Spring 2011 Classes

Evening classes start Monday, April 18, 2011. Classes last six weeks and end the week of May 23, unless noted otherwise.


Class Location: Strawberry Creek Design Center in Berkeley

1250 Addison Street, Room 106, Berkeley, CA 94702

www.strawberrycreekonline.com

Two blocks west of Sacramento Street and one block south of University Avenue. Five blocks to the North Berkeley BART Station.

Evolutionary Architecture

MONDAYS

DE400
NATURE AS ARCHITECT: LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF NATURE
Mondays, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
4 units. $395 credit, $250 noncredit.
Class starts Monday, April 18, 2011.
Instructor: Dr. Eugene Tsui, Architect.

Nature contains a fantastic and unlimited variety of form, structure and materials. It is a tremendous resource for creating efficient, lightweight and disaster-proof design. Nature is the supreme teacher of nontoxic, non-polluting and non-mechanical habitats. Learning the language of nature is crucial to the survival of humanity and the protection of our planet.

We must all learn the language of nature if we are to have any chance to survive our future. In this class you will learn the underlying principles of nature: Strength-to-weight ratio; conservation of materials; shape and aerodynamics; tensile structures; habitat as a living organism; self-adaptation; dispersion of stress and strain; localization of materials; color-as-structure; lightweight insulation; and natural mechanical and energy systems.

Join us for a glimpse into 4.5 billion years of design and evolution and find out how we can use this knowledge to create a future unlike anything ever dreamed of; a future of meaning, imagination, function and limitless variety. The language of nature unlocks the secrets of the universe. Prepare to think, to design, and be amazed!

About the instructor:

Dr. Eugene Tsui is an architect, author, and international professor who is currently the Foreign Professor-in-Residence at Harbin University Institute of Technology in Shenzhen, China and is a Visiting Scholar at South China University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou, China. He is also consulting in the Environment and Energy Department at Beijing University and is a Senior Lecturer at UC Berkeley in their Sustainability Department. He has architecture offices in Emeryville, California and Shenzhen, China, and is currently writing his sixth book on biologic architecture, changing human behavior and education. Dr. Tsui is annually featured on documentary channels such as National Geographic, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The History Channel, CNN, PBS, MTV, The BBC, CCTV China Television, Euro Television and many others. He has been a frequent visiting instructor at the San Francisco Institute of Architecture since its inception in 1990.

Eugene is researching complex evolved nature structures to develop an apartment complex design for 3500 inhabitants in Guangzhou, China, and he is developing an earthquake and typhoon-proof building prototype to be constructed in Shenzhen, China, early next year. He is constructing a true non-energy dwelling in Mount Shasta, California which will be completed by next year. He is writing a new issue of the World Architecture Review magazine dedicated to his educational work with graduate and doctoral students in China, to be published in June 2011.


Hilltop home for San Francisco by Eugene Tsui.

TUESDAYS

E180
GREYWATER REUSE, RAINWATER CAPTURE, AND ECOLOGICAL SANITATION
Tuesdays, 6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Tuesday, April 19, 2011.
Instructor: Laura Allen, Greywater Action.

Drinkable water on our planet consists of less than a small percentage of 1% of all the water available. Water will have to be conserved and collected on a local scale and building by building in the years ahead, to avoid catastrophic consequences. Meanwhile, it’s a practical economic benefit for buildings to go “off the pipeline,” in terms of water supply, just as many are going “off the grid” to generate their own electricity.

About the instructor:

Laura Allen, a founding member of Greywater Action, has spent a decade exploring low-tech, urban, sustainable water solutions. She has a BA in Environmental Science, a teaching credential, and a Masters in Education from New College of California. She is coeditor of the anthology, Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground. Laura leads classes and workshops on urban ecological sanitation technologies of rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse and composting toilets. Laura also works with the Greywater Alliance to help remove institutional barriers to sustainable water use. In 2009 Greywater Action joined with a water organization called, “A Single Drop” to connect international clean water work with US hands-on water conservation strategies “A Single Drop” is the fiscal sponsor of Greywater Action www.greywateraction.org

Earthship cross section
Earthship cross section: total solar/water harvesting recycled materials construction.



Malcolm Wells integrated design for site, sun, and wind.

E31
HOW TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE LAND
Tuesdays, 8:00 – 9:15 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Tuesday, April 19, 2011.
Instructor: Dave Deppen, Architect.

