Deerfield Academy

This course introduces students to major movements and themes in architecture, significant architects and buildings throughout history, contemporary architectural issues, and basic drafting and digital drawing techniques. Students will develop an appreciation for architecture and become conversant with its history and vocabulary.

Students will utilize readings, drawing, and analytical exercises to study existing cities, both historic and contemporary, to distill the qualities that make a beautiful place. The primary focus will be on urban patterns and how buildings relate to each other in a cityscape rather than on individual buildings.

Students will be introduced to principles and elements of two-and three-dimensional architectural representation and design. Projects range from drawing traditional architectural views by hand and digitally, to rendering drawings using pens and watercolors, to building physical and digital models.

This course expands on Architectural Drawing and Design 1, with a continued emphasis on architectural history and theory. Students will continue developing their design and representational skills with a series of design projects of increasing complexity.

Old Deerfield, including buildings part of Deerfield Academy, Historic Deerfield, and the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, provide an ideal laboratory to study architecture, history, and historic preservation. Students will develop an awareness of architectural and preservation philosophy and learn about why the buildings in Deerfield look the way they do.

This class focuses on advanced work for students who have completed at least two terms in the architecture curriculum. Students will refine their drawing and design skills while working collaboratively on the design development and production of a complete architectural project.