The Intensive

The Intensive
The Intensive begins at the BAC on Saturday (January 12, 2007) at 3PM. We expect that you will make travel arrangements that allow you to arrive in Boston, check in to the hotel, and arrive at the BAC by 2:59PM. A reception and welcome by President Ted Landsmark will take place, as in past Intensives, from 6 to 7PM on the first Saturday. Your time during the Intensive is scheduled very tightly, as usual. We have made a change to the daily schedule, based in part on your feedback. In general, mornings will be devoted to seminars and workshops, and afternoons and evenings will be spent in studio. Interspersed will be field trips, lectures by distinguished professionals, and special events.

The Weather

The Weather
A word about the weather— especially if you live south of the 42nd parallel. January in New England may not quite as harsh as it used to be, but be prepared for WINTER. Boston is the windiest major city in the US (yes, windier than Chicago) and it can get pretty cold too. The best protection is layers, warm gloves, socks, hat, and sturdy shoes or boots (for the infrequent foot of snow); I recommend long underwear for extra cold days. With respect to dress code, during most of your stay jeans or similar casual wear are fine, same as last time. However you will want to bring at least one ‘work’ acceptable outfit that you can wear to meet professionals in an office setting.

..."attending" the online classes...

How do we "attend" the online classes? I haven't heard anything yet. Are they blogs? books? when do we set up the blogs?

The Courses
For you first timers... you instructor should be contacting you very soon about setting up a blog. as you know classes start on the second. We usually have been contacted by the instructor right before classes start via email with instructions for setting up a blog. From what I can remember the BAC has been developing new software for blogging but I don't know exactly where they are in this process. It would not hurt to set up a Blogger.com account, but you still may have to start a new blog for the class.

Blogging... number of posts on the first page

some blogs have many posts on their front page while others
only have a few, how is this controlled or determined?

Blogspot allows the 'bloger' to determine this. This is a setting under the Settings tab. Click the Settings tab, then click the Formatting link and set the "show" field to the desired number, this can either be posts or days.

Introduction

Hello all,
It appears that there has been some interest from many new Distance M.Arch at the BAC students and prospective students about the program and what to expect at the intensive from an "insiders" point of view.

This blog was the idea of my wife; she suggested that because I have received several emails in the past (and I am sure there are others that received similar emails) that I should start a blog where all sorts of questions regarding the program, school intensives and what to expect could be answered. As a sort of thread... the post title could be the question and the comments could be the responses.

This blog can serve as a forum for all sorts of conversation, suggestions, tools, software, etc. for all.

The second post on this blog will be dedicated to "the Questions" perspective and/or new students can leave a comment with their questions and I or any other present student or "old-timer", as I have already been refereed to, can post answers to.

I have started with a few questions and some responses... feel free to add.

Ken Ballard ~ Las Vegas, NV ~ class of '09

Ask your Questions...

Make a comment to this post and I/we will respond.

advice or comments about the program

I am thinking about enrolling into the Dist. M. Arch. program next fall. Do you have advice or comments about the program?

This program is great for those of us that have been working in the profession for a while (I have 7 years of experience in an office) and can offer a lot for those just entering the profession and wanting to complete school with out taking the time for a traditional 6 month semester. The program, over the last two semesters, has really grown and continues to look towards the next few cohorts to really make a solid foundation in the architectural education realm. My advice to you regarding this program (and I think others would say the same) is… be ready for the long haul. The two weeks leading up to the 10 day intensive is partly an ice breaker for the instructor and other classmates, the 10 day intensive, is just that.
These ten days, the instructors and even the admin challenged and engaged us with a clear direction, passion and knowledge. The six weeks after the intensive is where we, as students get to really shine. We head back to our respective cities and produce! The blog tool is a great vehicle for the one on one “desk crit” time, except it does even more… the cohort that you will become part of is in many ways another family, and you will not only get great feedback from the instructor but valuable feedback from fellow classmates that are from a perspective that the instructor can not always provide.
The classes themselves are set up in a fashion (at least from how I see it) to bring you back to the academic forum while craftily using the skills that you have developed in the office. The student population and experiences that show up at the door are vast! The accumulative brain power is remarkable and diverse. There is plenty to learn from the school and instructors, but there is another layer of education and friendship that is enormous… each other… my cohort, the first cohort, has two licensed architects and several LEED AP people all of which are just as thirsty for knowledge, the degree and architecture.
The BAC’s approach to live, work, learn is refreshing…. They see a strong connection between education and work… BAC already has established a professional practice program/reporting system that all their students have to be part of… this program, the Distance M.Arch program takes that ideology to the next level. A program that was greatly needed and is supported by the community, BAC facility and the students… This is something great to be part of.
On a different note… this program is intense… it is meant to be intense. Discuss with your family, wife, girlfriend, kids; boss etc anyone that you interact with… because it will affect them. The support and love from people back home will only make this easier and more enjoyable.

