Course Repository
This page is a hub for syllabi, class overviews, and any documents that may be helpful throughout the semester.
Fourth Year and Second Year Grad Lottery
Rank your studio preferences at www.arch.ttu.edu/lottery. The lottery link is active only between January 15, 1:00 PM–January 16, 8:00 AM. Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation email stating your studio choices have been registered.
Students will be notified via email Friday, January 17 before 1:00 PM
Interface
Envelopes, Elements, and Enclosures
Arch 1302 · Coordinator: Pratana Klieopatinon
Instructor: Zachary Casey
The second semester of First Year Studio is titled Interface: Envelopes, Elements, and Enclosures. It will extend the first semesters primarily abstract investigations of form and space into more specific human contexts and environmental conditions. The aim is to speculate relationships, further interpretation, and consequently develop meaning.
Projects will reference the body as a critical generator of the occupiable “envelope” in dialogue with time and place. Defining ways of connecting the body to the “enclosure” will be examined through the interface of architectural “elements”. Various topics, approaches, and methodologies are pursued—from the scale of artifacts and human interaction, to 1:1 material experimentation, and systematic making and thinking.
The semester concludes with the adaptation of consequent strategies into tangible design proposals situated in a precise context. It will require students to produce a series of empirical documentations, narratives, physical constructions, and definitive representations to demonstrate understanding of material tectonics, human interactions, and atmospheric qualities.

Specificity
Arch 2504 · Coordinators: Lauren Phillips & Skylar Perez
Instructors: Adrian Anaya · Rebecca Barns · Zachary Casey · Marshall Drennan · Jaclynn Herbein · Lahib Jaddo · Deborah Pittman · Derek Williams
Specificity in architecture refers to the idea that no set of contextual conditions (site, geography, latitude, climate, culture, time, economy, available tectonics, client, etc.) that give rise to a work of architecture are identical to any other. This studio deals primarily with specificity of site and the idea of works of architecture as specific systems that relate to their site in precise ways. Every possible site has distinct characteristics that make it unlike any other possible site. This studio gives students the opportunity to consider these distinctions and use them in your design work.
We will expand on the use of architectural precedent as a generator of design. In ARCH 2504, we will learn about extracting abstract ideas, proportions, and organizing systems from precedent studies, paying particular attention to sectional design, complex topography, and lighting strategies, and use the narrative of a specific artist “client” as an organizing device across three design and analysis stages.
Image: Le Corbusier, Tower of Shadows, 1952. Capitol Complex, Chandigarh, India.

Façade City
Arch 3602 · Coordinator: David Turturo, Ph.D
Instructors: Jaclynn Herbein · Erin Hunt · Jimmy Johnson, AIA · Pat Klieopatinon · Lauren Phillips · Deborah Pittman
How does architecture face the city? In Façade City, we will study the city as architecture's most complex yet necessary context. Assignments will alternate between elevational studies of the city's ephemeral accumulations and planimetric studies of the city's concrete aspirations. This oscillation between vertical, horizontal, spontaneous, and planned will help us to question if architecture can occur in a vacuum; to query the aesthetic, regulatory, ecological, typological, and socio-economic opportunities and constraints that are integral to architectural design. Façade City begins with urban analysis, moves onto a collaborative design game, and ends with new contextual proposals for a dense urban site.

OGALLALA COMMONS RESIDENCY
Arch 4602 · Coordinator: Chris Taylor
Instructor: Victoria McReynolds
This studio will masterplan, design and detail iterations for a mobile semi-permanent interdisciplinary ecological residency——a public dwelling——at three locations above the Ogallala Aquifer. If William Carlos Williams was right in Patterson “—Say it, no ideas but in things—” then architects can say there are “no objects, only relationships.” Everything, even ideas, are built of entangled connections. A single-family house is not an isolated assembly sitting flatly on the land. Its more a pimple——or a tomato——an outward expression of myriad inputs and outflows of resource, energy, and care. Connected to hydrologic, metabolic, and legal infrastructures that make its existence possible. This studio situates architecture within the complex and interwoven forces and histories that shape contemporary life on Earth. It springs from the belief that to make architecture is to make a thing, that helps us think, about the thing, we are trying to make.

The Ecotechnological Dwelling
Arch 4602 · Instructor: Logman Arja
This studio leverages additive manufacturing technology and ceramic fabrication to develop novel, replicable, deployable, environmentally conscious hydroponic public dwellings and integrated architecture systems.
The studio will elaborate on ecotechnology as a framework for the next generation of small and agile micro-infrastructures that are inherently ecological and technological. The studio integrates the 'ecology of technics' and the 'technics of ecology. We will utilize particles of light, jets of water, and bits of data to transform dust into customized architecture platforms and non-soil mediums for growing plants. The objective is to address broader concerns of food deserts in urban contexts and hinterlands. Students will theories and reintroduce the concept of inhabitation that might not be exclusive to humans but rather to other organisms and plants. Students will develop various hydroponic prototypes and speculate on their implications on the built environment. A dedication to creating physical environments and postulating technologically informed ceramics as disruptive to the culture of buildings is paramount.
Students will be introduced to ceramic 3D printers to fabricate their prototypes and models. Through interactive demonstrations and tutorials, students will develop a workflow spanning digital fabrication and machine craft. Through research and regular presentations, students will develop a body of work on urban farming technologies and horticulture practices.

