TheDesignSchool
ArizonaStateUniversity
ALA100IntrotoEnvironmentalDesign
HerbergerInstituteforDesignandtheArts
Summer2017–SessionA
“Thequestionisnotwhatyoulookat,butwhatyousee.”HenryDavidThoreau
"Dostuff.Beclenched,curious.Notwaitingforinspiration'sshoveorsociety'skissonyourforehead.
Payattention.It'sallaboutpayingattention.It'sallabouttakinginasmuchofwhat'soutthereasyoucan,andnotletting
theexcusesandthedrearinessofobligationsnarrowourlives.Attentionisvitality.
Itconnectsyouwithothers.Itmakesyoueager.Stayeager."SusanSontag
MohsenGarshasby,Ph.D.Student–Instructor
[email protected]
“YearinIdeas”NewYorkTimesMagazine2004
Cataloguedescription
ALA100:AnIntroductiontoEnvironmentalDesign(3credithours)
“SurveyofEnvironmentalDesign:includinghistoricalexamples,andthetheoretical,social,technical,andenvironmental
forcesthatinfluencedesignandshapeourcontemporaryenvironment.Prerequisites:none.SatisfiesGeneralStudies
Requirements:HU(Humanities/FineArts),G(Globalawareness),H(Historicalawareness).”
Courseoverview
“Educationistheabilitytoperceivethehiddenconnectionsbetweenphenomena.”VaclavHavel
Ourenvironmentnotonlysustainsourlives,butconstantlyevolvesandischangedthroughourdailyactionsorlack
thereof.Withoutanydoubtallofusare“designers”whoshapethefutureenvironmentthatourchildrenwill
inheritatmanyscales,whetherournaturallandscapes,cities,buildings,interiors,virtualworlds,oracherishedgift
thatweholdinourhand.Inthiscourse,wewillcollectivelydiscoverwhatdesignis,howdesigncomesabout,and
whydesignisimportanttoyourlife,andourevolvingenvironment.Wewillstriveforadeeperunderstandingof
themajorideas,conditionsandforces,whichareinfluencingdesigntoday,bothlocallyandglobally,andinturn
shapingourcontemporaryglobalenvironment.Theappreciationofdesignisnotmerelythetaskofleaningfacts,
historicstylesormediafashions,butratherisamatterofdevelopingaconsciousnessofyourselfandyourevolving
environment,andthentakingresponsibilityforyourroleasa“designer”toactnowtoenhanceandsustainlife
everydaywithinourglobalcommunity.
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Instructionalobjectives
“Therealvoyageofdiscoveryconsistsnotofseekingnewlandscapes,butinhavingneweyes.”
MarcelProust
Wewillhelpyou:
1) Developanawarenessofwhatdesignis,howdesigncomesabout,andwhydesignisimportant.
2) Developanabilitytoobserveandreadyourenvironment,notjustglanceandpassby,buttoslowdownand
openyoursensesfullytonewexperiencesandopportunities.Ourinterestistohelpyoulookcarefullyat
theinherentknowledgeofyourimmediateenvironment-howtoperceiveit,howtothinkcriticallyaboutit,
howtorepresentit,howtouseit-andhowthosereadingsofaspecificenvironmentcaninformand
enhanceyourlife.
3) Developanawarenessandrespectforthediversityofglobalenvironments,theirrespectivecultures,and
designs,whichreflectthefundamentalbeliefs,andvaluesofindividuals,families,andinstitutionswithina
specificcommunityandplace.
4) Developanawarenessofhowyoucanactresponsibilityandbecomeastewardofdesignandyour
environment.
Instructionalmethodology
“Toimproveistochange.Tobeperfectistochangeoften.”
WinstonChurchill
Ourteachingiscommittedtoassistingeachofyouinyourpursuitofmastery,lifelonglearning,thatinfluenceshow
yousee,feel,question,thinkandact-ratherthanshorttermperformancebasededucation:simplymemorizing
knownfactsandrecallingthemonexams.Thiscoursewillbechallengingandengaging.Itwillimmerseyouinthe
excitingpursuitofideasandanswerstothebiggerquestions,whichareshapingcontemporarydesign,our
environment,andyourownlife.Foundationalconceptsandtheirrealworldapplicationswillbeintroducedfirstin
ourillustratedlecturesandsupplementedbyhearingfromaseriesofArizona’sleadingdesigners,whowillbe
joiningusforourInsidetheDesigner’sStudiosessions.Deeppersonallearningwilloccurasyouapplyyournew
designunderstandinginourthreeCollaborativeDesignChallenges,whichwillrequireyoutogooutintothelocal
environment,andactivelysee,feel,question,thinkandact.
