Curriculum Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Architectural Technology

General Education

Foundations Credits:
FCWR 101 Writing I: Foundations of College Composition 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: WRIT 100 or Writing Placement Exam

A course introducing students to the fundamentals of college composition. Topics include writing process, rhetorical strategies, basics of critical reading and thinking, analytical writing, and argumentative writing. This course serves as a foundation to prepare students to succeed in other academic writing contexts. Coursework includes a computer lab component.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
FCWR 151 Writing II: Foundations of Research Writing 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: FCWR 101 or WRIT 101

Further development of the academic writing process, critical thinking, and analytical reading skills taught in FCWR 101. Focus on academic research planning, source evaluation skills, and audience awareness leading to a documented research paper. Specific attention to academic integrity in research writing.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
FCWR 303 Communication for Art and Design 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Take one course in each group: Group 1 (FCWR 101 or FCWR 111 or WRIT 101 or WRIT 111) and Group 2 (FCWR 151 or FCWR 161 or WRIT 151 or WRIT 161)

Building on courses taken in their majors, students will learn and apply concepts of effective written and oral communication appropriate for careers in art, design, and architecture. In addition to forms appropriate to the business world, such as memos, letters, reports, proposals, and job application materials, students will learn strategies for writing career-specific forms such as project descriptions, design briefs, and marketing correspondence. Students will engage in both primary and secondary research, work collaboratively, and deliver oral presentations using visual aids and/or presentation software. Course work includes a computer lab component.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
    Total: 9 Credits
 
Data Literacy Credits:
DATA 101 Making Sense of a Data-Oriented Society 3
This course introduces students to the power of data as applied to real-life problems in today's data-driven world. Students will learn basic statistical concepts, how to identify reliable data, and to think critically about how to extract meaning from data. The course will discuss various biases, including social biases, how they affect data gathering and analysis, and how to address these biases. The course will also address ethical and moral issues associated with statistics, data collection and visualization, and data analysis. Students will learn how to present a narrative supported by data.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
 
Seminars (select courses from at least three of the four areas) Credits:
ICBS 3XX Behavioral Science choice 3
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
ICLT 3XX Literature choice 3
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
ICPH 3XX Philosophy choice 3
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
ICSS 3XX Social Science choice 3
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
    Total: 12 Credits
Students must take four seminar courses from at least three different areas of study.
 
Mathematics Credits:
MATH 141 Precalculus 4
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: MATH 101 or Math Placement Exam.

A study of relations and functions; inequalities; complex numbers; quadratic equations; linear systems of equations; higher degree equations; trigonometric functions; identities; functions of composite angles; graphs of the trigonometric functions; exponential and logarithmic functions; and binomial theorem. Note: A graphing calculator is used throughout the course.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 5-0-4
 
Sciences Credits:
Any 100-level BIOL, CHEM, or PHYS course 3
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
PHYS 136 Physics for the Modern Architect 4
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: MATH 141.

The course will cover basic physical principles relating to current architectural practice. A broad spectrum of topics will be covered, primarily in classical physics to include: Units, Vectors, Motion, Statics, Work, Energy, Heat, Electricity, Sound and Light. The emphasis will be conceptual and required mathematical skills will be college algebra and trigonometry.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 4-0-4
    Total: 7 Credits
 

Major Requirements

Architecture and Interior Design Credits:
AAID 101 Design Fundamentals I 5
Prerequisite: Co-requisite: AAID 140. Only declared Architecture or Interior Design majors can register for this course. All others require permission from the department chairperson.

Architectonics studies the nature of architectural and design ideas directly through medium of space. Mass-void modeling explores part transformation, figure-ground, etc. and is the basis of planimetric, axonometric, perspective and graphic studies.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-5-5
AAID 102 Design Fundamentals II 5
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 101. Only Architectural Technology or Interior Design majors can register for this course. All others require permission from the department chairperson.

Dynamics continues study of architectural ideas directly through space. Volume modeling explores spatial intersections, tartan grid, light, circulation, materials and structure, as aspects of plastic design at human scale. Animation and color also studied.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-5-5
AAID 140 Visualization I 3
The course focuses on three areas simultaneously: technical drawing, graphic and fine arts, and an introduction to computer applications in architecture and design. It includes descriptive geometry, art composition, mediums and techniques, analysis and theory of fine art, and computer software application. The course assists the production of the required Design Studio portfolio.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 1-3-3
AAID 160 Introduction to History, Theory, and Criticism in Architecture and Design 3
The course exposes the culture of architecture and design in order to acquire conceptual and language tools specific to the realm of architecture and design. It is thematic and topical rather than chronological and discusses theory, methodology, technology, construction, building equipment systems, and other fine arts and related fields.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
AAID 240 Visualization II 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 101 and AAID 140

