Environmental Design at OCAD University is a broad-based studio program where interiors, architecture, landscape and urban design approaches synthesize to develop creative and responsive spatial design where human interaction and the utilization of man-made environments is focal. With an emphasis on expressiveness and habitability, students develop the design of environments that shape and qualify our experience and interaction with space, and as such integrate interior and architectural design, film and theatre, exhibition and landscape to create emotive and poetic aspects of space, structure, form and texture.
The program integrates courses in design theory, colour, interior and architectural materials, technology and construction, drawing and graphic presentation techniques, and professional practice. Expansion studios provide the opportunity to deepen skills in specific design disciplines and to select courses in a number of related disciplines. Core design studios develop a design methodology of research, analysis, design and presentation with a strong emphasis on conceptual development. The senior studio culminates in a focused body of thesis work within an area of the student’s choice.
Our students explore a range of projects from the uses and applications of recycled materials, the revisioning of architectural environments to the critical analysis and design of urban space and relationships. Their vision incorporates present and future evolving ideas, sustainable responsibilities, ethics, technologies and changing cultural values as an expression of their own personality, creativity, craft and culture.
Graduates of the Environmental Design program are recognized by the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario and find career placement in interior design studios, environmental, architecture, or landscape firms and product design companies. Many continue to graduate studies in architecture, environmental sciences, urban planning, sustainability studies or specific interdisciplinary studies at other institutions.
Students interested in practicing Interior Design and being recognized by ARIDO (Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario) must include in their program the following courses:
ENVR 3B18 Building Systems & Interior Materials: Residential
ENVR 3B19 Building Systems & Interior Materials: Commercial
GDES 3B14 Interior Design Studio: Office
GDES 3B24 Interior Design Studio
It is recommended that students interested in continuing their education with a postgraduate degree in Architecture at another institution include in their program the following courses:
ENVR 3B18 Building Systems & Interior Materials: Residential
ENVR 3B19 Building Systems & Interior Materials: Commercial
GDES 4B05 Architecture Design Studio 1
We encourage our students to utilize their design education to create new opportunities and to become the creative designers of our future.
Please refer to the Design Programs: Introduction.
Please refer to the Faculty of Design's Degree/Diploma Requirements for information regarding degree and diploma requirements for Design program students.
All Faculty of Design programs are developed as semester groupings of related courses. In order to be best prepared to meet course expectations, students are normally required to complete all core courses in one semester before carrying on to courses in the next semester.
Students must achieve a minimum grade of 60% in their core studio course each semester (tagged with “†”) to advance to the following semester’s core studio.
A minimum overall average of 65% must be achieved at the end of fourth year in all designated courses (tagged with “∆”) of the student’s major/program.
Note: Students in this Major or Minor Program Area are included in the Laptop Program, and are required to pay the associated fees for software and support. Click http://www.ocad.ca/laptopprogram for further info regarding the Laptop Program. Click http://www.ocad.ca/students/financial_matters/tuition_fees/laptop_program_fees.htm for info regarding Laptop Program Fees.
