Ink proposes a creative and critical inquiry into ink’s instrumentality in architecture to delineate a subtle story—a latent history of architecture in ink—placing ink in our world with the purpose of gaining knowledge within and for the architectural discipline. A close consideration of the varied conceptual and material aspects of ink acts as a medium to reflect upon the means by which architectural knowledge is generated, articulated, and applied. Course Structure The course will be structured by the abecedary, ink or “V is for Vermilion as described by Vitruvius” An A to Z of Ink in Architecture. Composed from various material forms of ink found in studio, an alphabet in 26 images was created and sent as an invitation to 26+ architects, artists, historians, theorists, scholars, inventors and poets to write a brief entry on a discrete ink object. On the first day of class, 13 of the 26 letters will be selected at random and a single letter assigned to each week of the course. Each week, the class will closely examine the ink objects described by diverse voices in the entries written under the assigned letter— conceptually and materially—by reading, in discussion and in drawings. Reading: Each entry describing a discrete ink object is typically brief—generally 500 to 1000 words; the 26 letters contain between 1-5 entries each on average. Weekly reading will be assigned by letter to be discussed in class. Discussion: Each week the class will discuss the ink entries under a single letter to create collective word images. Drawing (in-class/in-studio): Students will spend time each class period using drawing to explore material and conceptual aspects of the ink objects. [These drawings may provide material for the weekly out-of-class assignments. Students will keep a folio of A3 loose-leaf sheets that can be pinned up and compiled for reference and review. In addition, there may be collective in-class drawings, done on larger paper that will be in response to discussion in class. They will be due at the end of the class period. Supplemental ink materials may be provided by the instructor.] Drawing (out-of-class assignments): Students will construct an architectural drawing(s) each week for the letter discussed in class, due at the beginning of the next class (for pin-up/discussion). [Students will determine four parameters for each architectural drawing: scale (ie. measured drawing), view (ie. projection: parallel, oblique, orthographic, isometric, perspective), set (format), and sequence. These architectural drawings may be manual and/or digital. The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, a container formed of ink that contains ink, will form the basis of these drawings.] Pin-ups: Weekly drawing assignments will be reviewed weekly. Before each week’s discussion, you should pin-up with the rest of your studio group to facilitate an efficient discussion. Reviews: For Mid review, architectural drawing of a single entry from ink by the student’s choice (not covered in the 13 assigned letters) will be constructed. For Final review, students may delineate a new entry for the abecedary, ink. Mid and Final reviews will include outside critics. Evaluation: Each drawing assignment will be evaluated for a) technique and b) completion. After each pin-up and during the in-class exercise the professor will give an evaluation that will then be recorded by the TF. If a drawing needs improvement to satisfactorily meet the requirements of the assignment, the student will be asked to make these improvements for re-evaluation. All assignments must meet this standard to successfully pass the course. Course Requirements Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory, in accordance with YSoA policy. More than two unexcused absences constitute failure of the class. Out-of-class drawing assignments must be completed by 6pm on the Thursday before the date they are reviewed. Drawings are to be saved for comprehensive review at the end of the term and submitted digitally as directed by the Teaching Fellow.