of University Southern California School of Architecture Arch 315: Design of the Luminous and Sonic Environment
Prof. Schiler Spring 2005 Course Syllabus
Architects deal with a broad spectrum of constraints and opportunities when designing or thinking about design. Much of the way that a building is experienced relates to the Environment created by the building, both within and without. This is especially true in terms of light and sound. The interaction between occupant and building is almost entirely filtered through those two sensory media. This course deals with those channels, their perception, their effect, and how the designer controls or manipulates those experiences. It is necessary to understand the processes, the perceptions, and the materials and tools with which we work. Certain similarities exist in the behavior of these systems and the behavior of thermal systems which we discussed last semester, simply because they are natural physical functions. Near the end of the semester, we will also consider necessary but prosaic topics, such as plumbing, and designing for fire safety. Though they do not deal with perception, they are still critical in building design, for ethical and professional reasons. Once understood and dealt with, they may take a secondary role; they are essential, but not dominant. The material will be divided into three basic segments: I. II. III. lighting acoustics other systems
The class will be primarily a series of lectures, guest lectures, demonstrations, assignments and quizzes or tests to determine what is being comprehended and what needs more work. The homework assignments will be optional. It is beneficial to have done the homework because the quizzes and prelims will be similar in content. Remember, doing and understanding the material will be much more beneficial than just having copied it into your notes. Copies of the syllabus, homeworks, and other announcements may be found on the university totale.usc.edu site for Arch 315 or at http://www.usc.edu/dept/architecture/mbs/315/. We hope to be able to maintain this address throughout the semester. There will be a pop quiz during each segment, the date of which will not be announced. There will be a preliminary examination at the end of each of the first two segments, whose date will be
announced in class. It is your responsibility to attend each class and to know what those dates are. There will be a comprehensive final at the end of the semester. All of these will be "open book." This means that books and notes may be brought into the exam, but copies of previous exams or quizzes are not allowed, nor are printouts of the web pages. You may bring a homework which you have done, but not an answer sheet from the web. Too many students have counted on these in the past, instead of doing the homework, and the result has been a drop in the average grades! Your exam may be disqualified. The grading will be based on the following percentages: Quizzes Prelim Final 10% each 20% each 30% each 30% subtotal 40% subtotal 30% subtotal
There be will several guest lecturers throughout the semester, and you will be responsible for all of the information presented in all lectures, including the guests' materials. There are recommended texts, and one required handout. The handout will be made available in class; the texts should be available at the bookstore. Please keep an active notebook with all of the materials handed out, and all homeworks. Again, tests will be open book and open notes, and you should have that material available. Keep it when you go on to practice architecture. It is not my intention to have you memorize things which you will then forget, but rather to understand information and concepts which you can access at a future date. If you are interested in material which you do not find on the course outline, please let me know, and we will attempt to include it. Recommended texts: Mechanical and Electrical Equipment in Buildings; by Stein, Reynolds and McGuiness - this is the same text as for ARCH 215. Simplified Design of Building Lighting; by Marc Schiler - for advanced interest, also used in ARCH 515. Disabilities: Over the years we have had many students in the course with various disabilities and have had excellent experiences thus far. Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to Prof. Schiler as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is [phone].
Lecture Number and Topic
3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Course Logistics, Basic Perception and Terms Physics of Light and Color Daylighting Strategies Daylighting Plan and Section Rules of Thumb Daylighting Calculations I Physical Models and Computer Simulations Daylighting Case Studies (Guest lecture) Artificial Lighting Equipment, Theory and Samples Point Grid Calcs and Artificial Lighting Precedents (slides) Lumen Method Calcs and Artificial Lighting Precedents (slides) Lighting Case Studies (Guest lecture) Lighting Case Studies (Guest lecture) Pop Quiz (not the actual date substituted somewhere above) Prelim 1, exact date to be announced based on design review schedule Acoustics: Basic Theory and Perception (demonstrations) Acoustics: Physics and Calculations Noise Isolation and Calculations Principles of Performance Acoustics (and slides of precedents) Field trip to Music Center and Disney Hall Artificial Amplification (Guest lecture) 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Pop Quiz (not the actual date substituted somewhere above) Prelim #2, exact date to be announced based on design review schedule Plumbing - Supply Plumbing - Drainage Fire Safety Fire Case Studies (Guest lecture) Infrastructure Movement Systems Pop Quiz (not the actual date substituted somewhere above) Semester Review & Evaluation
29
Final Examination: Tuesday, May 3
2:00-4:00 p.m.