What I've Learned

~ The totals at the top of the worksheet allow me to get a sense of how much time (and money) I have actually spent on this course. It's surprising to see that I haven't spent more than three days worth of hours on the course yet spent over one thousand dollars on it. If only industry could pay this well as a starting salary ($22.50/hr).

~ The log helped to me organize my time spent in and out of class. It also gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts with the professor about what I learned or had questions on. It also allowed me to look back on the first lecture or first project to see what I thought about it, and if my impressions about architectural engineering have changed, and they have.

~ Through lectures and labs, I have learned a lot. One of my early entries, and even the midcourse evaluation, criticized the fact that the course wasn't getting into enough detail. This was before the guest lecturers came in to talk about the specific building systems, such as structural, mechanical (HVAC), fire safety, etc. It was then that we started getting into detail, sometimes even too much detail. Even so, I could see that my log entries were filled with more technical information as these lectures started coming in.

My Understanding of Architectural Engineering

~ It was the third lecture that I started getting a better idea of what architectural engineering is. From that lecture, I learned that architectural engineers have a broader knowledge of a building than, say, an electrical engineer. AE's are specialized in either a structural or mechanical track but have the background to see the whole picture and make sure that the systems of a building can coexist. I think this is what makes architectural engineering interesting because, as one, I could get involved in many parts of a building and not get too bored with just the structural or HVAC systems.

~ By having this introductory course, I was allowed to question what made architectural engineering different from other engineers or architects. Through lectures and the projects, I've come to understand architectural engineering more and more - what their job responsibilities are, who they report to, who reports to them, where they can work, etc. I have also asked architects what the difference between an AE and an architect is. One architect responded that an architect will put windows where he wants, but it's the AE's responsibility to make sure that the windows are structurally able to go there.

~ Ever since I became interested in architectural engineering, I was confused as to what the differences between an AE and an architect were. I now believe that I have a clearer understanding and could provide a clearer explanation to those differences.

For Future Improvement

~ The difficult thing that I encountered when working on the log was printing. I would have to advise future students to print landscape before they attempted to print it out themselves portrait style and become frustrated.

~ I tend to make long entries. If I put the entire entry into one cell, the end of the entry will be cut off and won't print no matter how the cell height or width is manipulated. Therefore, tell future students to make entries in two or more cells. I tend to put "What I Did" and "Comments" in different cells so nothing will be cut off during printing.

What I Learned

~ This assignment forced me to read the syllabus, which gave me an idea of what would be expected of me by the end of this course. Such expectations as being able to produce the basic architectural drawings (floor plan, elevation, and section). It also made me nervous because there was a lot to be expected, especially when I read the "Portrait of a Building" project and saw how much detail I had to get into. However, I had to remember that I would be preparing for this project as the course progressed. It wasn't as if I was asked to finish this project the fourth week of the course.

~ This was the first webpage that I have ever created. Having to create one and then post it was overwhelming. It also wasn't reassuring the first week when we tried to post it on dunx1, and the server didn't seem to work in the AE lab. However, as most of the assignments were expected to be posted, I was forced to learn the process. I even sought the help of friends who taught me basic html tags. After I successfully posted this webpage onto the dunx1 server, I was more confident about webpage creation. I no longer struggle with it.

My Understanding of Architectural Engineering

~ By reading over Professor Mitchell's website, I got the impression that much of an AE's job is describing buildings through the way it works or the way it looks. AE's can use structural systems to describe how the frame will make the building look; the mechanical systems describe the building's function. For instance, how the building is being heated and cooled through the HVAC system can tell an engineer if the building is being used by people, where more heating would be involved, or in a storage facility where heating isn't always necessary. Structural and HVAC are just two examples of the building systems that AE's are concerned with; there are many others.

~ Architectural engineers must also be good communicators. Presenting work on a webpage is just one way to do so, but I must also learn to produce clear drawings to describe a building.

For Future Improvement

~ Give the students more time to complete this assignment because I know that as the semester is starting up, I had difficulty finding time to meet with my partner. Also, the fact that it was our first time creating a webpage required more time to learn the process; a one-hour lecture wasn't sufficient for my understanding of mounting the page using an FTP. I would suggest a lab on web creation and then a week after that to work on it with our partners. This time around, we had a one-hour lecture on web mounting, which wasn't even successful, and then were expected to post our own in the next four days.

~ Although I objected forcing students to create a webpage for their first assignment when I was working on the project, I can now see the advantages of this assignment. Future assignments are "turned in" on the web, so it is a good idea to start the students off on this track early so minimal problems with webpage creation arise in the course of the quarter.