A unique, nature-sensitive approach for deeply understanding and working with the land, sun, climate, and human conditions at any location. This course will completely change your relationship with the land.

Topics include:
• Comprehensive and practical methods in landscape ecology.
• A new and easy-to-remember way to understand and sense solar orientation.
• Learning from the history of the land.
• Raising your capacity for conscious awareness and observation.
• Methods of native trackers and lifelong naturalists.
• How to interview and learn from those who know your building site best.
• Finding and using little known, invaluable sources of site information.

This class also includes the bonus of a wealth of background on local Bay Area history, climate, biology, and ecology. Note: Spring is a wonderful season to take this course.

About the instructor:
Dave Deppen is an architect and ecological designer, with more than thirty years of experience with ecological projects of all types and scales. His focus is on combining the best of green design, using people-friendly approaches. He has held leading roles in the firms of eco-luminaries Malcolm Wells and Sim Van der Ryn. His design for the Kirsch Center at DeAnza College won a first-ever Livable Building award from the nation’s premier organization of building scientists, as well as a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. Dave has lectured widely, including the Commonwealth Club, Stanford University, University of Oregon, and other locales across the country.

Site integrated architecture
Site integrated architecture.


Solar panels atop an office building.

WEDNESDAYS

E150
SOLAR ENERGY
Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
Instructor: Jerry Caldwell, Solar Energy Consultant and Senior Project Engineer

Buildings consume over 60% of all electrical energy production with enormous environmental costs from coal- and petroleum-burning energy generation. Meanwhile, solar power gets cheaper and more efficient every year. As people switch to plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, the economics get better and better. This class covers all you need to know to understand solar technology, how to choose systems, the best methods of installation and operation, and how to combine solar energy with other alternatives, such as wind power. Includes updates on new technology, the growing solar industry, and improved methods of solar energy calculation.



Solar panels at the SF Academy of Sciences building.

DE310
PRESERVATION AND BUILDING CODES
Wednesdays, 8:00 – 9:15 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
Instructor: Jeffrey B. Samudio, Principal, Design Aid, Cultural Resource Management and Sustainable Design

Building Codes Use and Interpretation: Methods to obtain Building Permits for New or Alternative GREEN and SUSTAINABLE Systems, Materials, or New Building Placement.

Prescriptive Model Codes can seem stifling for those seeking better means to improve building efficiency, adaptability of use, and lower construction costs. Learn how one can utilize Environmental Laws that allow alternative green and sustainable approaches to meet building code requirements. Students will understand how little-known and assertive procedures can significantly ease permit approvals, expedite Planning and Permit Review and especially, lower project costs especially for existing building rehabilitation. By understanding rules for alternative code equivalents, students will also become familiar with the California State Historic Building Code (CSHBC) and its administrative board in the Office of the State Architect. This class is complementary to the Winter Semester “Introduction to Historic Preservation, The Original Green Discipline” course, that offered technical application guidelines for permitting older structures not meeting current code or constructed with archaic or hazardous building materials.


THURSDAYS

C22
SKETCHUP: COMPUTER VISUALIZATION, MODELING, RENDERING
Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Thursday, April 21, 2011.
Instructor: Ben Cooper, CADD and 3-D visualization and modeling consultant.
Note: Students will download the SketchUp software and bring their own laptops

This course is a comprehensive introduction to SketchUp, the lowest-cost and easiest-to-use architecture computer modeling program for Mac and PC. Students learn techniques for using the software and how to integrate it into your design process, from concept sketch to rendering to construction detailing. CADD SketchUp can produce terrific drawings quickly, for beginners and experts alike. SketchUp is now the leading medium for architectural perspective renderings and presentation drawings. Software can be downloaded at no cost at www.SketchUp.com. Bring your own laptop.


Sketchup rendering of a “green” school.

D11
SKETCH JOURNAL DRAWING
Thursdays, 8:15 – 9:30 p.m.
3 units. $350, credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Thursday, April 21, 2011.
Instructor: Jon Larson, LEED AP, Build It Green-Certified, GreenPoint Rated architect, and much-published artist.

