Courses:

This class serves as an introductory subject in advanced computing, rapid prototyping, and CAD/CAM fabrication for architects. It focuses on the relationship between design and various forms of computer modeling as input, and CAD/CAM tools as output material. It presents the process of design and construction using CAD files introduced by the office of Gehry Partners during the construction of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. It is taught in phases starting with rapid prototyping and ending with digital mockups of building components fabricated from CAD files on a one-to-one scale.

This course will guide graduate students through the course of using rapid prototyping and CAD/CAM devices in a studio environment. The class has a theoretical focus on machine use within the process of design. Each student is expected to have completed one graduate level of design computing with a full understanding of solid modeling in CAD. Students are also expected to have completed at least one graduate design studio.

Your grade will be based on full participation in all aspects of the course. This includes attendance, the completion of 7 assignments, final project and one final presentation.

• Students are expected to complete all 8 assignments fully for a grade.
• This semester will not support teams of students working on one assignment. You can work in teams for only the final project.

The $120 course fee covers:

• 9 Cubic Inches of Plaster for ZCORP Machine
• 6 Cubic Inches of ABS Plastic
• 4 Cubic Inches of High Density Foam
• 1 Sheet of 9" x 13" x 1/8" Aluminum
• 1 Sheet of 4' x 8' Plywood