INSTRUCTION
1366 Mission Street in San Francisco
(Between 9th & 10th Streets, 1 block south of Market Street.)

SFIA ADMINISTRATIVE & INFORMATION OFFICE
Box 2590
Alameda, CA 94501
510-523-5174 • Fax 510-523-5175
SFIA@aol.com

SPRING 2006

SEMESTER

CLASS LIST

Semester starts Monday, March 6, 2006.
Semester ends Thursday, May 25, 2006.

Also available:
complete architectural and ecological design
degree programs through distance learning.

See Architecture Distance Learning and
Eco Design Distance Learning
at www.SFIA.net.

SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT SFIA

SFIA students don't leave their ideas and ideals behind when

they leave school. They don't go out and just work as drafters,

as do most graduates of most architecture schools. They go

out and make things happen.

They build nature-based architecture, they teach, and they

work with private and public agencies devoted to improving

the environment.

And when our students do take the traditional route of

internship and employment, they don't work for

run-of-the-mill architects; they work for

those who are making a positive difference in the world.

This is the difference we want to see, it IS what's

happening, and it makes us proud.

ACCREDITED DEGREES AND SFIA

SFIA now offers a special program for those students who

want an accredited degree. An accredited degree may shorten

the time required to apply for the architectural licensing exam

in California, and it is required for licensing in about 30

other states.

SFIA has arranged for reciprocity in enrollments of our

students in several exceptional architecture schools across

the United States. Students applying for transfer will be required to

inform themselves of all host school requirements.

Although fees are much higher at other schools, their

accredited standing allows students to apply for student

loans so they can afford full-time education at their campuses.

Some SFIA students have already successfully transferred

to other schools to obtain an accredited degree. But the schools

we're working with most closely are similar to SFIA in

enrollment policies and learning philosophy. They emphasize

real-world working knowledge, ecological design, and

independent creative endeavor.

Our schools are members of The Council of Independent

Schools of Architecture, and, in addition to SFIA, include:

The Boston Architectural Center, an institution

of learning in collaboration with the architectural profession

for over 100 years.

The Frank Lloyd Wright School, continuing the

learn-by-doing philosophy and nature-based architecture

of Frank Lloyd Wright, with alternative campus work

at Taliesin in Wisconsin, and Taliesin West in Arizona.

The New School of Architecture - San Diego,

a rapidly growing alternative center of creative design in

San Diego, California.

All these schools are accredited by their regional agencies and

the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB),

to meet standards of the National Council of Architectural

Registration Boards (NCARB).

ALL ARE WELCOME AT SFIA

SFIA (since 1990) 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

come to class. If you're not in the Bay Area, see our Distance

Learning programs in Ecological Design and Architecture.

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 in SFIA classes, however.)

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.

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.

* Indicates a Core Course -- strongly recommended to all students.

MONDAYS

DE-25
REAL WORLD PROBLEM SOLVING

3 units. Mondays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:40 p.m.
Class starts Monday, March 6, 2006.

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 books
are The Ecological Design Handbook, published by McGraw-Hill,
and the upcoming Eco Wave, to be published by W.W. Norton.

How to start to do something about the environmental problems of
the world. Learn advanced methods of thought and action used by
prime movers and the most creative people of our time.

As you learn the new methodologies, you'll identify crucial issues
and learn how to apply real-world problem-solving methods
successfully, even with minimal resources.

Problems to be solved include: homelessness, reducing U.S.
energy consumption by half, establishing eco design centers in
every city in the nation, identifying the common flaws of most
major building types and correcting them,
plus others of your choosing.

This is one of the most important and personally useful classes
ever offered at SFIA, and we sincerely hope all students can participate.

Enrollment in our previous D-4 core course on Creative Problem
Solving is useful but not required.

D-1*
STUDIO: CREATIVE DESIGN AND
NATURE-BASED ARCHITECTURE

Theories and practices of creative design and nature-based architecture.
Continued from Fall, 2005, but new students are welcome to enroll.

5 units. Mondays, 7:45 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.
Class starts Monday, March 6, 2006.

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.

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.

TUESDAYS

E-9
PREPARING FOR THE LEED-ACCREDITED
PROFESSIONAL EXAM

3 units. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Six-week seminar.
Class starts Tuesday, March 7, 2006.

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) has
become the most important and influential movement in
green building.

Those who learn the LEED system of certifying buildings can
take an examination to become a LEED-Accredited Professional
and be qualified to offer LEED consulting services.

This course presents the LEED system in detail, plus vitally
important related professional training, for work in all aspects
of ecological design, sustainable planning, and green building.

E-10
ECO DESIGN COUNSELING SERVICES

Starts mid-semester following E-9.

3 units. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Six-week seminar.
Class starts Tuesday, April 18, 2006.

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.

How to start, manage, and expand an independent ecological
design consulting service. Includes details of business planning,
startup, marketing, finance, and the wide range of services
you can provide to help clients along, toward ecological design
and green building. This is an important course for architects
and builders, as well as independent design consultants of all types.

