College of Architecture and Planning University of Colorado Denver

CORE COURSES

Studios

URBN 6610: Urban Design Studio I (6 credits)
First of a three-studio sequence introduces methods, techniques and language of urban design and presents the city as a complex ecology comprised of interrelated systems or networks. Working on a block, corridor or neighborhood scale, students understand and deconstruct the city into a series of infrastructural layers, attending to environmental factors, land use/public space patterns and transportation networks. Students are charged with analyzing and recomposing these layers as part of a methodology for approaching any urban design problem.

Fall 2011: Layers of the City: Integrative Urban Design (Instructor: Richard Epstein)
Fall 2010: Vacant Land as Infrastructure (Instructor: Joern Langhorst)
Fall 2009: RiNo Arts District: Alternative Futures (Instructor: Jason Rebillot)
Fall 2007: Denver Stormwater: Resource and Amenity (Instructor: Jeremy Nemeth)

URBN 6611: Urban Design Studio II (6 credits)
The second of a three-studio sequence operates on the city scale, using Denver as an ideal laboratory to study emerging forms of urbanism in the contemporary city. Students explore the economic, cultural and urban center of the Rocky Mountain West through empirical observation, public engagement and in depth analysis to develop projects that conceptualize forms of urbanism relevant to the needs and challenges of the 21st century city. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking, graphic communication and visual representation and will result in specific urban design propositions.

Spring 2012: Globeville/Elyria-Swansea Revitalization Plan (Instructors: Shawaker, Wenskoski)
Spring 2011: Arapahoe Square: Code Calibration (Instructor: Peter Park)
Spring 2010: RiNo Arts District: Regulation in Practice (Instructor: Jason Rebillot)

URBN 6612: International Studio (6 credits)
This third and final design studio of the program immerses itself in one of several rapidly urbanizing global regions such as China, India, or the Middle East. The primary focus of the studio is placed on understanding the complexities of conducting global design practice in such an environment, and the advantages and disadvantages of approaching it from a foreign perspective. The studio operates within a fluid network of professional and governmental actors, who are directly experienced in navigating the factors and circumstances relating to contemporary urbanization. Students explore the application of sustainable urban design principles to develop a complete project considering factors of legal, political, economic, and disciplinary consequence.

Summer 2011: Global Design Practice: Nanjing Adaptive Intervention (Instructor: Jason Rebillot)
Summer 2010: Design Proposals for the Shanghai Expo 2010 Site (Instructor: Jason Rebillot)

Seminars

URBN 6633: Urban Form Theory (3 credits)
Seminar focuses on the historical and current production of the built environment and centers on realizing the position of urban design within the broader fields of urban development. Students examine how social, economic, political and cultural forces shape urban form and how form shapes human relations. Students deconstruct the various design paradigms from New Urbanism to Landscape Urbanism to many in between. (Current instructor: Jeremy Németh)

URBN 6641: Design Process/Practice (3 credits)
This seminar focuses on method, tools and techniques of urban design and advances current practice by exploring innovative and pioneering methods of design analysis, production, representation, and communication. Issues of community participation and civic engagement are at the core of the seminar. Students are also introduced to the business of urban design through presentations by prominent design professionals. (Current instructor: Heath Mizer)

Seminar argues that urban designers are conscious agents with a responsibility to proactively shape the built environment through a combination of physical intervention and policy development. Students review urban economic and real estate development trends, land use and transportation policies, and compare traditional with innovative land use planning, zoning, and transportation techniques to establish links between policies, regulations and built environment quality. (Current instructor: Korkut Onaran)

URBN 6644: Sustainable Urban Design (3 credits)
This seminar explores the connections between ecology and urbanism. It will examine the multiple, interrelated ecological and social systems operating in the city. Students will explore innovative design processes and techniques that serve to create a higher quality of life and place with a particular emphasis on the effectiveness of sustainable design approaches at varying scales. (Current instructor: Richard Epstein)

URBN 6645: Global Design Practice (now a component of URBN 6612)
This seminar will educate students about critical issues related to practicing design in a global context. Course will examine diverse issues of design and planning practice from contracts, communication and culture to remote research, design opportunities and ethics. (Current instructors: Jeremy Nemeth/Richard Epstein) 

Internship

URBN 6930: Urban Design Internship (3 credits)
Designed to provide professional practice experience in urban design. Students work 10-20 hours/week in professional firms in the Denver metro region. Anticipated firms in 2012-2013 MUD Internship Program: AECOM, Civitas, Design Workshop, Norris Design, RNL Design, OZ Architecture, studioINSITE, and Tryba Architects. College units including the Colorado Center for Community Development (CCCD) frequently hire MUD students as research assistants (RAs) and the Departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Planning and Design often hire teaching assistants (TAs) from our incoming MUD students.