Douglas Pancoast

In the modern world, individuals' activities are tracked, surveilled, and computationally modeled to both beneficial and problematic ends. Jointly with the University of Chicago, this course will examine privacy and security issues at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. Through both computer science and studio art, students will design algorithms, implement systems, and create interactive artworks that communicate, provoke, and reframe pervasive issues in modern privacy and security. The course will unpack and re-entangle computational connections and data-driven interactions between people, built space, sensors, structures, devices, and data. Synthesizing technology and aesthetics, we will communicate our findings to the broader public not only through academic avenues, but also via public art and media. The first phase of the course will involve prompts in which students design and program small-scale artworks in various contexts, including (1) data collected from web browsing; (2) mobility data; (3) data collected about consumers by major companies; and (4) raw sensor data. Students will receive detailed feedback on their work from computer scientists, artists, and curators at the Museum of Science & Industry (MSI). The course culminates in the production and presentation of a capstone interactive artwork by teams of computer scientists and artists; successful products may be considered for prototyping at the MSI.

Intermediate design studio requires the design of a building responding to substantially qualitative interior space program, including building skins, systems, sustainability, accessibility, and life safety. Course Goals and Objectives 1) Learn pre-design, visual communication of concept and program diagramming, , systems and object integration during research into client organizations and the design of effective environments. 2) Bring technical knowledge and skills to bear on a design including structural and other building systems, accessibility, sustainability, and site design. Case studies, readings and research will be project specific and determined through the programs defined in the studio. The studio work is cumulative. The work addresses professional criteria and develops though milestones that culminate in a final portfolio and review for the course.

Integrated Technical Practice course covers design-build in the community, electronic data sensing, networked microcontroller hardware, parametric programming, and electrical power and lighting. Course Goals and Objectives 1) Basic knowledge in electronics, electricity, light and lighting systems and embedded control. 2) Ability to design functional sensing, connectivity, embedded control, and actuation networks in buildings and sites. 3) Ability to analyze and represent human situations, and make working prototypes of built systems that respond to them, engendering effective decisions about strategies and systems during predesign. Specific skills include 3d modeling and data collection through the parametric applications and microcontroller systems, and familiarity with open source big data in Chicago. 4) Learn and use leadership strategies and collaborative working strategies while building and delivering a project of real utility for an external client.