“Peoplelearnbestwhentheyaskanimportantquestion,thattheyareaboutanswering,oradoptagoalthatthey
wanttoreach.Iftheydon’tcare,theywillnottrytoreconcile,explain,modify,orintegratenewknowledgewith
theold.Theywillnottrytoconstructnewmentalmodelsofreality.Theymayrememberinformationforashort
period(longenoughtotakethetest),butonlywhentheirmemorygeneratesquestionswillitbepreparedto
changeknowledgestructures.Onlythendoesitknowwheretoplacesomething.Ifwearenotseekingananswer
toanything,wepaylittleattentiontorandominformation.”
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K.Bain,WhattheBestCollegeTeachersDo.
Evaluation,Feedback,andGrading
"Onecouldbesurethatinthepastwhenamanwouldrisetothepointofproducingworkofgreaterquality,itwas
notthroughanyconsciousattempttoexcelbutratherbecausehecaredaboutwhatworkhewasdoing-hewas
committedtohiswork.Thishasbecomesomethingrare-becausebeingcommittedmeansbecominginvolvedand
tobecomeinvolvedmeansgivingsomethingofoneself.Itisonlytherareonestodaywhoseemtocarethatmuch.
Yet,thatqualitythatmakesforexcellence-thatcommitment-ismoreimportanttoustodayonadailyoperational
basisthanperhapseverbefore.Atleastoneofthereasonsthisistrueisquitesimple.Thenatureoftheproblems
wefacechangesevenasweworkwiththem.Wecannottellfromwhatdisciplinesorfromwhatartofpreparation
forthenextstepwillcome.Wecannotfallbackontheloreoftheartbecausethatloredoesnotexist.Thereis
however,atraditionthatisheldincommonbynaturalphilosophers,explorers,pioneerwoodsmen-anyonewhois
inhisdailylifehasbeencompelledtofacenewproblems.Thatistraditionofrespectandconcernfortheproperties
andthequalityofeverythingintheworldaroundthem.Toexcelinthestructuringofaproblemwemustbe
committedtoaconcernforqualityineverythingintheworldaroundus.Wemustlearntocaredeeply."
CharlesEames"Excellence,G.E.M.”1967.
Withinthiscourseyourworkwillbecarefullyexamined,evaluatedandgraded.Youshouldnotconfusefeedbackor
evaluationwithgrading.Feedbackisaprocessofdiscussioninwhichyourideasandobservationsarethemselves
modified,corrected,andstrengthened.Evaluationisacriticofaperformancetoappraiseandmentorafuture
trajectoryofintellectualgrowth(Mastery).Gradingontheotherhandisanindexofarelativestandingagainsta
gradingstandardornormforaparticularpeergroup(yourCollaborativeDesignGroup).Withinthiscourseall
feedback,evaluationandgradingwillbedonecollectivelybybothyourGroupandInstructor.
1) Timemanagement
Timemanagementisawell-knownproblemfor87%ofbeginningcollegestudents.Purchaseacalendarand
useit–putallourcoursedeadlinesandyourstudytimesonittoday.Keepaheadofthedeadlinesby
workingonthisclassforone-houreveryday(theruleofthumbisforeach3creditcourse=6hoursaweekof
homework),ratherthanwaitinguntilthelastminutetocompletepoordesignchallenges,weakvideos,orthe
lastminutewritingofunpreparedanswersduringtheonlinediscussionsessions.
2) Attendanceandexcusedabsences
"Listeningdoesnottakeplaceunlessyouarewillingtobechangedbywhoyouarelisteningto."
AlanAlda,ScientificAmericanFrontiersonFreshAir,3Feb2005.
