CAREERS IN NATURE-BASED ARCHITECTURE

A rapidly growing number of designers and builders make their living in new ways.

Their work enhances human life and health while helping to improve the environment.

They do it through Ecological Design and Nature-Based Architecture.

The need is enormous. Millions of people want nature-sensitive, beautiful, and healthy homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, and cities.

But these places are still the exception, not the rule.

If you would like to learn how to create such environments and help make the world a better place, you're cordially invited to join us at SFIA.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AT SFIA

Many design schools treat the creative design process as a mystery, as an arcane skill that you either "have or don't have." In fact, anyone can learn how to be a good designer, and with extra work, can become a great designer.

But you have to learn what the finest designers and architects actually do when they design.

You have to be free to explore, experiment, and make mistakes, in order to hone your skills. That requires a liberating and fully- supportive environment such as SFIA.

Please note that there are no prerequisites or restrictions on
enrollment for any of the classes listed below. Enrollment is
open to all.

NEW FOR 2004:

DE-8 STUDIO: INDIGENOUS DESIGNS IN ECOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE

Instructor: Craig Henritzy, Architect.
5 units. Mondays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Starts Monday, March 1.

Designing and building with the sun, alternative energy systems, and alternative materials; using planning, structures and forms inspired by indigenous architecture.

Craig Henritzy is an expert on indigenous peoples, solar design, and alternative materials. He's already nationally famous as the architect of "Sun Hawk," the eco home for John Schaeffer of Real Goods and the Solar Living Institute. This class provides comprehensive design exercises in the theory and functional realities of the new wave of nature-based architecture.

E-31 SITE & SUN

Instructor: David Deppen, Architect, Sim van der Ryn Architects, Sausalito.
3 units. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:40 p.m.

Starts Tuesday, March 2.

This course provides alternating classes on eco-sensitive site analysis and solar and wind energy systems. Learn sophisticated, nature-sensitive design insights and technologies from one of the leading experts in the field. Includes a wealth of background on site analysis relative to Bay Area history and ecology.

D-39 ARCHITECTURE & HUMAN BEHAVIOR

(Replaces E-33 Eco Design Project Management.)
Instructor: David Deppen, Architect, Sim van der Ryn Architects, Sausalito.
3 units. Tuesdays, 7:45 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Starts Tuesday, March 2.

This course deals with environmental psychology; how people use and respond to the spaces around them. Includes pattern language; defensible space; healing space; design methods that are in sympathy with human emotion.

E-45 ECOCITIES

Instructor, Richard Register, Eco City Builders.
3 units. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Starts Thursday, March 4.

Richard is author of Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for
a Healthy Future, a classic in eco-urban circles since it was first published in 1987. He is also the author of three other books: Village Wisdom; Future Cities and Ecocities; Building Cities in Balance with Nature.

Cities, like buildings, must be redesigned to meet the standards we now know are essential to healthy, harmonious living. Richard is an early pioneer in this field and is consulted by governments and agencies around the world for his nature-based urban planning expertise.

Cad 10 SKETCHUP 3-D MODELING & DESIGN PROCESS
Instructor: Scott Arenz
3 units. Wednesdays, 7:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Starts Wednesday, March 3.

SKETCHUP is the easiest to use and most versatile 3-D software for both Mac and PC. SketchUp can produce terrific drawings quickly for beginners and experts alike. Students may bring their own computer or use an SFIA workstation. Students will be required to purchase a one-year academic license of the software ($99) in addition to the course fee. See www.SketchUp.com for details about the software.  

Learn how to integrate the software into your design process, from concept sketch to rendering to construction detailing. Included are timesaving shortcuts, solar analysis, rendering, materials calculations, and presentation techniques.

CORE PROGRAM AND OTHER SPRING 2004 CLASSES:

D-1 STUDIO: CREATIVE DESIGN & NATURE-BASED ARCHITECTURE

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA. Fred Stitt, Architect, is the Founder and Director of SFIA. He is the author of numerous books and manuals on architectural practice. His most recent book is The Ecological Design Handbook, published by McGraw-Hill.

5 units. Mondays, 8:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Starts Monday, March 1.

Theories and practices of creative design and nature-based architecture.

This core course shows how to create extraordinary buildings -- buildings that are wholly integrated with the needs of the users, with the site, and within themselves as works of art. The creative design process is extremely well understood, thanks to the testimonies of generations of the world's most creative architects.

The focus of this class is on how to use natural creative skills, experiment with them, and evolve and maximize your inherent and original design abilities.

Continued from Fall 2004, but new students are welcome to enroll.

D-1 is coordinated with other Core Courses: D-4 The Architectural Mind; D-6 History & Theory of Architectural Design; and T-1 Construction Materials & Methods. No prerequisites required.

D-5 DESIGNING THE FUTURE

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.
3 units. Mondays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Starts Monday, March 1.

Products of the world's most advanced creative thinking.