Continuation of AAID 140 introducing basic CAD skills and architectural drawing as it pertains to producing drawings of buildings and interiors. Auto CAD skills and software, printing and plotting hardware are taught. The application of these combined with other visual presentation techniques are explored in relation to the design process and presentation. The course supports the design studio.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-2-3
    Total: 19 Credits
 
Architecture Credits:
ARCH 161 Global History of Architecture I 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 160

A survey of the global history of architecture from the Late Stone Age until the end of the Sixteenth Century. Students learn varied social and spatial patterns that characterize cultural growth, architectural histories, and urbanistic developments. The course examines major religions and belief systems and their physical and spatial embodiments. Constructed monuments and settlements in diverse parts of the world are discussed concerning cultural, technological, economic, environmental, and social conditions. These are understood at local and regional scale, including a variety of indigenous and vernacular settings, and within an integrated global perspective.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 162 Global History of Architecture II 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 161

A survey of the global history of architecture from the beginning of the Seventeenth Century through the early Twenty-First Century. Students learn varied patterns of cultural, intellectual, architectonic, and artistic trends. The course addresses the secular shift in western modernity and its impact on art, architecture, and construction methods in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Parallel and divergent histories and theories of architecture are framed in a global perspective. This also includes a variety of indigenous, vernacular, local and regional settings in line with the rise of capitalism, nationalism, technological modernization, and cultural and political ideologies, as well as contemporary architectural and urban issues.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 201 Architectural Design I 5
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 102.

Design problems are given that deal with specific issues as they pertain to the generation and making of architectural form/space, i.e. program, site, structure, material, light, geometry; all of which are understood as sources and reference for spacial intervention/solution. Emphasis is on the generation and evaluation of the architectural part.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-5-5
ARCH 202 Architectural Design II 5
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 201

Design problems are structured so as to necessitate the resolution of multiple issues simultaneously and interdependently. Emphasis is on the translation and development of a part into spaces capable of being inhabited and constructed.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-5-5
ARCH 211 Statics and Strength of Materials 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: MATH 136 or MATH 141.

Statics and strength of materials; force systems; equations of statics; beam supports and reactions; geometric properties of sections; stress and strain; axial tensile stress and elongation; axial compressive stress and buckling; shear stress and shear diagrams; bending stress and moment diagrams and beam deflections.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 221 Building Construction I 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 102

The course introduces building construction and materials, and their interrelationship with the environment. Masonry and wood construction and material systems are studied in light of both their inherent physical properties and their assemblies and integration with other systems, including the influences of site and climate. Historical references frame the development and use of the materials, while comparisons with relevant contemporary buildings provide analysis of disadvantages and/or advantages of each. There is also a parallel introduction to the basic techniques of graphic representation of the language of construction methods, and methods of designing and detailing.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 222 Building Construction II 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 221

The course introduces building construction and building materials, and their interrelationships with the environment. Steel and concrete construction and material systems are studied in light of both their material properties and integration with other systems, including the influences of site and climate. Examination and analysis of both historical and contemporary references frame the discussions of material selection and use. Also covered are basic techniques of graphic representation used to convey design intent, construction details and methods.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 310 Structural Design 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 211

An introduction to the design of compression and bending members in structural steel. Connections by bolting and welding. Use of the AISC specification. An introduction to the design of concrete T-beams, one way slabs, columns, isolated footings and retaining walls. Introduction to indeterminate structures. Use of the ACI specification.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 324 Environmental Systems I 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 202

Architectural environmental systems can be divided into two distinct categories: passive and active. Through a combination of theoretical seminars and practical design assignments, Environmental Systems I introduces a variety of passive strategies for transforming the outdoor climate around a building into an indoor climate within the human comfort zone. Step one is harnessing site resources such as sun, wind, water, topography, and built context in order to begin to light, heat, cool, and ventilate a project. Step two is developing an appropriate building envelope to further reduce energy loads, increase durability, and encourage good indoor environmental quality. Applying these concepts over a series of sequential exercises utilizing a range of tools including drawing, modeling, and simulation, students will design form through an iterative conversation with quantified performance. As preparation for a career in practice, this design approach is a component of the current professional standard of care, delivering resource-efficient architecture optimized for human health, safety, welfare, and enjoyment with negligible impacts on local ecosystems and the global climate.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 325 Environmental Systems II 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 240 and one course in each group: Group 1 (ARCH 202 or DSGN 202 or DSGN 203), Group 2 (ARCH 324 or DSGN 221.)

