Introductory Architecture Studio: House, Housing

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course positions the architect as an advocate, engaging the building and zoning code as a critical site of design practice in addressing the housing crisis. Rather than treating regulation as a constraint, students will examine how architects can shape policy to expand housing supply, affordability, and typological breadth. Focusing on "missing middle" housing, the course investigates how provisions-such as egress requirements, parking requirements, and unit standards-shape the production of housing, inclusive design, alongside emerging nation-wide movements such as the expansion of ADUs. Through readings, case studies, and conversations with policymakers, attorneys, and designers, students will develop strategies for advocacy as a form of design work. Working in groups and individually, they will produce targeted code reform proposals that connect spatial thinking and design with regulatory change. The course culminates in three-minute public comment presentations at a City Council committee, where students test their arguments in a live civic forum, positioning architectural practice as an active agent in shaping housing policy.