4.S64
Special Subject: History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art
Seminar or lecture on a topic in the history, theory and criticism of architecture and art that is not covered in the regular curriculum. Requires original research and presentation of oral and written reports and/or design projects, varying at the discretion of the instructor.
Spring 2013 · Design Across Scales, Disciplines and Problem Contexts
Topics
- Design Across Scales: Intersections between Design, Science, and Technology
- Design of Futures: Past Futures, Utopian Visions, and Tomorrows of Today
- Data Mining and Databases: CSV Database, Rapid Miner, XML, MySQL
- Design of Representation: Notation, Information, and Communication
- In-class Presentations: Assignment 1
- 2D and 3D CAD Tools: Autocad ® , Rhino ® , 3DSMax ® , SolidWorks ®
- Fabrication Workshop: Laser-cutting, 3D Printing, File Setup and Exchange
- Working Session: Assignment 2
- In-class Presentations: Assignment 2
- AI Tools: Programming Concepts, Optimization Methods, Example Applications
- Film Screening
- Design of Alternative Futures: Utopias and Dystopias in Science Fiction
- Interactive Environments: Unity 3D, Augmented Reality
- Working Session: Assignment 3
- In-class Presentations: Assignment 3
Readings
- Morrison, Philip, and Phylis Morrison. Powers of Ten: About the Relative Size of Things in the Universe and the Effect of Adding Another Zero . Scientific American Library, 1982.
- Daston, Lorraine, and Peter Galison. Objectivity . Zone Books, 2007. ISBN: 9781890951788.
- McLuhan, Marshall. “The Medium is the Message.” Chapter 1 in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man . Signet, 1964.
- Tufte, Edward. Envisioning Information . Graphics Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780961392116.
- Maeda, John. Creative Code: Aesthetics + Computation . Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN: 9780500285176.
- Giedion, Sigfried. Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anonymous History . Oxford University Press, 1948.
- Sakamoto, Tomoko, and Albert Ferré. From Control to Design: Parametric/Algorithmic Architecture . Actar, 2008. ISBN: 9788496540798.
- Minsky, Marvin L. The Society of Mind . Simon and Schuster, 1988. ISBN: 9780671657130.
- Wiener, Norbert. Cybernetics: or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine . The Technology Press, 1948.
- Simon, Herbert A. The Sciences of the Artificial . MIT Press, 1981. ISBN: 9780262690737.
- Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play—Element in Culture . Beacon Press, 1971. ISBN: 9780807046814.
- Galloway, Alexander R. Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture . University of Minnesota Press, 2006. ISBN : 9780816648511.
- Eisenstein, Sergei. Towards a Theory of Montage . British Film Institute Publishing, 1991.
- Gibson, William. Neuromancer . Ace Books, 1986. ISBN: 9780441569595.
- Lyotard, Jean-Francois. “Acinema.” In Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology: A Film Theory Reader . Columbia University Press, 1986. ISBN: 9780231058810.
- Mau, Bruce, and Jennifer Leonard. Massive Change . Phaidon, 2004. ISBN: 9780714844015.
- McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things . North Point Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780865475878.
- Thompson, D’Arcy W., and Lancelot L. Whyte. On Growth and Form . Cambridge University Press, 1942.
- Ball, Philip. The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature . Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780198502432.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Fall) Not offered regularly; consult department Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2013
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.