Skip to main content

Introduction Module: Estimate a Building

For this design challenge, you are being asked to estimate the size of a building using similar methods to those we did in class. This is an exercise in estimation, so you are not required to be "correct" in your measurement, but you should be rigorously estimating error. Do not put yourself in danger to measure anything, i.e., don't climb anything or hang out of a window, etc.

  • Choose a building on UBC campus to estimate the size of. The building must be at least three storeys.
  • Make an accurate scale diagram of the outline of the building from at least two perspectives (e.g., front and side, or 45° view and front).
  • Include major architectural details such as roofs, windows, doors, eaves, courses, etc. at scale.
  • Annotate your drawing with your scale, units, measurements, and the methodology for estimation.
  • Show your error estimation and calculations (either as +/- or with lower and upper bounds for measurements)
  • You can only use your body for base units, but you can use other features once you've measured them

You do not have to make a very "pretty" drawing, but it should be clean enough that you are able to make reasonably accurate estimates using the drawing. You can use reference photographs, but do not include the photographs in the finished drawing. It's fine to use digital drawing tools at some point in the process, but the final drawing needs to be on paper, hand-drawn, and in your sketchbook. If you need to print a reference piece for some reason, staple or tape it into your sketchbook. No excuses if you're bad at drawing: use a ruler and trace if you "can't draw"! You're encouraged to make preparatory sketches to show us before handing in, but your final version should be clean, fully annotated,

Design solution format and handin​

On Canvas, hand in a photo of your clean, finished work from your sketchbook. Include a self-provided grade in the range of 0-5 clearly on the first page. Your final design should live in your sketchbook, but the photo must also be handed in so that we can review it.

Also provide photos of the in-class design challenges from this module. Feel free to include any reflections or writing that support your understanding of the module. You do NOT need to submit all of your class notes (in fact, we'd rather you didn't). The best reflections do not linger on self-promotion. Instead, the best reflections focus on course concepts entirely. Use this first design challenge as a practice run.

Your TA will review your self-provided grade and mark your in-class design work for completeness only. In most cases, we will simply agree with your grade and provide some written feedback. However, we reserve the right to adjust down grades for both the design challenges and in-class design work if they do not agree with our assement of your work, observations of participation, and records of attendance.

For this course, we always use the following kind of scale:

  • 5: Exceptional: above and beyond requirements, brings in outside knowledge and/or deeply engages with the material.
  • 4: Very good: meets requirements fully, no major critiques.
  • 3: Good: mostly meets requirements, one or two major critiques or many minor critiques.
  • 2: Poor: mostly pro forma meeting of requirements, many major or minor critiques.
  • 1: Very poor: some discernable effort, but significant problems.
  • 0: No discernable effort.

You will notice that "fully meeting requirements" is only a 4/5, or 80%. This is unusual for many people, but is standard in art and design courses. The secret requirement is that you must go above and beyond to get above 80%. The point is to get you to creatively engage with the course. If we fully specify what it takes to get 100%, then there will be no creative component. Part of the purpose of engaging with this in this manner is to teach you to assess yourself in your own creativity. Then, we will assess you on your self-assessment. Don't worry, this will seem natural soon enough.

That being said, the bar for "exceeding" is not astronomically high. Since this is your first design challenge, we will provide some ideas of above and beyond:

  • Very well done and/or highly-detailed drawings
  • Creative measurement processes that use multiple tools or perspectives
  • Unusual and fully worked-through estimation techniques
  • Extra building perspectives that include analyses of smaller sections of the building
  • Etc.

The design challenge is due two weeks after the assignment released (will be indicated on Canvas).