The most important changes in ecology and architecture in the years ahead will come from advanced technology. This course deals with the most advanced ideas and technology of our time, such as Nanotechnology, life extension, virtual worlds, smart dust, mind expansion, and how to remove inhibitions to imagination, through new visionary design methodologies.

D-6 HISTORY & THEORY OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.
3 units. Wednesdays, 7:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Starts Wednesday, March 3.

You can't understand architecture without understanding the little-known systems used to design buildings and the technologies required to build them. Through the Spring Semester, we will study the design methods of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, and Art Nouveau; Antonio Gaudi, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright; and Visionary, Organic, and Contemporary Architecture. This core course is required for all degree students and provides excellent design resources for the design studio courses.

D-7 STUDIES IN ECOLOGICAL DESIGN & ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE

Exceptional architects, designers, and consultants show their work in this public lecture series. The lectures are open to all.

3 unit credit option. Thursdays, 8:00 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

Starts Thursday, March 4.

Students can earn 3 units by enrolling in D-7 as an independent study course. The credit option will be explained on Thursday, March 4. Future lecture events will be announced at that time.

First lecture, March 4. Fred Stitt on Eco Wave Architects: The Bay Area's Most Creative and Nature-Sensitive Architects.

D-14 COMMUNICATING YOUR DESIGNS: PERSPECTIVE DRAWING & MEDIA

3 units. Credit option only. (Video course.)

Scheduled at students' convenience.

Self-study video tape course created by Kirby Lockard, a master of graphic techniques.

Excellent introduction to the principles and techniques of manual perspective drawing and rendering. After your enrollment, we'll deliver video tapes and work materials. Introductory video available upon request from SFIA.

D-21 MATHEMATICS & GEOMETRY FOR CREATIVE DESIGN

Instructor: Matt Fulvio, M.Arch., SFIA.
3 units. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Starts Wednesday, March 3.

The inner workings of the universe around us -- from the structures of minerals to the growth patterns of plants -- are best understood by recreating the harmonic mathematical patterns that underlie all natural phenomena. These same patterns are also the "secret" behind the world's greatest architecture. Using a visual and hands-on approach to understanding polyhedra, tilings, proportion, gnomons, and magic squares, this course explores the mathematical mind and the evolution of math concepts throughout history. Topics include harmony, proportion, polyhedra, and much more.

 D-23 MIND MAPPING & BRAINSTORMING.

Instructor: Penny Burbank, Publications Manager, Independent Institute and SFIA M.Arch. candidate 2004.
3 units. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Starts Thursday, March 4.

Powerful tools for generating ideas, solving problems, organizing thoughts, and designing -- a world of applications, and one of the great creativity tools of all time. Students will learn how to solve any type of problem through brainstorming and mind-mapping exercises. Includes guest speakers to be announced.

T-1 CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS & METHODS

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.
3 units. Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.

Starts Wednesday, March 3.

The nature and best uses of traditional and alternative construction materials, from dirt to high tech.

This semester focuses on secrets of construction disasters and the most common causes of failures in design and materials. Includes studies of site and soil failures; wind, firestorms, earthquakes, toxic air and bad lighting; causes of injury, and much more.

This core course is required for all degree students, and is coordinated with the D-1 Design Studio.

ECOLOGICAL DESIGN AT SFIA

Ecological design is the least understood and utilized of all design disciplines. Most architecture schools still only teach it in part, if at all.

SFIA has pioneered in creating a comprehensive Ecological Design course program for architecture students and a Master of Ecological Design degree program for those who want to work professionally in this realm. A Distance Learning alternative is also now available for certificate, undergraduate, and graduate work.

SFIA offers a full array of courses on alternative materials and construction methods, solar and wind resources, bioremediation, plantscaping and landscaping, recycling in construction, healthy environments, alternative lighting, and related topics.

We also have a parallel Distance Learning program. Distance Learning courses in architecture and ecological design can be started at any time and finished at any time. There are no prerequisites, tests or other admission requirements. See Ecological Distance Learning at this Web site.

TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT COURSES

Technology and management are both essential to ecological design and nature-based architecture.

Technology provides the tools; management provides the means of implementation. Both are under-represented in most design schools, a source of endless frustration and complaint within the architectural profession.

SFIA offers a large complement of self-study courses in project management and design office management through its A/E University continuing education program. As a registered distance learning provider for the American Institute of Architects, SFIA has provided continuing education course materials to over 4,000 architects nationwide.

See AEUniversity.net.

ALL ARE WELCOME AT SFIA

SFIA is a new kind of school with none of the traditional barriers to education.

There are no entrance exams, no prerequisites, no restrictions on enrollment.

To enroll, choose your classes, fill out the enrollment form, and E-mail, fax, or call it in, and come to class.

If you're not in the Bay Area, see our Distance Learning programs in Ecological Design and Architecture at this Web site.

If you would like an evaluation of past work and credit that can be applied to degree work, send your transcripts and work resume for review. These are not required for enrollment, however.

ENROLLMENT FORM