Supported Independence
Arch 4602 · Instructor: Lenora Ask, AIA
According to the Texas Tribune, 1,200 Texas Children age out of Foster Care each year. 1 in 4 will be unhoused within 4 years of leaving the system.
Students in this section will identify the challenges these young adults face and develop a Supported Independent Transitional Living facility. The site selected for the project is found in North Lubbock along the Yellow House Canyon, a local site opportunity with unique terrain, views and conservation challenges. Students will develop an understanding of the Yellow House Canyon Lakes system and imagine a symbiotic relation between that ecology and our young susceptible patrons.
Individual research and analysis, use of critical thinking and implementation of design principles that consider the impact on the site and neighborhood along with the benefits to our clients will lead to solutions that help heal trauma, enhance self-worth, create connection to opportunity and provide a foundation for success.

On ‘Dwelling Poetically between a Parking Lot and a Playa Lake
Arch 4602 · Instructor: Hendrika Buelinckx, Ph.D
This studio…
will seek inspiration and pay homage to the Early 20C Modern and Mid-Century Modern architecture of SoCal;
will continue to document and critical inquire LBBs current housing developments;
and will culminate in the exploration and tectonic articulation of a design proposal for a place to dwell poetically in the second quarter of the 21 C.

Post-Carbon Future
Fusion Nexus Campus
Arch 4602 · Instructor: Nero He, Ph.D
In 2025, as AI evolves, data science plays a critical role in advancing artificial intelligence. Architecture must respond by becoming a multidimensional information network, representing data and relationships at full capacity. This studio envisions a campus, an intersection of housing and sustainable innovation for a post-carbon future, powered by nuclear fusion energy. With limitless energy, AI can achieve its full potential, transforming architecture into a language of text, vectors, patterns, and systems, enabling precise exchanges between human and AI.
The campus includes condos, co-operative housing, hotels, retail spaces, public areas, and a fusion reactor and research hub. AI algorithms optimize living conditions, reduce waste, and personalize environments by analyzing campus data streams. Through urban data mining and upcycling, architecture becomes understandable to humans while being decodable by machines, fostering a harmonious collaboration between human and non-human design agencies. This approach redefines architecture for the age of limitless energy and intelligent design.

Reviving Heritage
Adaptive Reuse and Ecological Resilience Along the Ogallala Aquifer
Arch 4602 · Instructor: Asma Mehan, Ph.D
This adaptive reuse studio investigates innovative approaches to transforming abandoned industrial heritage sites along the Ogallala Aquifer into catalysts for ecological resilience, cultural revival, and sustainable design. As the largest freshwater reserve in North America, the Ogallala Aquifer faces significant challenges from overuse, depletion, and climate change, making it a crucial context for exploring adaptive reuse as a tool to address pressing environmental and community needs. Through the lens of the Commons Residency scenario, students will design semi-permanent, mobile facilities that harmonize historical preservation with architectural innovation, delivering meaningful, net-positive contributions to the land, ecosystems, and local communities. The studio invites participants to reimagine industrial relics as active agents of sustainable futures, using adaptive reuse to bridge the past and the present while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and ecological stewardship. By integrating cultural heritage with environmental ingenuity, this course positions architecture as a transformative medium for advancing sustainability, ecological restoration, and community empowerment.

From Mosque to Home
Artifacts, Narratives, Memory, Material + Contexts
Arch 4602 · Instructor: Lingyi Qiu, Ph.D
This studio will focus on the design of a multi-story, mixed-use cultural hub located near the University of Texas campus that aims to bring together community and student life. Students will work in teams to develop spaces that foster faith, learning, and living, including a mosque with separate wudu areas and lounges for sisters and brothers, as well as communal spaces such as classrooms, a multipurpose room, a library, and a café. The design will also incorporate student housing, offering 2- to 4-bedroom units arranged around communal study areas, creating a true sense of home and belonging.
The project seeks to blend spiritual, academic, and residential life, creating an environment where students can live, learn, and grow. Through thoughtful design, the studio will explore how social and cultural factors can shape spaces that celebrate culture, strengthen community ties, and enhance the student experience in a diverse and welcoming setting.