Aswithanyhighqualityprofessionalposition,orwithinanyleadingedgedesignpractice,youractive
participationeachandeverydayismandatory.Tosucceedyouwillneedtowatchandreviewtheclassnotes
foreverylecture,toinsureyoudevelopanunderstandingoftheideasandskillsyouwillneedtosuccessfully
completethe3DesignChallengeswithyourCollaborativeDesignGroupandgainfullbenefitsfromthiscourse.
Also,likeworkinggloballytoday,youmustremaininconstantcontactEVERYDAYwithyourCollaborative
DesignGroupmembers,(viacellphone,text,Google+hangout,Adobeconnect,Skype,andemail),becauseall
yourassignmentsaredoneinGroups–preparingyouforthenorminyourfutureprofessionalcareer.
Lateorincompleteworkisneveraccepted.Theonlyexceptionsare:1)excusedabsencesduetoaserious
illnessunderadoctor’scare,hospitalization,afamilydeath/tragedy,oranotherseriouslifealteringevent;
2)excusedabsencesrelatedtoreligiousobservances/practicesthatareinaccordwithACD304–04,
AccommodationforReligiousPractices;or3)excusedabsencesrelatedtoanASUsanctionedevents/activities
thatareinaccordwithACD304–02,MissedClassesDuetoUniversity-SanctionedActivities.Afterreceivinga
pdfdocumentingyourevent,anexcusedabsencewillbegrantedandyouwillbeallowedtocompletethe
assignmentinthesameamountoftimeyouwereabsent.
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3) Yourrequiredtextbookandreadings
Leonard,George
Mastery:TheKeystoSuccessandLong-TermFulfillment(NY:Plume1992).
TEDtalks
(www.ted.com-inspirationaltalksbyreallyinterestingvisionaryleaders).
Watchoneeveryday–yourchoiceoftopic
NewYorkTimes(www.nytimes.com-worldwidenews,design+environmentaldevelopments)
Readiteveryday–FREEathttps://lib.asu.edu/librarychannel/newyorktimes
4) Ourclasswebsite
Toaccessthesite:
• Gotohttps://introenvdesign.hol.asu.edu/
• Ifprompted,loginwithyourASURITEnameandpassword
• YoucanalsofindalinktothesiteonthemainHerbergerOnlinesiteathttps://herbergeronline.asu.edu
Postedonourclasswebsiteare:yoursyllabus,schedule,lectures,lecturenotes,accesstoyourassigned
CollaborativeDesignGroup,the3DesignChallengeassignments,announcements,and
yourgrades.Takethetimetofamiliarizeyourselfwiththelocationandoperationofallofthem.
Caution-usingyourMyASUblackboardlinktoourwebsiteisnotadvised,blackboardoutagesarecommon,
andcitingablackboardoutageasthereasonformissingasubmissionisnotaccepted.
5) YourCollaborativeDesignGroup
YouhavebeenassignedautomaticallytoaCollaborativeDesignGrouptostudyandworkwithto
completeyour3DesignChallengeassignments.
HowtolocateyourCollaborativeDesignGroup:
• Logontothe“ALA100–IntroductiontoEnvironmentalDesign”website(seedirectionsabove)
• Clickonthe“MyGroup”tab.
• Atthebottomofthatpage,you’llseealistofeveryoneinyourgroup,emailthemASAPgetconnectedand
organized.
GiventhenatureofyourCollaborativeDesignGroup’sworkonthe3DesignChallenges,youmuststayinconstant
dailycontactwithyourassignedCollaborativeDesignGroupmembers.Exchangeemailaddressesandcell
numbersimmediately.Ifyouchoosenottostayindailycontact(viacellphone,text,Google+hangouts,Adobe
Connect,Skypeandemail)and/ornottoworkwithyourCollaborativeDesignGroupincompletinganyassignment,
thenyouwillautomaticallygetZEROpointsforthatENTIREparticularDesignChallenge.
6)Our3DesignChallenges
Therealtestofwhetheranyonehasreallylearnedandunderstoodabodyofnewlyacquiredbodyof
knowledgeistosimplyaskthemtoapplyittoareallifeproblem.Youwillbeworkinginarandomlyassigned
CollaborativeDesignGrouponthreerequiredDesignChallenges.