COURSE CODE | COURSE NAME | CREDIT |
100 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
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ENVR 1B01 | Environmental Design 1 ∆ | 0.5 |
GDES 1B13 | Solid & Void: Drawing Form and Space | 0.5 |
GDES 1B24 | Colour and Two-dimensional Design | 0.5 |
(If English is not your first language, consider enrolling in English Language Pathway, a special offering attached to GDES 1B16 Colour in Context which would be considered equivalent to GDES 1B24 for ESL students in First Year Design.) |
||
Must take LBST 1B04 (and one of LBST 1B11 or LBST 1B12 or LBST 1B13 if you don't take one in the winter) | ||
LBST 1B04 |
Global Visual and Material Culture: Prehistory to 1800 (LST) |
0.5 |
LBST 1B11 | The Essay and the Argument: Mechanics (LST) (fall or winter) | 0.5 |
or | ||
LBST 1B12 | The Essay and the Argument: ESL (English as a Second Language) (LST) (fall and winter) (continues in winter) | |
or | ||
LBST 1B13 | The Essay and the Argument: Rhetoric (LST) (fall or winter) | |
100 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
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ENVR 1B02 | Environmental Design 2 †∆ | 0.5 |
GDES 1B21 | Experience Design - 3D | 0.5 |
ENVR 1B04 | Materials and Methods | 0.5 |
ENVR 1B05 | Concept Drawing | 0.5 |
Must take LBST 1B05 (and one of LBST 1B11 or LBST 1B12 or LBST 1B13 if you didn't take one in the fall) | ||
LBST 1B05 |
Global Visual and Material Culture: 1800 to the Present (LST) |
0.5 |
LBST 1B11 | The Essay and the Argument: Mechanics (LST) (fall or winter) | 0.5 |
or | ||
LBST 1B12 | The Essay and the Argument: ESL (English as a Second Language) (LST) (fall and winter) (continues from fall) | |
or | ||
LBST 1B13 | The Essay and the Argument: Rhetoric (LST) (fall or winter) | |
200 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
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Choose one Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences course: | ||
VISD 2B01 | History of Modern Design (LST) | 0.5 |
or VISD 2B10 |
History of 20th Century Architecture (LST) | |
ENVR 2B15 | Research Studio/Colour & Form | 0.5 |
ENVR 2B18 | Building Technology & Structure 1 (SEM) | 0.5 |
ENVR 2B22 | Presentation Drawing and Rendering | 0.5 |
ENVR 2B17 | Exploration Studio/Personal Space †∆ | 0.5 |
Choose one: | ||
Exploration Studio/Personal Space Lab/Metal | ||
or | Exploration Studio/Personal Space Lab/Wood | |
200 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
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VISD 2B38 | Design Thinking (LST) | 0.5 |
See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
GDES 2B03 | Think Tank 1: Awareness (SEM) | 0.5 |
ENVR 2B20 | Concept Drawing | 0.5 |
ENVR 2B19 | Exploration Studio/Social Space †∆ | 0.5 |
Choose one not taken in fall: | ||
Exploration Studio/Social Space Lab/Metal | ||
or | Exploration Studio/Social Space Lab/Wood | |
300 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
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Choose one Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences course: | 0.5 | |
SCTM 3B03 | Human Factors for Designers (LST) | |
or SOSC 3B03 | Sociology of the Body (LST) | |
or SOSC 3B05 | Social Psychology and Consumer Behaviour (LST) | |
ENVR 3B21 | Core Project Studio/Residential †∆ | 0.5 |
ENVR 3B23 | Presentation Drawing and Rendering | 0.5 |
ENVR 3B22 |
Introduction to Lighting | 0.5 |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided at the end of this document. | 0.5 | |
300 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
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See Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Choose one liberal studies course | 0.5 |
ENVR 3B20 | Core Project Studio/Retail & Hospitality Design †∆ | 0.5 |
ENVR 3B24 | Building Technology & Structure 2 (SEM) | 0.5 |
Choose one: |
0.5 |
|
GDES 3B14 | Interior Design Studio: Office | |
or GDES 3B58 | Living Environments: Design Practices | |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided at the end of this document. | 0.5 | |