What I Learned

~ We were asked to use MSWord to create three types of drawings: floor plan, section, and elevation. I was surprised that this word processing program had the ability to produce grids and create a decent drawing. MSWord wasn't hard to use, but it, of course, lacked many tools that an AutoCAD program would have.

~ I have done architectural drawings in high school, but even doing them this year, I forgot conventions such as a section line to show where the room is "cut through." I have, therefore, added one where there was none before.

My Understanding of Architectural Engineering

~ The drawings I worked on were very simple. I realize that drawings will become more detailed as specs, detailed drawings, and sections are added. Architectural engineers can use AutoCAD to create layers to see the different systems "on top" of each other.

~ Professional drawings were brought into lecture, and each project could have multiple sets of drawings. This ensures that every aspect of the building is depicted in a clear manner. The three drawings we worked on were just the beginning of a set of drawings that an architectural engineer would prepare.

For Future Improvement

~ As this is the first time that AE210 is being given, I couldn't expect it this year, but for future students, I would recommend that they be able to see more examples of simple architectural drawings done by students. It was amazing to see what the professionals could produce, but it didn't give me any idea of what was expected for this project. Did you want specs? Dimensions that follow a certain standard? The professional drawings were too complicated to look at.

What I Learned

~ Speaking with someone who graduated from Drexel's AE curriculum and is currently working in the field reinforced my understanding of what architectural engineering is. Although the professional we spoke to, Ms. Freshcoln, even had trouble distinguishing the difference between an AE and an architect, one difference she could see was the focus of each discipline - architects are concerned more with aesthetics whereas AE's deal more with the systems of a building. Also, architectural engineers have the knowledge of the different parts of a building necessary to communicate between the different engineering disciplines. This agrees with what I had commented on in my log.

~ Ms. Freshcoln also taught me something about my educational choices, such as whether or not to pursue a higher degree such as a master's. Ms. Freshcoln does have her master's and is also a PE. She didn't say that a higher degree is necessary in the field; she said that different companies require different degrees. It depends on what I want to do in a company or in a school. If a candidates for a promotion must have a master's degree, and I want a promotion, then I should obtain a master's. If I want to teach at a University, I will need to have a Ph.D..

~ In addition to Ms. Freshcoln's comments, I received the comment from Prof. Mitchell that obtaining a master's would be the best option to take as most professionals in the field have higher degrees. I am now seriously considering pursuing a BS/MS degree in my five years at Drexel. However, if I can't handle the work load, then I will have to wait until after I obtain a job to pursue one.

My Understanding of Architectural Engineering

~ As I mentioned above, from this interview, I learned that AE's have a more general knowledge of a building's systems and are also not as concerned with aesthetics as an architect would be.

~ Ms. Freshcoln did not explicitly say this was a difference between an AE and an architect, but I got the impression that architectural engineers also develop materials. For instance, they can be involved in testing composites of concrete and rebar for strength as I saw in the structural testing lab in the Main Building.

For Future Improvement

~ I felt that my group and I needed more time on this project because it was difficult coordinating our schedules with each other and our interviewees' work hours (9am to 5pm), and the holiday that was in the middle of the project wasn't helpful either. Also, the interviewees on our list were very far away, like in New Jersey and Delaware. We could have independently sought professionals in the area, but having a prepared list with more people in the are would have been more convenient. Luckily, we worked out our schedules with each other, and Ms. Freshcoln agreed to meet us at Creese.

What I Learned

~ My group and I were advised not to do our "portrait" on the Main Court because of difficulties that could have came up, but I found the Main Court only a small challenge. It was only the detail carvings along the walls that gave my group and I a hard time. The measurements and dimensions were easy to take because by limiting ourselves to just the Court, we only had a rectangular area to deal with. I was bored with bedrooms after doing the "Basic Building Drawings" on a room in North Hall. The Main Court was more attractive than a bedroom, and therefore, more interesting to spend my time on.

~ To take measurements, I used a light meter, sound meter, digital thermometer, distance meter, multimeter, and tape measure. Some of these were relatively sophisticated instruments, but they were easy to use. They are instruments that are used in the field; this project gave me a first exposure to them.

~ From the numerous measurements and calculations that we were asked to do, I learned the numerous ways a building can be described. Of course length and width are basic, but I didn't realize that structural, mechanical, electrical, and heat loads were part of it too. All of these numbers are important when designing a building, and an architectural engineer is expected to understand what these numbers mean in terms of what the building is going to look like structurally, how much the building is going to cost to build, and how much it will cost to maintain. I can see that the following years are going to teach me a lot, and it all interests me.

