Grachtengordel [city inside the concentric canal rings], Amsterdam, August 2013 [Michael Lucas] One of the highest

density cities in the world sited

on improbable reclaimed wetlands- a challenge to every discipline involved in planning through construction. Bikes, cars, light rail, pedestrians,
houseboats and transit boats combine with hundreds of years of architectural innovations for a most humane environment, and UNESCO World
Heritage site.

Introduction to Environmental Design
EDES 101 Fall 2014
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Professor Michael Lucas

Course Description:
Cal Poly 2013-15 Catalog: Familiarization with the professional fields of architecture, landscape architecture, structural
engineering, construction, and city planning. Introduction to the college's programs as they relate to individual
aptitudes. The design process. Visiting speakers. 2 lectures.

EDES 101 will familiarize you with issues in the professional fields, and interactive nature of architecture, landscape
architecture, structural engineering, construction management, and city planning. This is the only place in our
combined-curricula where all fie of the majors in the College of Architecture & Environmental Design [CAED] are in the
same room. After you graduate, you will likely work with interdisciplinary teams every day. Therefore, this class is a
wonderful opportunity for you to gain understanding and respect for your allied disciplines, and to make relationships
with your future collaborators.

Class Format:
The class is a combination of lectures and hands-on explorations. Thursday is a large lecture for all [required] and
Thursday or Friday you will be assigned to one of 21 interdisciplinary student learning communities led by a Mentor.
Your Mentor will be an upper-level or graduate student from one of the five departments of the CAED. Cal Poly
employs a Learn-by-Doing philosophy where your experimentation and participation are key to your learning. In the
learning community, you will complete a number of assignments developed by the lead faculty and enabled by the
Mentor, and you will upload your process and findings onto the class PolyLearn site, Cal Polys digital commons for
courses. Students with University certified disability should self-report privately to the instructor, and discuss
accommodation. Athletes must have letter from coaching staff for excused absences

Faculty Contact:
Professor Michael Lucas: email: mlucas@calpoly.edu campus phone: 756.1313
Office Hours: Th 1:00pm -4:00pm and by appointment Office: 05-214B [Deans Suite off of CAED Lobby]
Your Mentor will share their contact information with you.

Course Learning Objectives:
Students who successfully complete EDES 101 should begin to satisfy a number of academic expectations that are
based on the University Learning Objectives (http://ulo.calpoly.edu/). These expectations include the ability to:

Understand and value the differences between the CAED majors.
Communicate effectively in the form of short exercises.
Understand Learn-by-Doing as a pedagogical method.
Work productively individually and in groups to complete assignments.
Understand academic and professional ethics, and the role of codes.
Participate in the legal process of development approval.
Understand the role of active citizenship in forming our communities.
Employ a basic vocabulary related to design, structures, and planning.
Evaluate and rank sources for reliability and integrity (lifelong learning).

Explorations:
In EDES 101, there will be weekly assignments requiring individual and group work, and required on-campus and local
field trips. The assignments will be compiled for review via PolyLearn. Your learning community will begin and review
completed assignments via PolyLearn. It is critical that assignments are submitted on-time and that your learning
community devise methods of successful organization and communication. Your Mentor is there to guide you and help
you understand the value of the activities, and give personal insights based on their background, but you are
responsible for timely execution. Late assignments will not be accepted.
The evidence of the exploration is a weekly deliverable graphic or text based piece. They will have weekly explicit
directions and are estimated to take you no more than two hours outside of class.

Final Compilation: My EDES 101 Primer
You will put together a final compilation of all the Explorations in digital form. This is a small pdf booklet online for
review. You may, at any time, rework or even re-do any Exploration for the Primer. This should be considered a design
exercise. It wll be submitted as a pdf only on PolyLearn.

Required Textbooks/Courseware:
There are no required textbooks for this course. For specific topics and assignments, there may be supplementary
readings via url or on PolyLearn, which you should read before the presentations.

