Valery Augustin
Associate Professor of Practice
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- Phone:(310) 721-0320
B.Arch., University of Miami; M.Arch., University of California
Professor Augustin teaches at the USC School of Architecture and is the founder and principal of the award-winning design practice DNA Architecture + Design, Inc. Based in Los Angeles, DNA Architecture + Design is a multi-disciplinary practice focused on community-oriented projects and engaged in architecture, interiors, and exhibition design. Alongside commissioned projects, DNA Architecture + Design also pursues theoretical investigations and research focused on urban issues and architectural representation. Before establishing his practice, Professor Augustin was a designer at several internationally recognized design firms including Swanke Hayden Connell Architects in London, England; Oppenheim Architecture and Design in Miami, Florida; and Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects in Los Angeles, California.
Professor Augustin’s work has been exhibited at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in North Carolina, the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., and at galleries in Miami and Los Angeles. In 2004, he curated and designed an exhibition titled Recent Departures at UCLA. In 2006, Professor Augustin led a multi-disciplinary team of architects, planners, and developers participating in PropX, Inventing the Next LA; an invited competition aimed at providing new approaches to urban problems such as affordable housing, homelessness, traffic, and sustainability. The work of DNA Architecture + Design has been published widely and recognized by the design community with awards including an AIA LA Residential Design and Restaurant Design Award.
- 106xWorkshop in ArchitectureWorkshop in ArchitectureThis course is an introduction to the processes involved in the creation and understanding of architecture. The workshop, designed for architecture minors and non-architecture majors, is a project-based laboratory involving drawing and model making, with no previous design or drawing experience needed. The course is structured around projects executed in class throughout the semester, a series of readings and discussions, visits to sites of architectural interest and a term paper. Over the course of this class, you will develop: - A preliminary architectural vocabulary - Basic 2D and 3D technical and freehand drawing skills - Basic model making skills - An understanding of the methods through which architecture communicates ideas and intentions - An understanding of the role which architectural history plays in shaping the work of contemporary architects - An understanding of how the architect conceives, creates and executes a project Most of the learning in this course happens in class, through workshop projects and through exchange of ideas with your instructor and classmates. Therefore, participation and engagement in class are required. There is a natural progression to the classes; projects and readings build upon each other. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to meet with the instructor for instructions and materials to complete the missed assignment before the next class.
- 411Architectural TechnologyArchitectural TechnologyPrerequisite(s): ARCH 313 Technology is presented not as a post-facto application enabling an architectural idea, but as one of many modes of concurrent thinking an architect must develop. This course promotes understanding the logics and details of construction technologies as they contribute to the production of architecture. Both conventions and experimentations in building assemblies will be studied to link technical considerations to design development. Focus on emerging technologies and concerns, along with proven techniques and means, will encourage awareness of all facets of constructional potentials. Students will learn fundamental detailing principles, and implement those principles in order to test through making. Possibilities and limitations of various constructional systems will be explored, with an eye towards seeing assembly systems as the nexus of various kinds of performance.