Structure

Major Title: Structure

Major Description:

This major examines the fundamental principles of structural organization across physical, biological, and conceptual systems. Students explore how patterns, hierarchies, and relationships govern form and function in nature, human-made objects, and abstract frameworks. The interdisciplinary curriculum blends principles from architecture, biology, mathematics, art, and systems theory to analyze how structural integrity emerges in different contexts.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand universal principles of structural organization
• Analyze form-function relationships in natural and designed systems
• Apply structural thinking to problem-solving across disciplines
• Develop skills in pattern recognition and system analysis
• Create models to test structural hypotheses
• Evaluate the aesthetic and functional dimensions of structure
• Communicate structural concepts through visual and verbal methods

Course Outline:

1. Foundations of Structural Thinking
   • Definitions: From atoms to ecosystems to social networks
   • Structuralism as an intellectual tradition
2. Natural Structures
   • Biological architectures (cells, organisms, ecosystems)
   • Geological and cosmic formations
3. Human-Made Structures
   • Architectural frameworks without engineering focus
   • Organizational structures in societies and institutions
4. Pattern Languages
   • Repeating motifs in art, culture, and nature
   • The mathematics of structural patterns
5. Structural Materials & Their Metaphors
   • How materials suggest form (wood grain, crystal growth)
   • Materiality in conceptual structures
6. Systems Thinking
   • Hierarchies, networks, and emergent properties
   • Breakdown points and resilience
7. Structural Representation
   • Diagramming relationships
   • 3D modeling as conceptual tool
8. Case Studies in Structural Failure
   • When systems collapse (physical, social, informational)
   • Lessons from breakdowns

Assessment Methods:

• Structural analysis journals
• Pattern creation assignments
• 3D modeling projects (physical/digital)
• Case study presentations
• Systems mapping exercises

Key Texts:

• On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Thompson
• A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander
• The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

Program Duration:

3 years (Bachelor of Liberal Arts)

Distinctive Features:

• Studio-based learning
• Field studies of natural/man-made structures
• Interdisciplinary collaboration

Career Pathways:

• Systems designer
• Information architect
• Pattern researcher
• Structural consultant for creative industries
• Organizational development specialist

This program cultivates "structural intelligence" - the ability to see and shape the hidden frameworks that organize our world.