E-12
SIX ECO ARCHITECTS --
LESSONS LEARNED

3 units. Tuesdays, 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Class starts Tuesday, April 18, 2006. Six-week seminar.

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.

The first class of its kind -- a video-based study of the
work and practices of 6 outstanding professionals in
ecological design, building, and architecture. Some
subjects of the class will be on presented on video,
not in person.

Each session will review the subject's work, followed
by discussion of the crucial issues of professional life:
how to find clients, how to get buildings approved and
constructed, how to experiment and learn from your
successes and failures.

This class offers an unforgettable combination of
hands-on practical knowledge and
inspired visionary creativity.

THE SIX ARCHITECTS

Eugene Tsui, world-famous nature-inspired architect and
author of Evolutionary Architecture.
Phil Hawes, architect of the Biosphere 2 and
planner of a new wave of eco villages.
Steve Heckeroth, one of Northern California's
leading doers in solar design.
Penny Livingston, Director of the Northern California
Permaculture Institute.
Bart Prince, one of the nation's most accomplished
advocates of creative organic and nature-based architecture.
Donald MacDonald, San Francisco's most singularly
inventive architect; architectural designer of
the new San Francisco Bay Bridge.

DE-8
STUDIO: INDIGENOUS GREEN
USING LESSONS FROM INDIGENOUS
CULTURES TO DESIGN GREEN BUILDINGS

5 units. Tuesdays, 7:45 - 9:00 p.m.
Class starts Tuesday, March 7, 2006. A six-week program.

Instructor: Craig Henritzy, Architect.

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

The design project will be a new Ohlone Cultural Center.

Craig Henritzy is an expert on native American 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.

WEDNESDAYS

T-1*
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
AND METHODS

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

Continued from Fall, 2005, but new students are welcome to enroll.

3 units. Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:40 p.m.
Class starts Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.

Secrets of construction and the most common causes of
failures in design and materials.

Includes high hazards in materials and construction, toxic materials,
earthquakes, fire, soil failures and landslides, and
consequences of failures to design with nature.

Additional technology and management courses are
available from SFIA through distance learning.

D-6*
HISTORY AND THEORY OF
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

How architects design using organizing principles from ancient Egypt
through Asia and the Western world.

Continued from Fall, 2005, but new students are welcome to enroll.

Instructor: Fred Stitt, Director, SFIA.
3 units. Wednesdays, 7:45 - 9:15 p.m.
Class starts Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

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 studios.

D-21
MATHEMATICS AND GEOMETRY FOR
CREATIVE DESIGN

The inner geometries of nature that are essential for
the creation of integrity and beauty
in every aspect of design.

Instructor: Matt Fulvio, M.Arch. SFIA.
3 units. Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:40 p.m.

Class starts Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

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.

THURSDAYS

E-110
GREAT IDEAS IN ECO DESIGN

3 units. Thursdays, 6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
Starts Thursday, March 9, 2006.

Facilitator: Amber Rich.

A reading seminar review of the leading books in Ecological Design. Readings are assigned each week, and students provide written checklist summaries of their readings and participate in discussions of the most important points of each book. This is an enjoyable and effective way to learn and fully understand the most significant and influential concepts of ecological design. Books include: Biomimicry, Cradle to Cradle, Design with Nature, Natural Capitalism,
and others of the students' choosing.

D-7
STUDIES IN ECOLOGICAL DESIGN
AND 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 - 9:15 p.m.

Students can earn 3 units by enrolling in D-7 as an independent
study course. The credit option will be explained at the first
session on Thursday, March 9, at 8:00 p.m. Future lecture
events will be announced at that time.

C-11
VECTORWORKS COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN & DRAFTING

3 units. (Credit option only.) Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Instructor: Paul Harbison

Six-week class. Starts Thursday, March 9, 2006. An intensive, enjoyable, and rewarding introduction to the user-friendly Macintosh version of VectorWorks. This introduction to VectorWorks covers the basics of the Macintosh operating system, the fundamentals of architectural design drawing and production drawing on computer, and the essentials of efficient drafting, including layering, notation, and dimensioning. Concludes with an introduction to 3-D graphics.
Two people usually share each computer (team learning has been proven to be most efficient and effective). Or you may bring
your own laptop if you prefer (but please notify us if you are).

VIDEO HOME STUDY

D-14
COMMUNICATING YOUR DESIGNS:
PERSPECTIVE DRAWING & MEDIA

Self-study video tape course created by Kirby Lockard,
a master of graphic techniques.
3 units. (Credit option only.)

Scheduled at students' convenience.

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

HOME STUDY DISTANCE LEARNING 

Complete Associate, Bachelor, and Master Degree

programs are available through textbook-based

distance learning programs. See "Architecture Distance

Learning" and "Eco Distance Learning" at www.SFIA.net.

Box 2590
Alameda, CA 94501
510-523-5174
Fax 510-523-5175
SFIA@aol.com
www.SFIA.net