My Understanding of Architectural Engineering

~ Architectural engineers are able to understand all of the numbers that are associated with a building, such as loads, acoustic levels, etc. They not only understand them but are also able to apply them to structural and mechanical designs. It's actually pretty amazing what an AE knows and how he/she can apply that knowledge to every piece of a building.

~ In this project, the numbers were just numbers. As the curriculum gets into more detail, I can look forward to seeing those numbers as specs for a building.

~ We had to describe the building in terms of numbers, words, pictures, and drawings. This shows me that an architectural engineer must be able to communicate ideas in a variety of ways to a variety of audiences. An engineer loves to see numbers, but an architect would rather see drawings, and a client or customer would rather see pictures or renderings of the finished project. I will have to be proficient in each method of communication in order to express my ideas to everyone.

I knew that architects and architectural engineers were similar in some aspects. Both create such drawings as these taken from Ching's A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. The first being a floor plan, and the second being an elevation and sectional elevation.

Also see Basic Building Drawings website for the floor plan, elevation, and sectional of a bedroom in North Hall.

Before the term, I was always confused as to what made an architectural engineer different from an architect. The only thing that I knew that separated the two was the that architects make buildings aesthetically pleasing and architectural engineers make them work. This is the main reason that I didn't choose to be an architecture major; I am not creative enough to make buildings look interesting. I would rather be on the technical side of designing a building.

I have asked architects, engineers, and professors what these differences would be, but even they sometimes didn't explain it very well to me. This gave me the impression that architectural engineers were not needed in the field because an architect or other type of engineer could do the same job. Even so, I decided to see for myself, and after this term, I have redefined my idea of what an architectural engineer is, and that they are very important in the field.

The differences between an architectural engineer, an architect, and other engineering disciplines are much clearer after this course. I thought that after this course I would have second thoughts about my major, but this course has only made me more interested in the field of architectural engineering.

This chart is a summary of what I think the differences are after this course:

 These are the differences that I have learned of so far. I am sure that as the curriculum progresses, many more differences and similarities will become clear.

Even though the majority of architectural engineers follow the structural track, after the lectures on comfort, sound, illumination, HVAC, the elevator company, and fire protection, I became interested in the mechanical track. More specifically, I am interested in sound and illumination. Ever since these lectures, I have been focusing on the acoustics and illumination of spaces. I remember the lecturer for sound declaring that he hated sound systems. After paying more attention to the way sound is produced in spaces, I see what he meant - sound systems are always so loud that they drown out the music or voice that was intended to be amplified. On the illumination side, I have always been interested in how light can draw one's attention to a building at night or how it affects an employee's work when light is either too bright or not bright enough. Basically, by becoming an architectural engineer, I want to help people. Focusing on sound and light could help people enjoy what they are doing more by making a room sound better or lighting a space just right.

I have also noticed that many of the job openings for coop are for structural engineers. This may alter my choice of architectural engineering concentration, but I will definitely give mechanical engineering a chance.

The labs where we went on tours of an architectural firm and places of interest on Drexel's campus were of interest. The tour of the the Hess Building, basement of the Main Building, and Planning and Construction showed me the importance of construction experience. Drawing makes buildings perfect. All the systems coexist with space to spare, and there are never any problems. However, reality says that problems always arise, and often times it's because the designers of the space haven't gone out to the site to see it for themselves. Construction experience gives this same sense of reality in that I could design better if I knew how the building were to be built. It sounds very confusing, but in order for an architectural engineer to gain the whole picture of a project, he/she must be able to visualize from planning to development to construction. Therefore, it would be advantageous if I spent one of my co-ops in construction.

According to the exercise we did in lab, the eight stages of planning are: program, funding, selection of architect, schematic design, design development, bidding, codes approval, and building construction approval. Because the architectural engineer (known as a structural or mechanical engineer) is hired by the architect, an architectural engineer will not come into the picture until the selection of the architect. It is then that the AE is given preliminary plans of the project. From approximate square footage and other load requirements, the AE can develop costs, schedules for work planed to be done, etc. They and the architects then wait for the client/owner to either accept or reject their plans. If their proposal is accepted, then the architectural engineer starts on detailed work-ups of the building's systems following the architect's vision of what the building is to look like. The architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors, and the owner's representative then work together to provide the building with the best systems making sure everything is within the budget and up to code. When codes and budgets are approved, construction begins, which architectural engineers oversee. They also resolve any conflicts that may come about and develop the plans accordingly.