| Studio Integration |
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Digital methods offer not just a way of doing the same thing faster,
but of understanding the world in a different way. Early computer
drafting software was little but an electronic drafting board, but it
is now possible to use software to understand the process of form
generation. Thus, the College understands the use of digital methods
not as a replacement for the traditional methods within the studios,
but as an extension of the current investigation by other means. The CoA aims to integrate the use of computer software into studio instruction in the first three years of undergraduate studio and the first three semesters of graduate studio. Students will be graduating and entering the profession at a time of unprecedented change. They often find themselves joining firms that are in the process of trying to integrate the use of computing into their practice, and graduating students often have the most current backgrounds for leading this effort. It can result in "reverse mentoring", where the newest hires help the most established members of the firm understand the potential uses of computers. Our responsibility as a College is to equip the students for this challenge. Our effort with the education of the students has been to focus on both the conceptual understanding and the technical skill needed to effectively use the computer in design. The emphasis on the use of the computer in the design studio setting is meant to model the task the student will face as they enter the profession. Content relevant to digital methods of the first year undergraduate and graduate studio will include image manipulations, video editing and 3d sketching(iMovie, Photoshop, SketchUp); second year undergraduate and graduate studios will include 3D modeling and animation software(Maya); third year undergraduate and graduate studios will include digital manufacturing (Rhino, laser cutters, CNC). CoA Digital Instruction Map Design Studio Spring First Year Undergraduate Image processing Page Layout (Phototshop, InDesign, iMovie , Illustrator) Fall Second Year Undergraduate Computational Design 3d modeling, sketching (Maya, SketchUp, PowerCadd) Spring Second Year Undergraduate 3d animation Parametric form generation (Maya) Fall Third Year Undergraduate Digital fabrication (Digital Fab Lab) Fall First Year graduate Image processing Page Layout 3d sketching (Phototshop, SketchUp, Illustrator, InDesign, iMovie) Spring First Year graduate Computational design 3d modeling Parametric form generation (PowerCadd, Maya) Fall Second Year graduate Digital Fabrication (Digital Fab Lab) |