Architecture and Environmental Design

The Architecture and Environmental Design program offers a foundational knowledge for designing sustainable spaces and communities. This area of study allows students to explore a number of fields and build on more specialized knowledge that includes sustainability, housing, material explorations and construction methods, urban planning and issues of environmental justice, and emerging trends in digital design and fabrication. A learning-by-doing approach is stressed in preparation for design-related careers or for transfer to a four-year university for further study in architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, or civil engineering.

The Associate of Science Degree prepares students for a career in design-related disciplines and for transfer to professional degree programs at four-year institutions.

The Certificate of Achievement prepares students for entry-level positions in a wide range of design professions, and also serves as a foundation for specializing in a design-related focus.

Many of our students transfer onto a variety of top-tier universities offering accredited architecture programs such as USC and Cal Poly Pomona.

ARCH 102 3 Units

Digital Design Media Level I

Lecture: 18 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Corequisite: ARCH 112

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of representing architectural design. The class focuses on architectural drawing conventions, and uses standard architectural software to draft, document, and represent a three-dimensional design through two-dimensional drawings. Attention is drawn to the relationship between technical and presentation drawings, and the course explores and analyzes architectural presentation principles and techniques.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 103 3 Units

Architectural Rendering and Visual Communication

Lecture: 18 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 102

Corequisite: ARCH 113

This course serves as an introduction to three-dimensional digital modeling using three-dimensional software, and focuses on how to visually communicate design intent through a series of architectural drawings and diagrams. Different types of renderings and three-dimensional views are introduced, and resulting projects are presented using layout software.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 104 3 Units

The Built Environment: Culture, Profession, and Urbanization

Lecture: 18 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

This course surveys the built environment throughout history and across different cultures and geographies worldwide. Emphasis is on the role of architecture, and allied disciplines such as urban design and planning, in enabling colonial expansion and domination of non-western cultures. This historical survey ends with an assessment and understanding of contemporary architectural practice, along with licensing pathways and academic and professional trajectories.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 105 3 Units

Design Theories, Methods, and Visualizations

Lecture: 36 contact hours
Lab: 54 contact hours

This course introduces students to the process of architectural design, exploring the built environment through different media and activities that address distinct design approaches. It includes studies of various representation techniques, media, and processes to express different design philosophies, and an introduction to the tools, techniques, and methods relevant to the design process. The course introduces students to the various scales of architectural intervention, from the dimensions of the human body all the way to the territory of the city.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 112 4 Units

Design Studio I

Lecture: 36 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 105

Corequisite: ARCH 102

This introductory architecture design studio course focuses on design process, including the perceptual and physical study of space from conceptualization and form-making to visualization and presentation. Emphasis on design process includes site analysis of environmental, contextual, and cultural aspects of space, design, and the urban environment. Design investigations will focus on a small residential building for a single client that challenges students to consider the environmental and social impact of their design.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 113 4 Units

Design Studio II

Lecture: 36 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 112

Corequisite: ARCH 103

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This is a second-level architectural design studio with a focus on site analysis, design conceptualization and form-making, program development, and deep considerations of environmental and cultural contexts. Emphasis is on critical thinking and problem-solving through design, integrating an understanding and articulation of the role of architecture in addressing environmental, social, and climatic inequalities. Design investigations will focus on a public/cultural institution and will utilize digital software to focus on overall design strategies, structural systems, materials, space, light, and a corresponding set of project representations and physical models.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 145 3 Units

History of Architecture: Early Design Through Gothic

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This course is a survey of Western architectural history from the early Egyptians through the Gothic period, in addition to the eastern architecture of India, Japan and China. The course includes a comparative study of architecture and architects with emphasis on the people, locations, structures, materials, and methods of construction and additional influences on the built environment.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 145H 3 Units

History of Architecture: Early Design Through Gothic - Honors

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 146 3 Units

History of Architecture: Renaissance Through Modern

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Advisory: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

This is a survey course that covers the indigenous architecture in the Pre-Columbian Americas and the Western architectural history Renaissance period to modern times. This course includes a comparative study of architecture and architects with an emphasis on people, locations, structures, materials, and methods of construction.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 146H 3 Units

Architecture History: Renaissance to Modern - Honors

Lecture: 54 contact hours

Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or ENGL 101H

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 202 3 Units

Digital Design Media Level II

Lecture: 18 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 102

Corequisite: ARCH 212

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is examined relative to Integrated Project Delivery methods as pertains to collaboration and communication in the design and construction of buildings and building systems. Building construction methods and materials are examined through case studies to explore the means and techniques applied to the material execution of buildings and BIM. Focus on an understanding of the organization of the design and construction process and awareness of building and zoning codes, material systems and types.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to CSU only

ARCH 203 3 Units

Advanced Digital Media and Algorithmic Design

Lecture: 18 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 103

Corequisite: ARCH 213

Tools that are available to model design parametrically will be introduced in this class to illustrate the construction of geometrical relationships among complex shapes. Focus is on hands-on techniques that can be applied to the design process, to extend the efficiency and productivity of design work. Using design mathematics and computational definitions, students will develop digital models that they will translated into physical models.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 212 4 Units

Design Studio III

Lecture: 36 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 113

Advisory: ARCH 202

This upper-level architectural design studio focuses on the principles and applications of environmental design in relationship to architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design and planning. The course emphasizes how sustainability and environmental considerations can be an integral part of the design process, and teaches the applicability and relevance of those considerations for questions of climate justice and equity. Design investigations will focus on a series of a multi-unit housing complex or mixed-use building on an urban site in the San Bernardino or Los Angeles region.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to both UC/CSU

ARCH 213 4 Units

Design Studio IV

Lecture: 36 contact hours
Lab: 108 contact hours

Prerequisite: ARCH 212

Corequisite: ARCH 203

This upper-level architectural design studio integrates regulatory, site, and social considerations into a sustainable design response that addresses/mitigates climate risks. The focus is on sustainability and energy-efficiency, with a reflection on the environmental and social impact of an architectural design proposal on a given site and surrounding context. Emphasis is on multiple scales of design, from the detailed wall section and building envelope to the structural, energy, and spatial organizational system guiding the design process. Investigations will stress logical organization, craftsmanship, technical skills, vocabulary, and physical object-making through the design of complex building types. Design investigations will focus on a public building complex in a given neighborhood in the Southern California region that is facing social, environmental, and climate risks.

Associate Degree Applicable

Transfers to CSU only

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