DEA 5304 - Design Accountability: Evaluation of the Physical Environment

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

Enrollment limited to: undergraduate seniors who have taken a statistics course and all graduate students.

M. Shepley.

Designers must be accountable for the impact of the environment on the people who experience it. Well-constructed evaluations are a means to objectively assess whether we have achieved the intended design goals. This course illustrates the theoretical roots of evaluation and provides guidance on conducting building and landscape evaluation research. This course will teach students how to evaluate design work. The subjects of these evaluations can range from objects to buildings to urban design. Upon completing the course, students will be able to:

Outcome 1: Describe current, comprehensive definitions and interpretation of evaluation research.

Outcome 2: Place the historical and theoretical roots of evaluation in the context of the needs of contemporary society.

Outcome 3: Establish techniques for establishing the business case and integrating research into practice.

Outcome 4: Assess the effectiveness of the multiple methods of gathering evaluation data.

Outcome 5: Conduct evaluation research projects involving all scales of the physical environment including furniture, architecture, landscape architecture and urban design.

Outcome 6: Reflect on the impact of service-learning.

Outcome 7: Critique and evaluate information, design, and claims; interpret visual information; demonstrate quantitative reasoning and statistical analysis.