400 LEVEL: FALL SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING ADVANCEMENT TO FUTURE COURSES. |
||
Choose one Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences course: | ||
VISC 4B15 |
Urban Life: Art, Design and the City (LST) in the fall |
0.5 |
or VISD 4B19 | Contemporary Studies in Architecture and Design (LST) in the winter | |
(If you take VISD 4B19 in the winter, choose another Liberal Arts & Sciences course from the Liberal Arts & Sciences offerings for the fall semester.) | ||
Choose one: |
1.0 | |
ENVR 4C01 | Environmental Design Thesis I†∆ | |
or ENVR 4C03 | Environmental Design Studio 1†∆ | |
Choose one: |
0.5 | |
ENVR 3B17 | Myths, Beliefs and Imagery | |
or GDES 3B21 | Designing Across Difference: Aboriginal Communities | |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided at the end of this document. | 0.5 | |
400 LEVEL: WINTER SEMESTER PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS REGARDING GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS. |
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Choose one Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences course: | 0.5 |
|
VISD 4B19 | Contemporary Studies in Architecture and Design (LST) in the winter | |
or VISC 4B15 | Urban Life: Art, Design and the City (LST) in the fall |
|
(If you take VISD 4B15 in the fall, choose another Liberal Arts & Sciences course from the Liberal Arts & Sciences offerings for the winter semester.) | ||
ENVR 4B04 | Professional Practice (SEM) | 0.5 |
Choose one: | 1.0 | |
ENVR 4C02 | Environmental Design Thesis II †∆ | |
or ENVR 4C04 | Environmental Design Studio 2 †∆ | |
Choose one expansion studio from the list provided below. | 0.5 | |
Recommended Expansion Studio Courses (subject to being offered): | ||
GDES 3B38 | Ambient Experience Design | |
GDES 4B05 | Architecture Design Studio 1 | |
GDES 3B10 | Art of Presentation | |
GDES 3B18 | Biomimicry 1: Points of Departure | |
GDES 3B28 | Biomimicry 2: Application | |
ENVR 3B18 | Building Systems & Interior Materials: Residential | |
ENVR 3B19 | Building Systems & Interior Materials: Commercial | |
GDES 3B13 | Compelling User Experience 1 | |
Designing Across Difference: Aboriginal Communities | ||
GDES 3B36 | Domestic Ceramics: Exploring the Useful Object | |
GDES 3B40 | Exploration, Insight and Foresight in Design (SEM) | |
GDES 3B46 | Explorations in Architectural Glass | |
GDES 3B15 | Furniture Design 1 (taken with Furniture Design 1 Lab/Wood) |
|
GDES 3B25 | Furniture Design 2 (taken with Furniture Design 2 Lab/Wood) |
|
GDES 4B11 | Furniture Design 3 (taken with Furniture Design 3 Lab/Wood) |
|
GDES 3B70 | Game Design: Conceptual and Visual Approaches | |
GDES 3B71 | Game Design: Digital Development | |
GDES 3B49 | Image and Clay: Exploring the Ceramic Surface (not offered 2012/13) | |
GDES 3B24 | Interior Design Studio | |
GDES 3B14 | Interior Design Studio: Office | |
GDES 4B03 | Internship (offered summer 2012) | |
GDES 3B57 | Living Environments: Design Theory | |
GDES 3B58 | Living Environments: Design Practices | |
GDES 3B66 | Materials Research Library/Internship (SEM) | |
GDES 3B20 | Small Object Design: Virtual to Reality 1 | |
GDES 3B78 | Small Object Design: Virtual to Reality 2 | |
GDES 3B12 | Socially Responsible Design Practices | |
GDES 3B93 | Special Topic: Ecology/Lifecycle Analysis In Sustainable Design (SEM) | |
GDES 3B60 | Sustainable Design & Development (not offered 2012/13) | |
GDES 3B54 | Think Tank 2: Consideration (SEM) | |
GDES 4B08 | Think Tank 3: Action (SEM) | |
GDES 3B56 | Universal Design | |
GDES 3B59 | Urban Design Ecology (SEM) (offered summer 2012) | |
DIGF 3B01 | Networked Communities and Environments (SEM) | |
or |
Relevant course in Faculty of Art or Design (subject to approval - contact Design Office) |
|
Recommended Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences liberal studies courses (subject to being offered): | ||
VISD 3B32 | History of Furniture (LST) | |
Also see Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Special Topics liberal studies courses for 2012/13 |
Last Modified:12/18/2012 11:04:22 AM