y)
Planted Form
Prerequisite: L AR 537 and 538, or instructor permission.
Develops a design vocabulary specific to individual plant architecture and collective planted form studying the structure and dynamics of native plant communities, vernacular planting systems and design precedents. Design intention and selection of plants applied through detailed plant palettes. Offered first half of semester.

L AR 732 - (2) (Y)
Regenerative Technologies
Prerequisite: L AR 736.
Introduces the design potential of remediation technologies ranging from conventional engineering to emerging bioremediation systems. Review of contaminants’ impact on soil and water, applying remediation strategies integrated with site design. Offered first half of semester.

L AR 733 - (2) (Y)
Site Assembly I
Introduces landscape construction materials and fundamental methods for their assembly, focusing on the horizontal and vertical surface-walls and pavements. Includes case study analysis of built works to explore the expressive design potential of materials, technical concerns for performance and durability, and ethical concerns for sustainability. Meets the first half of the semester.

L AR 734 - (2) (Y)
Site Assembly II
Prerequisite: L AR 733, 735, or instructor permission.
Introduces landscape construction materials and fundamental methods for their assembly, focusing on small structures. Includes case study analysis of built works to explore the expressive design potential of materials, technical concerns for performance and durability, and ethical concerns for sustainability. Meets the second half of the semester.

L AR 735 - (2) (Y)
Site Work I
Prerequisite: L AR 534.
Introduces ecological and engineering principles for the design of landscape infrastructure, including storm water management and road design. Combined lecture and workshop format. Meets the last half of the semester.

L AR 736 - (2) (Y)
Site Work II
Prerequisite: L AR 535.
Continued study of landscape infrastructure design. Combined lecture and workshop format. Meets the first half of the semester.

L AR 801 - (6) (Y)
Landscape Architecture Design V
Prerequisite: L AR 701, 702; or graduate studios in architecture.
Applies landscape architecture theory, principles, and methods to problems of urban, rural, or suburban environments and communities.

L AR 802 - (6) (Y)
Landscape Architecture Design VI
Prerequisite: L AR 701, 702, 801; or graduate studios in architecture.
May be pursued in one of three ways: (1) independent studio or study under the supervision of a faculty advisor; (2) participation in an advanced collaborative studio taught by department faculty; or (3) participation in a collaborative studio in architecture. Students pursuing an independent studio project must complete L AR 821 in the fall and receive approval of their proposal from the Landscape Architecture faculty.

L AR 821 - (3) (Y)
Design Research Seminar
Introduces research techniques and methodologies. Required for students taking the spring semester independent studio project.

L AR 832 - (4) (Y)
Contract Documents and Professional Practice
Prerequisite: L AR 736.
Capstone course applying ecological and engineering techniques to the detailing and implementation of a small project, developed into a set of contract documents (drawings and specifications). Concurrent introduction to methods and models of design practice administration: proposal, contracts, project management, collaboration and licensure.

L AR 851 - (1-4) (Y)
Special Study in Landscape Architecture
Independent research on topics selected by individual students in consultation with a faculty advisor.

L AR 852 - (3) (Y)
Advanced Independent Research
Advanced independent research on topics selected by individual students in consultation with a faculty advisor

L AR 880 - (3) (Y)
Teaching Experience
Involves serving as a teaching assistant for a course, with teaching assignments coordinated by the chair.

L AR 873 - (3-4) (F)
Venice Research Seminar
Study of selected topics related to coursework in Venice.

Urban and Environmental Planning

BACK TO TOP

PLAN 502 - (4) (S)
Urban Design
Explores methods of urban design analysis, stressing observational and representational methods. Emphasizes relationships among public and private buildings, spaces, and transportation corridors in commercial centers. Cross-listed with PLAN 202.

PLAN 508 - (1) (Y)
Mini-Courses
A series of one-credit short courses from which students can select topics such as "basic graphics", "CDBG strategies", "fiscal impact assessment", "pedestrian & bicycle planning". Topics vary each year.

PLAN 511 - (4) (Y)
Digital Visualization for Planners
Digital technology for representing and analyzing planning data will include photo-editing, web page design, geographic information system mapping, spreadsheet modeling, and document layout and production. The major emphasis will be on two- and three- dimensional representation of spaces common to planning: streetscape, neighborhoods, communities and regions. Representation of the past, the present and prospective futures to both professional and citizen audiences will receive critical attention. Cross-listed with Plan 211.

PLAN 512 - (3) (Y)
Geographic Information Systems
Reviews the use of computers in planning, emphasizing geographic information systems for collection, analysis, and display of spatial information in urban and environmental contexts.