Architectural environmental systems can be divided into two distinct categories: passive and active. Environmental systems II introduces those active architectural systems that are used to complement and enhance what passive systems accomplish toward the task of efficiently providing human health and comfort. Through a series of assignments, students learn the theory, components, and heuristics for sizing and laying out a variety of technical building systems including HVAC, power, artificial lighting, plumbing, fire protection, and vertical transportation. Just as importantly, the exercises help them to understand their design projects in a new way, integrating both passive and active strategies symbiotically into one unified, integrated approach to design. As preparation for a career in practice, this design approach is a component of the current professional standard of care, delivering resource-efficient architecture optimized for human health, safety, welfare, and enjoyment with negligible impacts on local ecosystems and the global climate.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 327 CAD Construction Drawings 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 240 or ARCH 341.

Modern methods of construction drawing development, purpose, and organization through the use of computer-aided design and drawing. Study is directed and guided in the preparation of a complete set of drawings: plans, sections, elevations, details, schedules, and an introduction to specifications through digital media.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 1-3-3
ARCH 340 Visualization III 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 240 or ARCH 341.

Continuation of ARCH 240 to develop skills with advanced drawing and multimedia techniques as well as state of the art digital skills. The emphasis is on working with a wide range of techniques available to the architect and on the graphic art of presentation.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 372 Environmental Site Planning 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: AAID 240 and ARCH 202.

This course introduces concepts of land use development with respect to the environmental impacts of project construction and post-construction performance. Also introduced are factors to consider when proposing human interventions in the ecology of the earth, including climatic parameters of sun, wind, water and biomass, as well as human parameters such as zoning, landscaping, use, and noise, and building with its auxiliary exigencies. Students will analyze sites, form land-use plans, organize vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and assess the mutual impacts of the above on a given project. Through case studies, a visit to a public hearing and a final semester project, students will learn how community involvement and local regulatory agencies affect the site planning and development.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-3-3
ARCH 411 Advanced Structural Concepts I 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 310 or ARCH 311 and ARCH 312

Conceptual studies of the behavior of structures under load and the analysis of forces acting on these structures. Building frames, trusses, long spans, prestressed and precast members. Use of models.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 412 Advanced Structural Concepts II 2
Continuing conceptual studies of behavior of structural systems including space frames, arches and domes, suspension structures, membrane structures, and high-rise buildings. Introduction to methods of analysis including use of the computer and models.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-0-2
ARCH 413 Architectural Simulation and Fabrication Optimization 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisites: ARCH 222, ARCH 310, ARCH 325, ARCH 340. Corequisites: ARCH 401.

This is the terminal course for architectural visualization and building technologies. This course will integrate the accumulated knowledge acquired through the visualization, structures, and building technology course sequences. This course will use an applied experimental project-driven exercise to integrate these sequences through computational simulation and optimization evidence-based design. Each semester the course is offered, the faculty teaching the project-driven exercise will assist students in optimizing their design through a visualization simulation software (BIM, Rhino Grasshopper, Maya, others) that focuses on the simulation of architectural conditions - site conditions, structural typologies, materials, material-based construction system, or environmental systems. This project-driven exercise will range from design, to materialization and to fabrication, developing a range of possible results, from a 1:1 scale detail, to a 1:1 scale bay or full space, to a scaled envelope prototype system, to any other real scale prototype or experimental construction system.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
ARCH 423 Project Integration Studio 5
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ARCH 202 and ARCH 325

Students working in teams generate and develop the design of a small-scale building. In the process the students incorporate the guidelines as described in the phases of service of the Professional A.I.A. Agreement. The design of a harmonious relationship between the site and building is stressed. Emphasis is placed on creativity in the process of integrating all building systems (spatial, structural, mechanical and electrical) in the design.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 2-5-5
ARCH 481 Professional Practice I 3
Prerequisite: Prerequisite: Take ARCH 222 and one of the following groups: (ARCH 311 and ARCH 312) or (ARCH 310)

Introduction to the problems involved in the practice of architecture and building. A study of the personal, ethical, and legal interrelations of the architect, engineer, owner, builder, and artisan. An analysis of the organization and administration of an architectural practice, and the various legal forms under which it can be organized. Study of building laws, codes, and zoning and their application. Supervised externships in offices.

Classroom Hours - Laboratory and/or Studio Hours – Course Credits: 3-0-3
    Total: 59 Credits
 
Electives Credits:
Liberal Arts Electives 18
Please view all course descriptions: http://www.nyit.edu/courses
 
Total Required Credits = 131