The course draws on faculty members from the Center for Real Estate, …
The course draws on faculty members from the Center for Real Estate, the City Design and Development Group (Department of Urban Studies and Planning), and the Media Lab to explore extraordinary projects that challenge conventional approaches to real estate development, urban design, and advanced digital technology.
Students conduct an experiment to determine how varying the composition of a …
Students conduct an experiment to determine how varying the composition of a construction material affects its strength. They make several adobe bricks with differing percentages of sand, soil, fibrous material and water. They test the bricks for strength by dropping them onto a concrete surface from progressively greater heights. Students graph the experiment results and use what they learn to design their own special mix that maximizes the bricks' strength. During the course of the experiment, students learn about variables (independent, dependent, control) and the steps of the engineering design process.
This is a pottery video showing how to make an ocarina or …
This is a pottery video showing how to make an ocarina or clay whistle. This was made for you by Janis Wilson Hughes, owner of Evolution Stoneware Pottery.
The lesson begins by introducing Olympics as the unit theme. The purpose …
The lesson begins by introducing Olympics as the unit theme. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the techniques of engineering problem solving. Specific techniques covered in the lesson include brainstorming and the engineering design process. The importance of thinking out of the box is also stressed to show that while some tasks seem impossible, they can be done. This introduction includes a discussion of the engineering required to build grand, often complex, Olympic event centers.
What is a city? What shapes it? How does its history influence …
What is a city? What shapes it? How does its history influence future development? How do physical form and institutions vary from city to city and how are these differences significant? How are cities changing and what is their future? This course will explore these and other questions, with emphasis upon twentieth-century American cities. A major focus will be on the physical form of cities—from downtown and inner-city to suburb and edge city—and the processes that shape them.
These questions and more are explored through lectures, readings, workshops, field trips, and analysis of particular places, with the city itself as a primary text. In light of the 2016 centennial of MIT’s move from Boston to Cambridge, the 2015 iteration of the course focused on MIT’s original campus in Boston’s Back Bay, and the university’s current neighborhood in Cambridge. Short field assignments, culminating in a final project, will provide students opportunities to use, develop, and refine new skills in “reading” the city.
Student groups are challenged to create food packages for specific foods. They …
Student groups are challenged to create food packages for specific foods. They focus on three components in the design of their food packages; the packages must keep the food clean, protect or aid in the physical and chemical changes that can take place in the food, and present the food appealingly. They design their packaging to meet these requirements.
The difference between an architect and an engineer is sometimes confusing because …
The difference between an architect and an engineer is sometimes confusing because their roles in building design can be similar. Students experience a bit of both professions by following a set of requirements and meeting given constraints as they create a model parking garage. They experience the engineering design process first-hand as they design, build and test their models. They draw a blueprint for their design, select the construction materials and budget their expenditures. They also test their structures for strength and find their maximum loads.
Explores policy and planning for sustainable development. Critically examines concept of sustainability …
Explores policy and planning for sustainable development. Critically examines concept of sustainability as a process of social, organizational, and political development drawing on cases from the US and Europe. Explores pathways to sustainability through debates on ecological modernization; sustainable technology development, international and intergenerational fairness, and democratic governance. Third subject in the Environmental Policy and Planning sequence.
This course explores the following topics: derivation of elastic and plastic stress-strain …
This course explores the following topics: derivation of elastic and plastic stress-strain relations for plate and shell elements; the bending and buckling of rectangular plates; nonlinear geometric effects; post-buckling and ultimate strength of cold formed sections and typical stiffened panels used in naval architecture; the general theory of elastic shells and axisymmetric shells; buckling, crushing and bending strength of cylindrical shells with application to offshore structures; and the application to crashworthiness of vehicles and explosive and impact loading of structures. The class is taught during first half of term.
Students learn about population density within environments and ecosystems. They determine the …
Students learn about population density within environments and ecosystems. They determine the density of a population and think about why population density and distribution information is useful to engineers for city planning and design as well as for resource allocation.
