A

AIA CES Credits
AV Office
Abstract Publication
Academic Affairs
Academic Calendar, Columbia University
Academic Calendar, GSAPP
Admissions Office
Advanced Standing Waiver Form
Alumni Board
Alumni Office
Anti-Racism Curriculum Development Award
Architecture Studio Lottery
Assistantships
Avery Library
Avery Review
Avery Shorts

S

STEM Designation
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Scholarships
Skill Trails
Student Affairs
Student Awards
Student Conduct
Student Council (All Programs)
Student Financial Services
Student Health Services at Columbia
Student Organization Handbook
Student Organizations
Student Services Center
Student Services Online (SSOL)
Student Work Online
Studio Culture Policy
Studio Procedures
Summer Workshops
Support GSAPP
Close
This website uses cookies as well as similar tools and technologies to understand visitors' experiences. By continuing to use this website, you consent to Columbia University's usage of cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with the Columbia University Website Cookie Notice Group 6
A4800-1 / Spring 2019

Material Things

This course introduces students to fundamental properties of materials and fabrication techniques, in the combined format of a seminar and physical workshop. It will provide hands-on experience in individual and cooperative building skills, focusing on the connectivity of analog and digital methods, as well as encouraging a type of engagement with making physical things that is analytical and creative.

The title of the course is literal in that it is a hands-on workshop concerned with the nature and performance of materials, examined and tested through direct experience. The title is also a reference to our necessary attachment to materials and material things as designers, and a nod to the productive cultural institutions that emerge around the act of making. As such, the course will examine the relationship between materials and methods by engaging (through discussion and workshops) the conceptual and historical themes that establish making as an act of design thought. This will include discussion of the history of making as part of design education, making countercultures, and the reexamination of craft vis a vis digital fabrication. The semester will be broken into three acts, each centered on a fabrication theme and deliverable physical project. Each part will have an associated conceptual prompt, class discussion, technical lesson, and design workshop. Activities incorporated into these acts may include but are not limited to: studio and workshop visits in the tri-state area, invited thinkers and experts, whole-class exercises, and multimedia-driven critical discussion.

Location & Time
115 AVERY
W 7 PM - 9 PM
Session & Points
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
Call Number
69693
Other Semesters & Sections
Course Semester Title Student Work Instructor Syllabus Requirements & Sequence Location & Time Session & Points Call No.
A4800‑1 Spring 2020
Material Things
Joshua Jordan
115 AVERY
W 7 PM - 9 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
11463
A4800‑1 Spring 2018
Material Things
Joshua Jordan Syllabus
115 Avery
W 7 PM - 9 PM
Full Semester
3 Points
20847
A4800‑1 Spring 2017
Material Things
Dsc 0288
Dsc 0227
Dsc 0249
Joshua Jordan Syllabus Tech Elective
115 Avery Hall
W 7PM-9PM
Full Semester
3 Points
28696