PLAN 513 - (3) (Y)
Advanced GIS Workshop
Students apply GIS technology to examine significant issues of land, natural resources, and the characteristics of urban development.

PLAN 522 - (3) (IR)
Planning, Budgeting, and Finance
Evaluates the merit of various criteria for, and processes of, making budget choices. Examines questions about who should pay, who should benefit, who should participate, and who should decide, along with the consequences of these choices.

PLAN 524 - (3) (IR)
Consensus Building, Negotiation, and Mediation
Examines the processes by which consensus can be developed, focusing on three principal elements: (1) general negotiation theory and skill development, including the concept of "principled" negotiation; (2) the conflict landscape, including government and non-government organizations; and (3) negotiation resources and opportunities, including organizations, processes, and enabling legislation.

PLAN 525 - (3) (IR)
Public Involvement
Examines both the theory and practice of public involvement in planning. Explores the planner’s responsibility to the public and techniques for effective engagement.

PLAN 529 - (3) (IR)
Special Topics in Policy Planning
Varies annually to meet the needs of graduate students.

PLAN 530 - (3) (Y)
Preservation Planning
Studies current literature on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of historic places. Develops techniques for surveying, documenting, evaluating, and planning for preservation. Analyzes current political, economic, and legal issues in preservation planning.

PLAN 534 - (3) (IR)
Urban Revitalization
Explores problems and potentials encountered in planning for older established urban neighborhoods and downtowns. These may range from market decline and physical decay to intense private reinvestment and displacement. Major topics include neighborhood change processes, the role of private lending institutions in neighborhood change, techniques for identifying economically sound housing and business opportunities in older neighborhoods, neighborhood commercial and residential revitalization techniques, financing neighborhood improvement programs, and historic and architectural preservation as a component of urban revitalization.

PLAN 540 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Housing and Community Development
Provides an introduction to the housing and community development area of planning practice. Topics include the housing and development industries, neighborhood change processes, social aspects of housing and development, and contemporary programs and policy issues.

PLAN 542 - (3) (IR)
Economic Development
Examines the economy of a community, region or neighborhood as an essential element, in livability and sustainability. Planners engage economic development by working with the community to assess needs and opportunities, through public-private business partnerships, and in development review.

PLAN 543 - (3) (Y)
Land Development Workshop
Explores the process of land development from the point of view of the private land developer interacting with local governments. Includes development potential analysis, site analysis, traffic analysis, land planning, development programming, public and private service to accommodate new development, and public regulation of land development.

PLAN 544 - (3) (Y)
Neighborhood Planning
As the "building blocks" of cities, neighborhood plans involve citizens in addressing issues of housing, jobs, public services, education, recreation, and transportation.

PLAN 545 - (3) (IR)
Healthy Communities
Explores the relationship between planning and human health drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives.

PLAN 547 - (3) (IR)
Development Dynamics
Explores the process and financing of land development. Examines the roles of developers, investors, designers, planners, and others, identifying the objectives each have in the development decision process. Discusses the interplay and communications of what constitutes sound economics and good design.

PLAN 549 - (3) (IR)
Special Topics in Housing and Community Development
Varies annually to meet the needs of graduate students.

PLAN 551 - (3) (Y)
Sustainable Communities
Examines sustainable communities and the environmental, social, economic, political, and design standards that underlie them. Focuses on reviewing case studies of cities, towns, and development projects that reflect principles of sustainability.

PLAN 552 - (3) (Y)
Sustainable Planning and Design Workshop
Students act as a consultant team to develop sustainable planning and design strategies for sites, which rotate each year.

PLAN 553 - (3) (Y)
Environmental Policy and Planning
Examines contemporary environmental policy and practice, including exploration of the normative-philosophical debate surrounding environmental issues. Emphasizes understanding the political and institutional framework for establishing policy and programs and exploring the action approaches to environmental planning, including moral suasion, regulation, public investment, and public incentives. Analysis of case studies of environmental planning at the federal, state, and local levels.

PLAN 554 - (3) (E)
Environmental Ethics and Sustainability
Detailed exploration of the normative debate surrounding environmental issues. Focuses on foundations of environmental economics, the value of endangered species, concerns of future generations, appropriateness of a sustainable society, notions of stewardship, and obligations toward equity.

PLAN 555 - (3) (IR)
Environmental Impact Assessment
Explores environmental impact assessment processes and methods from both a theoretical and an applied perspective. The philosophy and statutory base of the assessment process are reviewed. Emphasizes the integration of the assessment process with the broader planning processes for a jurisdiction.