Students continue to explore the story of building a pyramid, learning about …
Students continue to explore the story of building a pyramid, learning about the simple machine called a pulley. They learn how a pulley can be used to change the direction of applied forces and move/lift extremely heavy objects, and the powerful mechanical advantages of using a multiple-pulley system. Students perform a simple demonstration to see the mechanical advantage of using a pulley, and they identify modern day engineering applications of pulleys. In a hands-on activity, they see how a pulley can change the direction of a force, the difference between fixed and movable pulleys, and the mechanical advantage gained with multiple / combined pulleys. They also learn the many ways engineers use pulleys for everyday purposes.
This workshop provides an introduction to urban environmental design and explores the …
This workshop provides an introduction to urban environmental design and explores the potential of information technology and the Internet to transform public education, city design, and community development in inner-city neighborhoods. Integration of comprehensive ("top-down") and grassroots ("bottom-up") approaches to design and planning is a major theme.
This course provides students with the opportunity to develop a map of …
This course provides students with the opportunity to develop a map of contemporary architectural practice and discourse. The seminar examines six themes in terms of their recent history: city and global economy, urban plan and map of operations, program and performance, drawing and scripting, image and surface, and utopia and projection. Students will study buildings and read relevant texts in order to place recent architectural projects in disciplinary and cultural context.
Deals with more advanced design theories and textual analysis. Emphasis on script …
Deals with more advanced design theories and textual analysis. Emphasis on script analysis in general, as well as from a designer's perspective. Students also refine technical skills in rendering and presentation, historical research, and analysis. Class sessions include interaction with student/faculty directors and other staff designers. Goal is for students to approach text with a fresh vision and translate that vision into design for performance.
This course is an introduction to the design, analysis, and fundamental limits …
This course is an introduction to the design, analysis, and fundamental limits of wireless transmission systems. Topics to be covered include: wireless channel and system models; fading and diversity; resource management and power control; multiple-antenna and MIMO systems; space-time codes and decoding algorithms; multiple-access techniques and multiuser detection; broadcast codes and precoding; cellular and ad-hoc network topologies; OFDM and ultrawideband systems; and architectural issues.
We define common assessments as teacher-developed assessments, designed around courses where the …
We define common assessments as teacher-developed assessments, designed around courses where the same standards are assessed, questions are asked, and scoring rubrics are used by each course teacher. (We say this: if you cannot score another teacher's assessments, then your assessments are not common.) This document poses a process with questions for content teachers to discuss, so that they can identify the standards they want to build common assessments around, and begin the work of creating together. In addition to content standards, the assessment needs to include a writing task based on standard W9: citing textual evidence when analyzing, reflecting, or researching.
Covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. The cornerstone …
Covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. The cornerstone is a project in which teams of management, engineering, and industrial design students conceive, design, and prototype a physical product. Class sessions employ cases and hands-on exercises to reinforce the key ideas. Topics include: product planning, identifying customer needs, concept generation, product architecture, industrial design, concept design, and design-for-manufacturing.
Subject engages a dialogue with architecture and urbanism from the perspective of …
Subject engages a dialogue with architecture and urbanism from the perspective of the visual artist. Ideas investigated thematically from early modernist practices to the most recent examples of contemporary production. Art making as an adjunct to the design process is challenged by both synthetic and critical models of production. Visual art practice is examined as a conceptual prologue to architectural and urbanistic thinking, as an integrated part of the design process, and as a critical epilogue. Lectures and discussions lead to the development of realized projects to be coordinated with architectural studio. This seminar engages in the notion of space from various points of departure. The goal is first of all to engage in the term and secondly to examine possibilities of art, architecture within urban settings in order to produce what is your interpretation of space.
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works. Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make derivative works.
Most restrictive license type. Prohibits most uses, sharing, and any changes.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see their individual restrictions.
