Hardware and Software Recommendations Arch 200c 2011 Fall
Course	Arch 200c
Date	2011/08/01
Learning Objectives	In this letter, we will discuss the tools, equipment, and materials that will be required and/or recommended for your first semester as an architecture student at UCB.
Agenda
Uses Tool(s)

Dear Incoming MArch student,

Hello and welcome to UC Berkeley's Department of Architecture! While I'm sure that you've already received a great deal of correspondence lately welcoming you to the university and helping you to get oriented, the graduate student instructors (GSIs) for your Arch 200c course and I thought it would be helpful to add this one additional packet of information.

In this letter, we will discuss the tools, equipment, and materials that will be required and/or recommended for your first semester as an architecture student at UCB. While not exhaustive, we've endeavored to make these recommendations below as comprehensive as we can – from computer hardware and software to the tools and materials that you will find most helpful at your studio desk. If you have any questions regarding the requirements outlined here, please don't hesitate to contact anyone on this list or any of us.

Digital Tools & Equipment

All departments in the College of Environmental Design require that new students acquire a personal computer prior to the start of classes. Students are permitted to bring laptop or desktop configurations. Computer configurations are a matter of personal preference and there is no one best answer for every student or architect. A laptop may be preferable to be able to transport your work home, although it is extremely important that you be set up to work efficiently in the studio at school, rather than working primarily at home. Much of the learning in architecture school, and particularly in the development of software skills, depends on working in studio amongst your colleagues, sharing information, techniques, ideas and enthusiasm for collaborative learning.

The College of Environmental Design lab workstations are weighted towards the Microsoft Windows operating system due to several Windows specific programs primarily used in studio (AutoCAD and Rhino). All lab machines and discipline specific software applications available on the school’s computers operate on PC’s. Students are responsible for maintaining their own equipment and applications, so the acquisition of a hardware service contract may be advisable.

Computer Hardware

A majority of people are using MacBook Pros/Mac Desktops as their main computer, which are fantastically designed machines. However, it should be noted that should you buy a Windows desktop or laptop and shop judiciously you will save a substantial sum of money and receive the same, or better, performance.

The minimum recommended workstation configuration is as follows:

Minimum Recommended Desktop Configuration

Operating System

Windows XP / Windows 7 – 64 Bit(+ Parallels or Bootcamp for Mac)

Processor

2.5 – 3.0+ GHz Processor QUAD CORE+

RAM

6 GB minimum

Graphics Processor

1 GB minimum

Hard Disk

300 GB minimum, 7200rpm recommended (+ External Hard Drive)

Monitor

21” Screen or Larger

Minimum Recommended Laptop Configuration

Operating System : Windows XP / Windows 7 – 64 Bit(+ Parallels or Bootcamp for Mac)

Processor

2.5 - 3.0+ GHz Microprocessor QUAD CORE +

RAM

6 GB minimum

Graphics Processor

1 GB minimum

Hard Disk

150 GB minimum, 7200rpm recommended (+ External Hard Drive)

Monitor

15” Screen or Larger – Additional Monitor is recommended (21”+) to enable dual display.

If you feel the need to go above and beyond these requirements, it is best to invest in more RAM and/or a more powerful Graphics Processor due to the graphic-intensive nature of architectural software.

Recommended Accessories

• External Hard Drive (500 GB +)
• USB Flash Drive (4 GB+)
• Security Cable Lock
• A Good Mouse (Wired is preferable, with scroll wheel)

Additional Hardware Recommendations

As much of your work will be created and/or archived digitally, it is highly recommended that you back up your work regularly. The easiest way of doing this is by purchasing an external hard drive. It is also advisable to have a color inkjet printer capable of printing 11 x 17”. A good printer that does this and is reasonably priced is the Brother MFC-6490. The College does not specify any particular brand of hardware, and you are free to acquire equipment from the vendor of your choice.

When choosing a processor, the Intel I7 and the AMD Phenom are Quad-Core processors. These are the minimum recommended as they allow you to perform multiple tasks simultaneously… such as listening to music, working a 3D model in Rhino with a rendering in the background and making a presentation board in illustrator. Going with at least a quad-core processor will help you avoid undue frustration from lack of performance.

