About the Course
Los Angeles has frequently been characterized as a city without a
center, a haven for conventional architecture, a smoggy and sprawling
giant that actively ignores potential symbioses between the natural
world and the human constructions within it. But, in fact, the city
presents a dynamic urban landscape that lends itself to rich cultural,
architectural, and environmental research. "Building Los Angeles"
explores this claim by focusing on the complex network of
urban communities in which we live in order that we might think more
deeply about the relationship of the built to the natural environment on
a global scale. To complicate our conceptions of Los Angeles, we will
consider the city's history and the massive infrastructure that allows
it to function. We will focus for a substantial part of the course on
architecture, which can be a profound expression of the relationship
between the built and the natural. And we will explore contemporary
developments, including "new urbanism" and the maturation of "green design."
Assignments
Because it is an integrative experience course, "Building
Los Angeles" requires a substantial final project, with both a written and an oral component,
and that final project will involve self-reflection and critical analysis. The oral presentation
of the final project will be public and publicized. The final project will build on everything that
you study this semester, and it will be explained fully during our October 17 class meeting.
Beyond the final project, students will need to complete all readings listed in the semester
schedule before they are discussed in class and prepare the following assignments:
Books and Readings (available at Huntley Bookstore)
- Blumenson, Identifying American Architecture (required).
- Frederick, 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (required).
- Kaplan, LA Lost and Found (required).
- Stanic, Los Angeles Attractions (required).
- Gebhard and Winter, An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles (recommended).
- Additional readings are available online; follow the "ER" links on the semester schedule.
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Grades
We will calculate final grades using the following categories and percentages:
- Attendance -- 10 %
- Participation/contribution -- 10 %
- Building vocabulary exercise -- 10 % (individual and group scores)
- Site Report -- 25 %
- Final Project Research and Writeup -- 25 % (individual and group scores)
- Final Project Presentation -- 20 % (individual and group scores)
Final letter grades will conform to the standard scale: i.e., the "A"
range is 90% or better, the "B" range 80% or better, etc. Note that
because of the heavy emphasis on the final project, a very large
portion of your final grade will be determined in the closing weeks of
the course. If you have questions about your performance in other
aspects of the course, you should contact one or both of us so that we
can provide you with a sense of your progress and accomplishment to
date.
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"(ER)" indicates a link to a reading that is available through the library electronic reserve site.
| Friday, 9/5 |
The syllabus and course policies; choice of site reports;
building a descriptive vocabulary (this exercise demands group work prior to the first course meeting; see
"Assignments" above for details). Note: The second half of this class session will involve a walk to downtown Claremont;
please wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water.
Readings:
- Blumenson,
v-viii, 2-79, 83-116
- Stanic, 90-98
- (
ER) "Charter of the New Urbanism"
- (ER) Steele, "The New Urbanists."
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| Friday, 9/12 |
Los Angeles and California; the nature of the Los Angeles region; water and agriculture; transportation; urban expansion.
Readings:
- Kaplan, 9-43
- (ER) McPhee, "Los Angeles Against the Mountains"
- Stanic, 14-45
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| Saturday, 9/20 |
Meet on Dartmouth in front of Olin by 9:00 am; return to Claremont
by 5:00 pm. Los Angeles and flood control; the Los Angeles River; urban parkland. Pack a lunch.
Readings:
- Kaplan, 44-95
- (ER) Gumprecht, "Fifty-One Miles of Concrete"
- The Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (from the larivermp.org website)
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| Saturday, 9/27 |
Meet at the Claremont Metrolink Station by 11:20 pm; return to Claremont by 5:30 pm.
The development of the Pueblo and downtown. Buy lunch at Grand Central Market.
Reading:
- Kaplan, 96-218
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| Saturday, 10/4 |
Meet at the Claremont Metrolink Station by 9:00 am; return to Claremont by 5:30 pm.
From Bunker Hill through the Financial District; repopulating downtown. Pack a lunch.
Readings:
- (ER) Skelley, "Downtown Los Angeles"
- Stanic, 229-284
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| Saturday, 10/11 |
Meet on Dartmouth in front of Olin by 9:00 am; return to Claremont
by 6:00 pm. Santa Monica: the Gehry house; Colorado Court; the Eames House; the Z7 House;
the Gill apartments. Culver City: Eric Owen Moss. Pack a lunch.
Reading:
- Frederick, all
- Stanic, 412-413
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| Friday, 10/17 |
Getting started on the final project.
Reading:
- The HMC Campus Master Plan
- The LEED-NC Version 2.2 rating system (download from
the U.S. Green Building Council website)
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| Saturday, 10/25 |
Meet at the Claremont Metrolink Station by 9:00 am; return to Claremont by 5:30 pm.
The Wilshire corridor: history and contemporary issues. Pack a lunch.
Readings:
- Stanic, 212-218
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| Saturday, 11/1 |
Meet on Dartmouth in front of Olin by 9:00 am; return to Claremont
by 6:00 pm. Pasadena: the Gamble House; the Art Center College of Design campuses; the Gold Line. Pack a lunch.
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| Saturday, 11/8 |
Meet on Dartmouth in front of Olin by 9:00 am;
return to Claremont by 6:00 pm. Domestic architecture: Wright, Schindler, and Neutra. Buy lunch at Farmer's Market.
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| Friday, 11/15 |
Meet on Dartmouth in front of Olin by 9:00 am; return to Claremont by 6:00 pm.
Orange County: the Crystal Cathedral; the Lovell Beach House. Diamond
Ranch High School. Pack a lunch. |
| Friday, 11/21 |
Project workday. |
| Friday, 12/5 |
Project workday. |
| Friday, 12/12 |
Project presentations. |
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