Professors: Ricardo Castro, David Covo, and Robert Mellin
Place: Saint John, NB
Dates: The dates of the course are Saturday, August 27, to Thursday, September 1, 2016. The course begins with a workshop at 9 am on Saturday, August 27, and ends with a final discussion of the work in the evening of Thursday, September 1. This means that, for most of us, Friday, August 26, and Friday, September 2, will be travel days.
ARCH 325, Architectural Sketching:
Seven days of supervised field sketching outside Montreal in the late summer, followed by coursework and fieldwork in Montreal examining architectural sketching as a process that develops an intellectual and physical framework for encounters with the urban environment. (Students are required to include Sketching School (ARCH 325) in the B.Sc.(Arch.) program.)
ARCH 680, Field Sketching:
Observation, notebook recording, sketching in a range of media in the field in Montreal and other urban sites. Seven days of supervised field sketching outside Montreal, followed by local fieldwork and coursework examining architectural sketching as a process that develops an intellectual and physical framework for encounters with the urban environment. (Students newly admitted to the M.Arch. (Prof.) program are expected to take Field Sketching (ARCH 680) right away. Please see further details provided at the end of the document.)
CTV Atlantic article + video on Sketching School in Saint John.
Accommodation
A wide range of hotels, motels and inns are available and students are expected to arrange their own accommodation. The Google.ca search engine will provide you with a full list of inns, hotels, motels, B & B, chalet rentals and campgrounds. http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/
PLEASE NOTE: SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, IS A VERY POPULAR HOLIDAY DESTINATION. PLEASE RESERVE EARLY!
Transportation
A variety of travel choices are available to students. The School has looked into travel costs and recommends car or van. Some of you may also want to consider travel by rail or bus, with connections via local transportation to Saint John.
NOTE: Please book your tickets as quickly as possible.
Health Insurance
Please remember to bring with you the Quebec Medicare Card, and proof of any other supplementary health insurance you have to cover your stay in Quebec. Please note that all students are required to complete the McGill University Travel Registry.
Required Equipment
Watercolours, watercolour paper, brushes, pencils, pen and ink, conte crayon, sketchbooks (including the standard 13 x 21cm Moleskine with heavy-weight paper) and drawing paper of varying size and type. Sketch pads, sheet material and watercolour blocks should range from 9" x 12" to 18" x 24".
If you need to buy a set of watercolours, you could consider a set with ‘cakes’, or you could purchase separate tubes of pigment. If you decide to buy the separate tubes, you will need to develop a versatile palette. Below is one suggestion for a 12-colour palette – please note that the palette does NOT include black or white, which are unnecessary.
Reds: Alizarin Crimson, Indian Red
Blues: French Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue
Yellows (difficult): Cadmium Yellow Pale, Yellow Ochre
Greens: Hooker’s Green, Olive Green
Browns: Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber
Other: Payne’s Grey
Our first experiments in watercolour will be based only on French Ultramarine and Burnt Umber, which produce a surprising range of values and colours.
As for sketchbooks and pads, we recommend, in addition to the list above, a small pocket notebook or sketchpad for thumbnail sketches and experiments with wash and watercolour. A few good sable hair or synthetic brushes will also be required: a small and medium round, with a medium to large (1/2 inch or ¾ inch) flat are always useful.
Bicycles have always been valuable additions to the standard "kit" and are highly recommended. We have also found that a folding camp stool or small foam pad can make 2 - 3 hours on the cold ground much more endurable.
Please click here for additional notes on media and equipment: 
Media and equipment notes 2016.
Schedule
We will meet formally as a group 7 times: 3 morning workshops at selected locations in the city, and 4 evening crits. All crits will take place at 6pm at the:
Saint John Arts Centre (SJAC)
20 Peel Plaza (1 ½ blocks north of the Delta Hotel)
www.sjartscentre.ca/about-sjac/about-us/location/
Our first formal meeting will be at 9am on Saturday, August 27, for the first workshop, on the:
North Market Wharf (beside the Hilton, overlooking the harbour)
Here is the schedule for the week:
First workshop: 9am, Saturday, August 27, North Market Wharf
First crit: 6pm, Saturday, August 27, SJAC
Second workshop: 9am, Sunday, August 28, location tba
Second crit: 6pm, Sunday, August 28, SJAC
Third workshop: 9am, Monday, August 29, location tba
Third crit: 6pm, Tuesday, August 30, SJAC
Final crit: 6pm, Thursday, September 1, SJAC
Please visit this webpage for any changes to the schedule and meeting places.
SPECIAL EVENT: There will also be an informal session at the office of ACRE ARCHITECTS (87 Canterbury Street, Suite 301) at 8:30 am on Wednesday, August 31. The principals of ACRE Architects, Monica Adair and Stephen Kopp, were the Sheff Visiting Professors at McGill in the winter term of 2010 – www.theacre.ca. They now host a regular community event in their office – Morning Mess SJ – and have invited us to share our perspectives on Saint John. This will be a great opportunity to work with an exciting young practice and to engage the local community in a lively discussion about their city.
Evaluation
During the course, students are expected to explore both townscape and landscape and to make sketches that describe what they find. Final evaluation is based on a portfolio of at least twenty pieces, the majority of which must be substantially worked. The meaning of "substantially worked" is one of the topics that will be discussed during the course.
REGISTRATION NOTE:
Students currently registered in the B.Sc.(Arch.) program are required to attend ARCH 325 Architectural Sketching. Students currently entering U3 in Fall 2016 will register for ARCH 325 with the remaining Fall 2016 courses. Early Registration is open.
Newly admitted students / returning students to the M.Arch. (Prof.) program, will register for ARCH 680 Field Sketching with the remaining courses required in the Fall 2016 term.
If registration (including withdrawals) is problematic, please contact Mary Lanni-Campoli by e-mail: mary.lanni [at] mcgill.ca or by telephone at (514) 398-6702, before the commencement of Sketching School / Field Sketching.