...we were told at the end of the first semester that the BAC is interested in graduating architects, not just students.

Any personal time while you are in Boston?

What was the rough break down of time spent in the intensive at studio…i.e. was it just like undergrad where everyone is up until 4am, or was it a little bit more controlled? Any personal time while you are in Boston or is it strictly filled with studio time?

STUDIO TIME… bring a camera! You have time to take site seeing pictures between trips for coffee and the last minute trips to Johnson’s. No, really bring a camera, there will be times the class will go on small trips and you will want to take pictures but that will be about all the time allotted for “personal time”.
Out first year we went to Moshe Safdie’s office and then to Trinity Church to see him speak as well as to the new ICA by Diller+Scofidio+Renfro and hear them speak, second semester we toured the Genzyme building by Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner and spent some time at the Ray and Maria Stata Center by Frank Gehry. So there are opportunities to site see but you will be with the class and it will be presented by the BAC and well worth it!

a. Studio time or time at the BAC is scheduled and there will always be things to do… scheduled from 8am to 10pm

b. The earliest I went back to the motel was 12:30… the latest was like 4am… and that was only a couple of nights. The first night it was like 1130 and the last night we get done at 7pm, then we went to Cheers… so expect to put some hours in.

c. Although this may seem scary and regimented, everyone at the BAC is laid back and easy going. Come to learn and it will be all good.

What kind of additional costs are there to consider?

What kind of additional costs are there to consider?
Obviously the plane tickets to Boston, and various model building supplies, but was there any major expenses that took you by surprise?

I can not think of any additional substantial costs… outside of the plane ride…
a. There can possibly be some subway (MBTA) costs… $2-$10 at the most

b. Taxi cab to and from the airport (if you don’t take the subway)… $60. Take the subway... it will take a few more minutes but well worth the time, unless you have too much luggage… then it may be a hassle but still worth it.

are there two classes per semester?

It appears – from the blogs at least – that there are
two classes per semester, a design and theory class? Is it your understanding
that this is standard through the program, or does that vary??

a. The first semester should have a design/studio class and also a history/theory class. These two classes, for us anyways, ran in parallel to each other where the subject mater complimented each other.

b. The second semester also had two classes, a design/studio and a technical class. These two also ran in parallel. With a third that ties all the semesters together… a great leadership program.

c. The third, fourth and fifth semesters are thesis… and so far, from what I can tell, we are registering for three classes.

What can you suggest to bring during the studio time in Boston?

What can you suggest to bring during the studio time in Boston? Did you have a laptop, or where computers available on campus? Any model building tools, drafting supplies, or what not that you wished you would’ve brought but hadn’t?

a. BRING a Laptop – there is a computer room that is great and printing/scanning is right there, but the more time you can spend in the studio with your cohorts the better.

b. A small printer and scanner can come in real handy (saves you trips up and down the stairs) and you will instantly be “popular”

c. Model supplies… this is up for debate… if you have stuff bring stuff, they are just hard to travel with. Some of the guys from my class have brought a small suit case just for model/drafting/architectural supplies…a very good idea! Or you can always get supplies for about anything you need/want at a few art supply stores in the area:
i. Utrecht is near the motel and offers a 10% discount for BAC students and
ii. Johnson Paint Co. is near the school and near coffee!.
iii. Not wanting to speak for you or your classmates, but just as in undergrad… things get shared… it helps with the bonding.

d. WEB CAM… this may seem a bit odd for school but it will help. If you are married, have kids or just miss your dog, it is nice to be able to see back home. I brought one my first semester and it was a hit with the other guys and the next semester… more of us had them. If you are real handy… you can record the Saturday crit and then upload the video to your blog.