Thoughts on Buildings and Cities

Dear all,  

We have been trying Audacity and the best way for the students to record their own podcasts. We are going step-by-step. To start, students have read a text on Stone, created a mindmap about the reading which they have published in their blogs. Then, they have written a paragraph using their mindmaps as the basis. This paragraph has been recorded, uploaded to a server, and now I am going to start publishing them.

This is the first one. Let’s listen to Eleonora! 

This is the link to Eleonora’s blog:    

Our next podcast is Gisela’s:

Take a look at Gisela’s blog (scroll down the page for her brainmap and paragraph on Stone

This is Diana’s blog  and this is her podcast: 

Today, we have 3 podcasts, the first one is "Urban Design as a Career" (by the Urban Design Group),  presented by Teresa Almeida d’Eça, in Portugal.

The second podcast is: "Purposes of architecture":

and the third podcast is also about "The purposes of Architecture". It was kindly recorded by Leanne Mackenzie, in Canada.

The recording has been taken and adapted from "Introduction to Architecture" by Snyder and Catanese (1978).

You will find the complete text in Moodle.

Tasks:

• After listening to these 3 podcasts, get together with a classmate in YM. If you are an architecture student you should work with an urban planning classmate, and vice versa
• Think about this quote from the first recording:

  "Architects and planners used to argue about the roles of their two professions"

• Discuss what are the issues architects and urban planners used to argue about.

• Are there still arguments? Why or why not

• Save the chatlog of your discussion and post it to Moodle (week 3)

• Complete the readings (available in Moodle)

• Having some more information about the topic….

• what in your opinion is the real purpose of architecture and Urban planning?

• How does Caracas stand in terms of both, architecture and urban planning?

• Write your comments as a reply to this entry.

This week, we will be discussing about what it takes to be an architect. What does it take? Is it the same for urban planners?

To start with, complete this poll about what an architect /urban planner needs to know. Discuss the results with your classmates. 

Then, listen to professor Rubena St. Louis with a text taken and adapted from "Your Future in Architecture" by Richard Roth (New York: Richard Rosen Press, Inc. 1979 ). 

Pay attention to the questions asked. Take notes and be ready to discuss the questions asked by prof. St. Louis.  Be ready to discuss your answers, then read the whole text in Moodle (week 2), and answer the following questions:

a)how do you feel about your future profession?

b)What is the role of architects / urban planners in today’s world?

Thanks, stay tuned for more podcasts

Dear all,

This is our second class this trimester. In fact, it is the first one dealing with content since in the first class we got to know each other and the learning tools we will be using for these 12 weeks.

Today, after looking up at some definitions of architecture and urban planning, to get to our own concept, we will be discussing about the needs architects and urban planners need to keep in mind for their work. But before you get into groups in YM to discuss about this, I am going to read what Ching said in 1987 about this issue.

Please listen as many times as you want, and be ready for the discussion

This is a welcome message for my students: