Senior Seminar: Urban Ecology
This course examined the built environment as a network of ecosystems by exploring animal habitats in New York City. It asked: how do ecosystems function in the city? How can we evaluate theories of the environment, ecology, and nature today?
The podcasts produced in this seminar became the basis for Safari 7, a self-guided podcast tour along the IRT No. 7 subway line.
This course combined critical interpretation of theoretical texts with the open-ended, creative production of original research. The goal was to use each of the following methods of working to inform the other:
- Seminar: We did readings and held discussions investigating ecological theories and architectural strategies in the second half of the 20th century. We explored theories of equilibrium, succession, and disturbance in relationship to contemporary environmentalism in order to test their implications for the construction of urban spaces, publics, and new social collectives.
- Workshop: Students produced podcasts that acted as a new kind of park ranger in the city, offering a self-guided interpretive tour of animal habitats along the IRT No. 7 subway line. Projects will present interviews, narratives, sounds, music, data, and historic information both original and found. We will explore three different thematic topics connected to the seminar readings. For each topic, students will produce one podcast. Workshop sessions will involve software tutorials, desk crits, and pin-ups.
- Paper: Students combined seminar and workshop work into a 2000 word paper. Students (working individually) expanded upon one of their podcasts with a close reading of two texts and research about a design strategy. All work was submitted in writing and images, but podcast content was included in the paper in some manner. To do so, students were encouraged to experiment with the format of the paper.
Senior Seminar, Barnard and Columbia Colleges Architecture Program