If you choose to purchase a laptop, keep in mind that you will be carrying it with you back and forth quite a bit and should choose one that is well made. MacBook Pros fit this bill with their solid-body aluminum construction, also Lenovo Thinkpads (good student discount available on website) and Asus laptops seem to be well made and powerful (but large and heavy). If you are on a very tight budget, Dell and Lenovo have ‘refurbished’ web stores where you can buy substantially discounted computers in less-than-perfect condition. With that said, your computer is extremely important in architecture school and compromising on your purchase for cost will almost certainly drive you mad. Your computer setup should end up costing you somewhere in the $2000-3000 range, potentially less if you are building your own system from scratch. A system meeting these specifications should last you through grad school and beyond.

The campus maintains a computer store known as The Scholar’s Workstation [TSW] (www.tsw.berkeley.edu). TSW offers student pricing on select software and various brand name hardware products including Dell, IBM, Toshiba and Apple, and also provides technical support for those products, for a fee.

Hardware Security

Physical security should be a primary concern when using equipment in the design studio or in any public space on campus. Wurster Hall [home of the Architecture Department] operates on a 24/7 schedule. Building and studio security is maintained by limited card keyed access, combination keypads on studio doors and security cameras at entrances and exits, however individual security requires personal supervision and planning for your equipment and work. The studio furniture provides a steel storage locker that can be secured with the student’s own lock, but they are not tamper-proof. The storage locker is large enough to hold a mid-tower computer configuration but will not hold a computer monitor. There are provisions in the furniture configuration for power and for students to lock desktop equipment with cable locks or other non-destructive security devices available from most computer equipment retailers. Supplemental locks are highly recommended, and a shared concern for the security of the studio floors and everyone’s equipment is an important responsibility for everyone in the studio.

Computer Software

Recommended Software Applications

For additional information, you may visit http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/downloads/facilities/ced-computing-handbook_2007.pdf

Below is a list of computer software that you ought to have installed and ready-to-go before the start of the semester. Some of these packages may be available through the department. Software access changes from year to year, and a definitive list of software supported and/or supplied by the school should be obtained from the Graduate Office if there is any question. Before purchasing software, please check with knowledgeable colleagues to ascertain the best sources for purchasing and for educational version discounts or other sources. Low cost versions of many software packages are also available through the campus student store.

2d CAD - AutoCAD

(for PC, the mac version is not supported)1-year free license available at students.autodesk.com

3D Modeling – Rhinoceros

$195 student license available at www.rhino3d.comthis is the best deal you'll ever get on CAD software

Parametric Modeling – Grasshopper

plugin for RhinocerosFree download at www.grasshopper3d.com

Procedural Drawing – Processing

Free download at www.processing.org

General Graphics Suite - Adobe CS5 Design Standard

Includes Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat X$450 educational discountavailable at campus student store

Office Suite - Microsoft Office

(Word, Excel, Powerpoint , etc), or LibreOffice Free download at www.libreoffice.org/download/

Virus Scan - Symantec Anti Virus

Free download (requires CalNet ID) at software-central.berkeley.edu/

Communication and Collaboration Tools

The studio will communicate and collaborate via a variety of technologies. Upon arrival on campus, we encourage you to establish a class phone list for organizational and emergency purposes. Besides the obvious use of email, the following technologies will be employed:

Dropbox

is a free file-sharing and syncing service. The course will be using Dropbox as a mechanism for instructors to distribute tutorial and sample files to students, and will serve as a platform for students to share files with one another. If you do not yet have a dropbox account, it is best to ask an instructor or a classmate for a 'reference', as this will increase both parties allotted storage space. For more information, see www.dropbox.com.

Piazzza

is social Q&A platform designed to connect students with one another and with instructors. The course will be using Piazzza as a general forum for discussing class logistics and course content. For more information, see www.piazza.com/signup/berkeley

Studiomaven

is an experimental web-based platform for the peer-to-peer exchange of representational techniques under active development by a cohort of researchers at UC Berkeley. The course will be using Studiomaven as a mechanism for workshop instruction and as a platform for the production of student-produced tutorials. More information will be provided after the formal start of classes.

I hope that these recommendations prove helpful to you as your prepare for your first semester here at UCB. If there's any more questions you have regarding your tools or equipment purchases before arriving on campus, please don't hesitate to contact us.

'Til soon!

Kyle Steinfeld (Instructor, Arch 200c) ksteinfe@berkeley.edu
Madeline Hartzell (GSI) madelinehartzell@gmail.com
Michael Bergin (GSI) michael.s.bergin@gmail.com