YouwillbeginwithDesignChallenge1,whereyouwillindividuallyexplainyourownMasterythroughthe
creationofaYouTubevideoandsummary.InDesignChallenges2+3,yourGroupwillbeaskedtosolvetwo
challengingdesignproblemsforthelightestcardboardchairanddevelopingasetofnewdesignswithalocal,
off-campusnon-for-profitorganization.EachDesignChallengeisfollowedbyagroupdiscussionandpeer
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grading.ThedetailsofeachofthethreerequiredDesignChallengeassignmentscanbefoundonourclassweb
site.
7)Your3OnlineGroupDiscussions
FollowingthecompletionofeachDesignChallenge,youandyourGroupmemberswillberequiredtoengagein
anOnlineDiscussionabouttheideas,methodsandsignificanceofthedesignworkyouhavejustcompleted.On
thedatesindicated,youwillneedtoparticipatethroughoutthedayinyourCollaborativeDesignGroup’sOnline
Discussion.Besuretoanswertherequiredquestions.Ineachandeverypost,thoughtfullyrespondtoyour
Groupmember’sideasandobservationssupportedbydetailedquotedexamplesfromourlectures,textbook
anddailyNewYorkTimes.Remembernocreditwillbegivenforlatepostingsormissedassignments.
HowdoIpostmyDesignChallengeGroupDiscussion?
§ Logontoour“ALA100–IntroductiontoEnvironmentalDesign”website.
§ Clickonthe“MyGroup”tab.
§ Under“GroupDiscussions”findtheentryfortheappropriateDesignChallenge.Ifitisbeforethe
submissiondeadline,thediscussionwillstillbeopen;youwillseealinkintheActioncolumnlabeled
“Discuss.”
§ Clickonthe“Discuss“link.YoushouldnowseetheDiscussionAreaforyourgroup,forthisDesign
Challengeonly.
• IntheUserAgreement,enteryournameandchecktheboxlabeled“ConfirmYourAgreement.”When
youhavedonethat,click“EnterAssessment.”
• YoushouldnowbelookingattheformfortheappropriateDesignChallenge.
• Inthefirstbox,pasteyourYouTubeURLhyperlink.
• Inthesecondbox,typeyour200wordsummaryintroduction-remembertoalwayscheckthegrammar
andspelling.Thinkofthismoreasatermpaperthenane-mail,youwillbemarkeddownfortheuseany
shorthand(texting)orfailuretocapitalize.Nowreadyourresponseoutloud.
• Click“Submit”
• Ifeverythingworked,youshouldseeareceiptpageandamessageindicatingthattheChallengeis
complete.Youmaywanttoprintorscreengrabthispageforyourrecords.
HowdoIread/respondtoothermembersofmyCollaborativeDesignGroup’sposts?
§ Logontoour“ALA100–IntroductiontoEnvironmentalDesign”website.
§ Clickonthe“MyGroup”tab.
§ Under“GroupDiscussions”findtheentryfortheappropriateDesignChallenge.Ifitisbeforethesubmission
deadline,thediscussionwillstillbeopen;youwillseealinkintheActioncolumnlabeled“Discuss.”
§ Clickonthe“Discuss“link.YoushouldnowseetheDiscussionAreaforyourgroup,forthisDesignChallenge
only.
§ Eachpostbyafellowgroupmemberwillhavea“Reply”button.Clickthatbuttontopostareply.
§ Enteryourresponseinthe“message”box-besuretoreadyourresponseoutloudandcheckthegrammar
andspelling,priortosubmitting.
§ Finallypostitbyclickingon“PostReply”
ForEachGroupdiscussionyouneedtoprepareallyourpostsaminimumofoneweekinadvance.
WhenyourgroupmeetstoworkonanyDesignChallenge,discussthecontentofyourupcominggroup
discussion.Checkoutthesamplespostsontheclasswebsitelocatedunderthecalendar.Createawordfilea
minimumofaweekbeforehand.Emailittoallthemembers,andhaveeachgroupmemberwriteoutand
sharealltheirthoughtful,wellwritten,4-5sentencepostsoneweekpriortotheduedate.Thenonthedateof
thegroupdiscussion,alleachmemberdoesiscut-n-pastetheirpostsontothewebsite.
