2021 Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Architecture and Building Engineering Graduate major in Urban Design and Built Environment
Topics of Meaning and Design of Place
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Urban Design and Built Environment
- Instructor(s)
- Ushio Saito
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Tue
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- UDE.D402
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course focuses on place as existence grounds of the self. Through both analysis of the representation such as a literary work or picture and some thought or psychological experiments, this course approaches the structure of place.
Course description and aims
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
1.Explain the essential relation between the self and place.
2.Explain both the meaning of representation and some methods of analysis of representation.
3.Analyze critically space design or regional planning from the standpoint of the concept of place or one’s native place.
Keywords
place, self, room, space, native place
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This class meets on line once a week. Some thought experiments without advance knowledge are done at times to deepen the understanding about the concept of place.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction-What is Place? | Review |
| Class 2 | Representation of Place | Understanding of Methods to Analyze |
| Class 3 | House as Place | Consideration on housing Image |
| Class 4 | Room as Place | Analysis of Representation |
| Class 5 | One’s Native Place | Analysis of Representation |
| Class 6 | Essence of Place | Consideration of Essence of Place |
| Class 7 | Assertions on Townscape Design and Their Problems from the Standpoint of the Concept of Place | Critical Consideration of Assertions on Townscape Design |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
No textbook is set.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Course materials are distributed during class.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Participation in each thought experiment：30%
Report：70%
Related courses
- Structure and Dynamics of Viewing
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are necessary, but enrollment in the related course is desirable.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
saito.u.aa(at)m.titech.ac.jp
Office hours
Instructor’s office：West Bidg.9, Rm 501, 5Fl.
Contact by e-mail in advance to schedule an appointment.