PLAN 557 - (3) (IR)
Environment and Economy
Rather then being opposites, environment & economy are both dimensions that must be addressed to achieve sustainable outcomes this course explores there issues and students develop proposed solutions.

PLAN 558 - (3) (O)
Coastal Planning Issues
Explores the special characteristics of coastal island settings for their planning significance. Addresses natural hazard mitigation, wetlands, and biodiversity.

PLAN 559 - (3) (IR)
Special Topics in Environmental Planning
Varies from year to year to meet the needs of graduate students studying environmental planning.

PLAN 560 - (3) (Y)
Land Use and Growth Management
Introduces the theory and practice of land use planning and growth management as they have evolved historically and as expressed in contemporary practice. Addresses the need and rationale for land use planning as well as its tools.

PLAN 561 - (3) (Y)
Community Planning Workshop
Land use plans are developed, usually in conjunction with citizens, for a community undergoing change. Cross-listed with PLAN 401.

PLAN 563 - (3) (Y)
Design of Cities
Cities are physical artifacts that are experienced psychologically and socially. This course investigates the theories surrounding these processes to reach an understanding of humanistic urban design intentions. Experiential realities are explored through case studies, readings, and mapping exercises.

PLAN 564 - (3) (IR)
Transit Oriented Design
Students conduct studies and prepare a plan for high-density mixed use developments around public transportation facilities. Local officials and leaders serve as the client.

PLAN 567 - (3) (Y)
Community Design
Explores the issues of community design as a form of public engagement. Students are drawn from planning architecture and landscape architecture to engage community design in an inter-disciplinary context.

PLAN 569 - (3) (IR)
Special Topics in Land Use Planning
Varies from year to year to fill graduate students’ needs in the study of land use planning.

PLAN 571 - (3) (IR)
Landscape Preservation Workshop
Examines the legal and practical issues involved in the conservation of rural landscapes including the settings of historic structures. Reviews the justification for landscape preservation, and the various planning strategies that could be employed to preserve landscapes, including land use regulations, tax incentives, and conservation easements. Includes case studies.

PLAN 572 - (3) (Y)
Transportation and Land Use
Reviews basic relationships between land use and transportation. Considers the decision process, planning principles, impact measures, and methodological frameworks for identifying and evaluating practices at regional, local, and neighborhood scale.

PLAN 577 - (3) (IR)
Plan Implementation
Emphasizes the use of zoning, subdivision, and other regulations to implement planning practices. Attention is given to capital facilities programming and building codes.

PLAN 593 - (1-4) (S)
Independent Study/Fieldwork in Planning
Prerequisite: Planning faculty approval of topic.
Individual study directed by a faculty member.

PLAN 601 - (4) (Y)
Planning Process and Practice
A practicum/problem course focusing on the use of maps and quantitative information in the planning process. Develops familiarity with types and sources of data and assesses the relevance of data for various types of problem situations. Provides experience in producing quality professional analysis. Also develops team skills and graphic presentation abilities. A core course.

PLAN 604 - (3) (Y)
Legal Aspects of Planning
Addresses the law as it relates to planning practice. Includes substantial work in traditional areas of land-use law, but also deals with the law as an instrument for change. Emphasizes developing legal research skills and performing legal analysis. A core course.

PLAN 605 - (4) (Y)
Methods of Planning Analysis
Applies quantitative skills to the planning process: analyzes decision situations and develops precise languages for structuring or communicating their quantitative dimensions. Includes lectures, case studies, and reviews of statistical methods, survey research methods, census data analysis, program and plan evaluation, and computer modeling. A core course.

PLAN 607 - (3) (Y)
Urban Theory and Public Policy
Concentrates on normative and empirical urban theory central to understanding the design and effects of public policies. The theories and applications considered span a number of academic disciplines. Stresses application of theoretical perspectives to federal, state, and local policy choices. A core course.

PLAN 609 - (3) (Y)
Planning Theory and Practice
Provides a sense of the intellectual and professional roots of contemporary planning theory and practice. Analyzes these roots with an eye to stimulating new perspectives and concepts for a sustainable community orientation. A core course.

PLAN 611 - (3) (IR)
Planning History
Places the evolution and development of the practice of planning in the context of urban history. Particular cities serve as case studies.

PLAN 873 - (3-4) (F)
Venice Research Seminar
Study of selected topics related to coursework in Venice.

PLAN 898 - (3-6) (S)
Master’s Thesis
A thesis is not required for the Master of Urban and Environmental Planning degree but is optional. Students should begin early to explore topics and to identify potential committee members. A guideline document is available.