Ifyouencounteranytechnicalproblemswithourcoursewebsite:First,contactHerbergerOnlineHelpDeskby
[email protected]“Help”tabonthecoursewebsitethathasalinktothataddressalso,as
wellasalinktoanonlineHelpForm.Makesuretoprovideasmuchdetailasyoucanabouttheproblemyou
haveencountered–sowecanquicklyhelpyou.
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8) Specialaccommodations
Torequestacademicaccommodationsduetoadisability,pleasecontacttheASUDisabilityResourceCenter
(http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc/#;Phone:(480)965-1234;TDD:(480)965-9000).Thisisavery
importantstepasaccommodationsmaybedifficulttomakeretroactively.Ifyouhavealetterfromtheiroffice
indicatingthatyouhaveadisabilitywhichrequiresacademicaccommodations,inordertoassurethatyou
receiveyouraccommodationsinatimelymanner,pleasesendthisdocumentationtoProfessorUnderwood
nolaterthantheendofthefirstweekofthesemestersothatyourneedscanbeaddressedeffectively.
9)ASUStudentCodeofConduct,academicdishonestyandplagiarism
PleasereviewtheASUStudentCodeofConducthttps://students.asu.edu/srr/code and ASU policy against
disruptive or threatening behavior SSM 104–02 Anyactofacademicdishonesty,suchasplagiarism,willresult
inyourautomaticfailureofthecourseandafinalcoursegradeofXE,“Failureduetoacademicdishonesty,”
whichwillpermanentlyremainonyourASUtranscript.Plagiarismistheactofusingdesigns,wordsandthe
ideasofothersasiftheyareyourown.Bycitingsourcescorrectly,yougivecredittotheoriginatorofthe
wordsandideasyouareusing,yougiveyourreaderstheinformationtheyneedtoconsultthosesources
directly,andbuildtheirowncredibility.Youngcollegestudentssometimegetintotroublebecausethey
mistakenlyassumethatplagiarizingandmashingupisok,itisnot.Ifyouareunsureorhaveanyquestions,
regardingthesepolicies,academicdishonestlyorplagiarism,pleaseaskmetoexplainit.
10)Grading
Wewanttobesurethatallgradinginourclassisfairandequitable.Shouldyouhaveanyquestionsregarding
yourgrade,pleasecontacttheinstructorandifnecessarywemaysetupaskypemeeting.Nextwriteoutthe
reasonforyourproposedgradechange,sendallthesupportingmaterialstotheinstructorpriortoyourSkype
meeting.Understandthatyourgrademaygoupordownbasedonourre-examination.
Required
DesignChallenge1–OneMinuteofMastery,withon-linediscussion+peergrading........331/3 DesignChallenge2–LightestCardboardChair,withon-linediscussion+peergrading.......331/3
DesignChallenge3–DesigningwithaNon-profit,withon-linediscussion+peergrading....331/3
(pleaseseethegradingrubricsforeachDesignChallenge)100points
A+
A
A-
B+
97%andabove
94-96% 90-93% 87-89% B
B-
C+
C
84-86% 80-83% 77-79% 74-76% D
E
XE
70-73%
69%andbelow
Failureduetoacademic
dishonesty.
Importantnotes
1)Rememberlateworkisneveracceptedandnoextracreditwillbegivenformissingassignments.
2)Toinsureequityandfairnessforeverystudentenrolledinthiscourse,wewillnotroundupordownthe
cumulativefinalpointsyouearn.
11) Coursedroporwithdrawal
Ifyouwishtodroporwithdrawfromthiscourse,itisyourresponsibilitytodosobythe
deadlines.Youneedtodropbefore17May,andwithdrawalbefore5June.See
https://students.asu.edu/academic-calendartoconfirmthesesdatesandrequirements.
AnycourseregistrationchangesareprocessedthroughMyASU:http://my.asu.edu.
"Itdoesn'tmatterwhatpathwetake,wehavetoremaincuriousandfearless.
Wehavetolookattheworldandquestionwhatwesee.
Wehavetobeunafraidtosaynoandchangewhatisunacceptable.
Eachofushastheresponsibilitytodoit."
StevenSpielberg
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