Learn architectural drawing by integrating your personal, everyday life with art. Inspire and develop your drawing and artistic skills in a supportive format for widening creative expression, while developing the ability to see, by keeping a sketch journal. Artists and architects throughout history have kept visual journals of favorite designs, images and ideas, as a way to remember, understand and grow. This class is intended to complement other SFIA architecture classes.
Topics include:

• Your basic graphic toolbox; tips on materials to best fit your needs.
• 3-D; bringing life to plans and elevations with graphics; a friendly intro to perspective in everyday life.
• Tones, composition and rendering; doing less for more effect.
• Color and media — from wild to meditative.
• Communicating mood and sense of place.
• Biophilic art; design lessons from nature, including the study of growth and metamorphosis.

About the instructor:
Jon Larson is an architect, illustrator, and painter, who has taught architectural sketching at the Building Education Center in Berkeley for over 20 years. He is Build It Green-Certified, a LEED AP, and a Green Point Rater. He has also taught art classes throughout the Bay Area, lectured on “Art in Everyday Life,” and taught drawing at the Waldorf School in Berkeley. His book and magazine illustrations have been published nationally, and his artwork has been exhibited in several galleries throughout the Bay Area. Over the last 25 years, he has kept sketchbooks on his travels throughout Europe and the U.S., which he uses as a source of inspiration for his other work. Other projects have included illustrations for a deck of creativity cards for generating new ideas, inspired by Brian Eno’s “Oblique Strategies.” He is also an accomplished musician and has created a slide show of his dream images, set to music.


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ENROLLMENT FORM INSTRUCTIONS
This not an interactive enrollment form. You may copy it, fill in the data, and email it to info@sfia.net, or copy, print, and fax it to 510-523-5175, or mail it to the address below, or call your information in to 800-634-7779 or 510-523-5174 in the San Francisco Bay Area.

ENROLLMENT FORM SFIA SPRING SEMESTER 2011

Classes start Monday, April 18, 2011.

3-unit classes: $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
4-unit studio classes: $395 credit, $250 noncredit.

Note: Noncredit can be converted to credit at any time by submitting course work and paying the remaining tuition. Classes taken for credit cannot be changed to noncredit later.

Date of enrollment:

Please enroll me in the class(es) listed below:

Name:

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__ New student
__ Current/previous student
__ I’m not a degree candidate at this time.

Degree Candidate for:
__ Master of Architecture Degree (114 units)
__ Master of Ecological Design Degree (75 units)
__ Bachelor of Science in Architecture Degree (72 units)
__ Bachelor of Science in Ecological Design Degree (72 units)
__ Associate Arts Degree and Technical Certificate in Architecture (36 units)
__ Associate Arts Degree and Technical Certificate in Ecological Design (36 units)

Note: Students can change candidacy at any time.

SPRING 2011 CLASS LIST

Note if credit or noncredit.

CR NC

Mondays

____ DE400
NATURE AS ARCHITECT: LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF NATURE
Mondays, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
4 units. $395 credit, $250 noncredit.
Class starts Monday, April 18, 2011.

Tuesdays

____ E180
GREYWATER REUSE, RAINWATER CAPTURE, AND ECOLOGICAL SANITATION
Tuesdays, 6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

____ E31
HOW TO UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE LAND
Tuesdays, 8:00 – 9:15 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

Wednesdays

____ E150
SOLAR ENERGY
Wednesdays, 6:30 – 7:45 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Wednesday, April 20, 2011.

____ DE310
PRESERVATION AND BUILDING CODES
Wednesdays, 8:00 – 9:15 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Wednesday, April 20, 2011.

Thursdays

____ C22
SKETCHUP – COMPUTER VISUALIZATION, MODELING, RENDERING
Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
3 units. $350 credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Thursday, April 21, 2011.

____ D11
SKETCH JOURNAL DRAWING
Thursdays, 8:00 – 9:15 p.m.
3 units. $350, credit, $200 noncredit.
Class starts Thursday, April 21, 2011.

__ I am paying by check or money order (payable to SFIA).

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Class refund policy:
No extra charge for changing classes or withdrawal within the first week of the semester. After the first week of classes, refunds will be on a pro rata basis.

SFIA Information Office
Box 2590
Alameda, CA 94501
510-523-5174
1-800-634-7779
Fax: 1-510-523-5175
Email: info@sfia.net

Financial Aid Now Available for Select Distance Learning Programs:

Learn more about financial aid here.

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Financial aid FAQ.

Check out our most popular distance learning programs:

The Green MBA

Master of Science in Green Building


Computer aided rendering, visionary green city development.