Lateness policy: Zero tolerance without proper documentation. Essays must be submitted in person in class at the beginning of class or a grade of zero will be assigned. Email submissions are strictly forbidden. If you are ill, it is incumbent upon you to notify me in advance and to submit within 3 business days of the due date the formal documentation downloadable at www.ryerson.ca/senate/forms/medical.pdf . Travel plans, time management issues, and work conflicts are not acceptable reasons for lateness. Please refer to your student handbook.
Technical Requirements:
Format: Minimum of 6 pages for the illustration-free main body, 1.5 spacing, font no larger than 11, minimum of 3 paragraphs per page including first page.
Required Components (in order): title page, illustration-free main body of 6+ pages, citations (endnotes), works cited, illustrations. There is no maximum number of pages.
Receipts to be attached to Essay:
1) approval of essay topic in email form – an automatic grade of 0 will be assigned without this. Your essay topic must be approved in email form before the deadline of Friday, March 8th at 11:59 PM. There are no exceptions to this policy.
2) turnitin receipt in email form – an automatic grade of 0 will be assigned without this
3) essay criteria agreement – an automatic grade of 0 will be assigned without this
Instructions:
1) Select a room/ single interior space (not an entire building or floor of a building!) within a domestic or monumental structure created between 1995 and present. The space you select must be physically built and completed (no cyber architecture / temporary / under construction) and must contain some furnishings. The space you select needs to be pre-approved by the deadline discussed above. Approval requires attaching two images of your chosen room to your email. These images will be uploaded by me into the Blackboard folder labeled “chosen essay topics” acting as a visual record for you and your classmates.
2) Analyze your room from the perspectives that follow in the order listed. Make sure each perspective receives AT LEAST ONE paragraph of coverage in your essay. Subheadings are required for each perspective. Make sure you answer EACH question for EACH perspective in order and clearly.
A) Historical Introduction:
This perspective introduces the background to your room’s construction: Why was the building of the space initiated? Who was the patron(s) and what was their social-cultural situation? Was there a competition? Budget? Why was your architect/designer selected over the competition?
B) Spatial Organization and Planning:
This perspective introduces the situation of your room within the building: Where is the room located within the building? How does the room fit into the spatial planning of the building? What are its adjacent spaces? What are its axes of approach? What are your room’s dimensions? How is the space organized within the room? Where is each major element/feature located (describe moving clockwise)? What are its circulation patterns? Compass directions (north, south, east, west) are REQUIRED for clarity of descriptions.
C) Materials and Construction Method(s):
This perspective introduces your room’s methods of construction and materials: How was the room constructed beginning with the framing? What materials and construction methods were used to create each of its major elements/features (including floors, walls, ceilings, glazing, built-ins, fixtures)?
D) Furnishings and Ornamentation:
This perspective introduces the room’s furnishings and choices for ornamentation: What furniture is present in the space (based on the illustration you chose)? What types of materials/construction were used for any important furnishings? What ornamentation / objects (fine, decorative, applied arts) are present in the space? Have there been any changes to the original furnishings/ ornamentation/ objects since the room was completed? You MUST analyze the colors, textures, contrasts, patterns, rhythms, and reflections used to ornament the space.
E) Functions and Signification:
This perspective presents your analysis and synthesis of the room’s functions and semiotics: What are the functions of the space? If they have changed since its completion/renovation by your designer, why? What types of statements was the room intended to make about its owner(s)? What types of values and philosophies were intended to be signified by the room for its creator(s) / viewers? This perspective requires AT LEAST TWO paragraphs and should draw on the earlier perspectives for support.
Sample functions you might choose to address in this section:
Decoration; Education; Preservation of Stories/Cultural Heritage; Utilitarian; Religious; Philosophical;
Displays: Wealth / Status/ Class / Power / Authority / Business / Professional Associations/ Personal Knowledge / Learning / Gender / Sexuality / Refinement / Sophistication / Ethnicity / Heredity / Descent
F) Designer’s Sources/Inspirations/Influences/Precedents:
This perspective analyzes and synthesizes the precedents for your room. You need specific examples with names/dates/background to support your observations. At least one of your major precedents must be a previously constructed monument/object by your designer(s). Does the room contain direct quotations or more oblique (metaphoric) references? Did the patron impact on the precedents chosen? This perspective requires AT LEAST TWO paragraphs and draws on earlier perspectives for support. It is acceptable to repeat earlier observations in this section as you synthesize your research.
