Credits: 3-0-3 (3 semester hours)
Type of Course: Lecture
Instructors: Stuart Romm
Prerequisites: Graduate standing, or junior or senior standing in architecture undergraduate program.
Course Overview: The course begins with an overview of architectural practice in a marketplace democracy - the participants, the transactions, the webs of relationships -- considered from the primary relationship of the individual to the collective. This duality embodies a fundamental oscillation between two complimentary but sometimes competing orientations: a view of architectural practice from its identification as a profession (its history, its ideological structure, its obligations to society), and a view of architectural practice from a marketplace orientation, considering its role in the dynamics of late capitalism.
These attributes of both the profession’s ideological framework and its socio-economic framework are then refracted through the lens of an individual’s career path, from architectural education, through initial job searches, internship, and registration, and on to leadership roles in the architectural firm, including approaches to firm organization and legal/financial structures. This sequence culminates in a brief survey of extended career possibilities in other design professions and related fields.
The next series of topics begins with an increasing focus of the profession: public relations and marketing, including a specialist’s presentation of emerging marketing techniques. This leads to the actual mechanics of offering professional services, such as terms of the AIA Owner/Architect Agreements and various consultant relationships. This discussion includes approaches architects take in managing the legal risks and responsibilities associated with design and construction, and also introduces basic financial concepts such as fee determinations and project budgeting.
The final sequence follows a project through the actual phases of an architect’s process, beginning with a review of the design phase with special emphasis on code issues and services not prioritized in the studio, such as programming and costing. The construction documents phase is discussed relative to the production of working drawings and specifications, followed by an outline of the steps involved in bidding or negotiation of the construction contract. Finally the construction phase is examined with particular attention to contract administration and dispute resolution. The course concludes with a discussion of the profession’s future as it responds to its changing socio-economic context, including the challenges of globalization and environmantal sustainability.
Learning Objectives: The first aim of the Practice course is for each student to begin constructing the difficult conceptual framework necessary to bridge their transition from "espoused theory" to "theory-in-use". This requires an understanding of the increasing complexity of forces at work in the contemporary practice of architecture, including knowledge of the profession’s history and ethics, its current systems of production, and ultimately its ongoing adaptations to a rapidly changing world.
Course Requirements: One short exam on the history and structure of the profession, one short exam on contracts and liability, one short exam on construction documents and processes, and a final exam involving an essay topic concerning future directions in practice.