Electronic Devices:
You are encouraged to bring your tablets, laptops, and cell phones to class and to use these to take notes, ask
questions, or briefly investigate topics as directed. At the same time, common courtesy and academic discipline
demand that, during class, you turn off your cell phones and refrain from answering e-mail or using social media.

Commitment to Community:
The Cal Poly Statement on Commitment to Community declares that the campus community values a broad and
inclusive learning experience. Among other things, students, staff and faculty choose to act with integrity and
practice academic honesty in the spirit of inquiry and discovery.

Academic Dishonesty:
All work using outside sources, whether images or text [quotations] should receive some form of footnote attribution.
Cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty that are intended to gain unfair academic advantage are
violations of the Student Conduct Code (http://www.osrr.calpoly.edu/standardsforconduct/title5.asp). All forms of
academic dishonesty are grounds for failure on this class. For other consequences, please see the offices website
(www.osrr.calpoly.edu).

Attendance and Participation:
You are required to attend every class meeting. Your Mentor will take role in the lecture and discussion session, so it is
critical that you sit with your learning community and check-in with your Mentor at the start of each class period.
Missing more than two classes may result in a grade of no credit meaning that you would have to retake this course
fall of 2015. There are no tests, no midterm, and there is no final exam during finals week.

Grading:
There are three key factors that affect your grade: attendance, participation, and evidence in the completed
Assignments. For more information on grading, see the Cal Poly Catalog
(http://catalog.calpoly.edu/2011cat/grading.pdf).
Attendance: lecture or discussion group attended: +2 points each; lecture or discussion group missed: -10 points each
Assignments: 0-5 point scale each.
Final Compilation/EDES 101 Primer: 0-10 points
Final Grades: A: 100-94 points; A-: 93-90 points; B+: 89-87 points; B: 86-84 points; B-: 83-80 points; C+: 79-77 points;
C: 76-74 points; C-: 73-70 points; D+: 69-67 points; D: 66-64 points; D-: 63-60 points; F: 59 and below.
Class Calendar [Guests and Topics subject to change]:

Week One 09.25.14 Bodies of Knowledge 1: On the Body [Michael Lucas]
09.26.14 [no discussion classes, but Exploration 1 assigned in lecture]

Week Two 10.02.14 Bodies of Knowledge 2: Big Data [Jesse Vestermark, CAED Kennedy Librarian]
10.03.14 Exploration 2

Week Three 10.09.14 Vectors 1: Animate Place [Cesar Torres, LARC]
10.10.14 Exploration 3

Week Four 10.16.14 Vectors 2: Shake [Abe Lynn, ARCE]
10.17.14 Exploration 4

Week Five 10.23.14 Thinking 1: City [Beverly Bass, LARC]
10.24.14 Exploration 5

Week Six 10.30.14 Thinking 2: Architecture [Doug Jackson, ARCH]
10.31.14 Exploration 6

Week Seven 11.06.14 Making: Vellum Competition [Tom DiSanto, ARCH]
11.07.14 Exploration 7

Week Eight 11.13.14` Abstraction: Float and Contingency [TBA from CM or Cal Poly Facilities]
11.14.14 Exploration 8

Week Nine 11.20.14 Intersubjective: Battle for Cerrito Peak [Michael Lucas]
11.21.14 Exploration 9

Week Ten No Classes Thursday or Friday- Thanksgiving Break

Week Eleven 12.04.14 Rap-up [Guests]
12.05.14 Exploration 10

Finals Week 12.11.14 COMPLETED EDES 101 PRIMER DUE ON POLYLEARN


Ooesterdok [Eastern Docklands], Amsterdam, August 2013 [Michael Lucas]. The curiously shaped ARCAM [Amsterdam Architecture Center; 2003
Rene van Zuuk] sits across the harbor from NEMO [Amsterdam Science Center /roof park / transbay tunnel portal; 1997; Renzo Piano Building
Workshop], knitted together by a busy waterfront and creating value from site and material realities and opportunities.