G) Links to Design in Toronto:
Download the free RULA Maps app onto your phone (you can get it for any platform) and review the various buildings listed with a focus on interior views. Find one example of an interior space which has a strong correlation with your chosen space. This correlation should be based on one or more of the previous perspectives (A – F) discussed in your paper. Discuss why the correlation is so strong in your opinion, using perspective(s) A – F as support.
Introduction and Conclusion:
Your introduction and conclusion should be based around what you discover to be the specific major (MAXIMUM OF THREE) sources/inspirations/influences/precedents used by your designer(s) for your particular room. At least one of these three must be a previously constructed monument/object by your designer(s). There is no wrong answer to these parts of the essay as long as you clearly support your thesis throughout your essay. Your introduction must be the first paragraph ONLY on the first page of your essay and must state the following clearly:
A) the room/space you chose and the building it is located in
B) when the room was constructed and who designed the space
C) your maximum of three major precedents (at least one by your designer)
Your conclusion must be the last paragraph ONLY of your essay and must reiterate your thesis and its supporting evidence clearly.
Sample Introduction:
The contemporary seafood restaurant, Tides (2004 – 2005), is located in a residential building at 102 Norfolk Street in the neighbourhood of New York’s Lower East Side.1 It was designed by Lewis Tsurumaki Lewis Architects (LTL) and completed in the summer of 2005.2 The challenge in the dining room was the potentially claustrophobic dimensions of the space. This was overcome by the judicious use of precedents; in particular, the firm’s previous projects in New York: the Xing Restaurant (2003 – 2004) and the Fluff Bakery (2003 – 2004).
Traps to avoid when discussing your work:
A) Walter Gropius was the best architect who ever lived. His works were superior to even Mies Van Der Rohe’s. (value judgments, superlatives)
B) The Americans produced technologies that were superior to everywhere in the world and continue to impress us today. (value judgments, superlatives, ‘we’ is not ‘me’)
When you read older sources or popular culture media, they are FULL of value judgments, superlatives, and collective statements that reveal the biases of their authors immediately. Proceed with caution! Older authors and those writing for the ‘general public’ will ‘find’ what they’re looking for.
Citations: Avoid Plagiarism!
A) Endnotes are required. Please refer to the Citations Style Guide and Essay Preparation Kit on Blackboard for required formatting. For citations to be correct, they must include ALL page numbers – even for website journal articles. The use of in-text citations will result in an automatic failing grade for the essay assignment.
B) Missing page numbers for citations (where applicable) will result in an automatic failing grade for the essay assignment. This includes website journal articles! Please refer to your ESSAY CRITERIA AGREEMENT.
Works Cited:
A) Use the works cited method presented in the Citations Style Guide on Blackboard. The Works Cited page belongs at the end of your essay after your endnotes.
B) Your works cited must contain a MINIMUM of five (5) scholarly sources which should be placed in their own separate section for clarity. The usage of most websites, blogs, and general knowledge encyclopedias do not “count” towards your five scholarly essay sources. This will be discussed in class at length. If you are concerned about the scholarliness of a source, it is incumbent upon you to speak to me for confirmation. Failure to have at least five scholarly sources will result in a 10% reduction off your essay grade.
C) You must cite AT LEAST TWO scholarly journal articles. If your chosen space is very recent, come and speak to me about your approach. Failure to cite at least two scholarly journal articles will result in a reduction of 10% off your essay grade.
Illustrations / Plans:
A) A separate floor plan of just your room is required. This can be created by you if necessary. Your floor plan MUST INCLUDE compass directions and labels for ALL adjacent spaces, circulation, and major elements/features. Failure to have a separate floor plan for just your room will result in a 10% reduction off your essay grade.
B) Illustrations come last in your paper after your works cited. You are required to have illustrations for the room selected and figure numbers should reference them within your paper eg. The salon in the Hotel Soubise (fig.5) is ornamented with…
C) At least one full color illustration is required for the room you selected.
D) You only need to use the fig# the first time in your paper you reference a specific image/view. After that you do not need to use the same fig# every time you mention the same view. You only use different figure numbers for different views/images.
Additional Resources:
A) Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library:
www.torontopubliclibrary.ca 789 Yonge St. (Just north of Bloor Street on the right hand side if you’re walking north from Yonge/Bloor subway station)
B) The University of Toronto Library System (30 libraries!):
www.library.utoronto.ca – Type in your search under the catalogue tab on the home page
– Click on DETAILS for each individual search result you like. Results appear chronologically from the most recent publications to the oldest.
– Under HOLDINGS click on each individual library you are interested in and it will open a window that provides information about directions and operating hours.
CIDA Standards and Indicators for this Assignment:
Standard 2: b,c,d,e,f ; Standard 6: b; Standard 8: a,b,c,d,e
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