Integrative Architectural Design Studio II
Arch 5602 · Coordinator: Christi Wier, AIA
Instructors: Steven Roop · Adrian Anaya · Darrick Wade, AIA · Daniel Pruske
In this second graduate design studio we will explore the concept of scaled therapeutic architecture and the many different applications and methodologies. This studio will take an integrative approach to the design of a comprehensive project dealing with several scales. The studio will integrate observing sessions at the Texas Tech Therapeutic Riding center, extensive site analysis and documentation, in addition to researching and collaborating with consulting disciplines. Following an initial research phase, studio work will be collaborative and integrative with last semesters daylighting/energy/lifecycle cost analysis and across disciplines in the University. This design project will develop architectural ideations, design methodologies, and materialization strategies for innovative architectural solutions for an Adult and Pediatric Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

How to Win an Architectural Competition in the Age of AI
Arch 5604 · Coordinator: Anthony Cricchio
The studio delves analytically into historical, theoretical, and conceptual approaches for developing architectural designs for competitions. Participants will scrutinize past competitions by assessing strengths and weaknesses. They'll then explore current competitions, analyzing design strategies that are appropriate to produce an entry. These design strategies will also include AI-driven approaches to graphic and narrative driven concepts. Students, working individually or in groups, will actively engage in producing an entry for a completion. The diversity of ongoing competitions spans various projects, including those addressing United Nations Global Issues. Tailored to accommodate the variable timeframes of architectural competitions, the course isn't centered on a single event but aims to empower students to enhance their prospects in winning such competitions.
Image: 16 A.I. Created designs for the 2024 “Microhome” Architectural Competition

Healthcare Design
Arch 5604 · Instructor: Saif Haq, Ph.D
This semesters focus will be the environmental attributes that support Mental Health. Research based evidence, coupled with spatial requirements of various treatment options, will be translated into clever architectural moves to create a world class community based psychiatric hospital in Lubbock, TX.
As complexities increase, so does the need for an architects creativity. In this way, complex projects test the design acumen of practitioners. Experience in dealing with complexity, plus skill in health care design will position graduates to be leaders in the 70-billion-dollar yearly healthcare construction that is only projected to increase.
If you want to make meaningful differences through your design, if you want to create experiences rather than objects, if you are willing to use both sides of your brain, then please join this studio. You will mature as a designer through this experience.

GRAFT
Carbon-Negative Futures: Mass Timber NYC
Arch 5604 · Instructor: Peter Raab
Can architectures material decisions reverse its role as a major contributor to carbon emissions and become a catalyst for cultural and ecological regeneration? This graduate design studio investigates the transformative potential of biogenic materials and structural mass timber to propose innovative urban design interventions in New York City. Students will reimagine the paradigm of urban erasure through strategies such as adaptive reuse, vertical extension, and grafting, emphasizing resource renewability and climate-conscious design.
The course explores the lifecycle of mass timber—from sourcing and structural performance to its carbon-sequestering properties—questioning adaptability, material origins, and embodied carbon within architectural processes. Through extensive material exploration, hands-on physical modeling, and site-specific research, students will engage with industry and architectural experts to develop speculative proposals that synthesize environmental stewardship, cultural heritage, and bold innovation.
An immersive one-week research trip to New York City in early March will provide opportunities to engage with experts, explore the districts dense urban fabric, and gain firsthand insights into its architectural and cultural context.

Then Now Then
Arch 5604 · Instructor: Piyush Khairnar, Ph.D
In the cradle of earthly ambition,
When stone rose to sanctify, not subdue,
The city unfurled like a tapestry,
Its squares brimming with laughter,
Sidewalks woven with neighborly threads.
Time walked alongside humanity,
Unhurried, unbroken.
Structures lay low, grounding dreams,
Shaping spaces where solitude met solidarity,
Harmonious in scale and intent,
Each stone a testament to the collective rhythm of life.
In the vertigo of relentless ascent,
The city rotates itself,
Unfolding skyward,
A vertical mirror of ambition.
Parks once lush, alive with whispers of belonging,
Have become private terraces for the privileged.
Sidewalks, once the veins of communal interaction,
Have turned into corridors,
Sterile arteries devoid of pause.
Elevators, not streets, now carry lives—
Silent, solitary.
The observer pauses,
Tracing the lines of glass and steel,
Asking not how, but why?
Why this new typology of estrangement,
This labyrinth of verticality?
Emerging from scarcity or efficiency?
Born of land wrested by capital,
A construct of necessity—
Or of powers spectacle?
What promise lies in the ascent of tomorrow?
Will the city rediscover its communal heartbeat?
Or spiral ever upward,
A lonely beacon of human hubris?
Imagine towers as truly vertical cities,
Their heights filled with shared spaces,
Corridors transformed to streets in the sky,
Where voices ripple, not echo.
Let the lessons of the earth inform the sky: To build not just upward, but outward—
Not in form, but in spirit,
Ensuring the vertical connects,
Not divides.
What will we build when we build futures?
A question etched in ever-rising silhouette,
A reflection of both our ingenuity
And our humanity.

Huckabee College of Architecture
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Address
Texas Tech University, 1800 Flint Avenue, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.3136 -
Email
architecture@ttu.edu