Architecture Support Facilities

Architecture Computer Lab + Print Center | 05-224

The Architecture Computer Lab is located on the 2nd floor of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design Building 05. Use is limited to CAED students and faculty. It is a general student computer lab as well as a teaching space. Reservations for class use must be made by faculty through the Architecture Department.

Contact: Architecture Department
Email: architecture@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805.756.1316


Digital Fabrication Laboratory (dFab Lab) | 187 upstairs

The dFab Lab is located on the 2nd floor of the Simpson Strong Tie building, and has four laser cutters, one CNC router, three 3D printers, and one digitizer for student use. Use is limited to CAED students and faculty.

Contact: David Kempken, Support Shop Manager
Email: dFab@calpoly.edu


CAED Plot Center | 21-131a

The CAED Plot Center is self-serve with a lab monitor to help with questions. Available plotters can print documents 36" or 48." Use is limited to CAED students and faculty. Reservations for class use must be made by faculty through the Plot Center web page.

Email: caed-plotting@calpoly.edu


CAED Support Shop | 21-136

The Support Shop includes the following facilities: Fabrication, Wood Shop, Sheet Metal, Welding/Fabrication, and a Tool Room. Use is limited to CAED students and faculty. Reservations for class use must be made by faculty through the Support Shop.

Contact: David Kempken, Support Shop Manager
Email: dkempken@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805.756.2720


CAED Photo Presentation Facility | 05-115

The Photo Presentation Facility, located on the first level of building 05, is open to all CAED students. Students may use this facility to document their projects, prepare for presentations, archive work for their portfolio; make black and white prints, mount drawings; digitize images for web sites or presentation and generally manipulate images for their academic needs. In addition, it supports the Architecture Department's photography courses.

The Lab staff is experienced in assisting students with all aspects of the photographic process needed by the typical CAED student. From taking the photograph to printing the image, the facility provides students with either the resources or information to actualize their graphic and/or visual presentation projects.

Contact: Josef Kasperovich
Email: jkaspero@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805.756.1342


Paul & Verla Neel Resource Center (NRC) | 05-101

The College's Neel Resource Center (NRC) is located in the Architecture Building 05, Room 101. For directions, please see the Campus Map (flashmap). 

HOURS

Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed 

ABOUT US

The Paul & Verla Neel Resource Center (NRC) collects, maintains, and provides access to architecture and environmental design-related resources. The NRC's Collections include books, periodicals, digital images, working drawings, and material samples. These various resources strengthen the College of Architecture & Environmental Design's educational mission of offering textual, visual, and digital resources on architecture design, practice, and history; building technology; urban planning; and landscape architecture CAED's faculty and students.

The NRC was founded in 1967, principally as a book and slide library. Since then, it has expanded to include collections of building material, digital architecture history images and international journal collection. Most recently, during the 2007-2008 academic year, the NRC was substantially renovated and augmented to include a Materials Sample Collection.

The NRC provides a comfortable environment for study, research and browsing. Our staff can help students and faculty navigate library databases, refine search terms, and suggest new search strategies. The individual assistance offered by the NRC staff aims to provide students with skilled information research techniques and formal analysis.

The NRC is generously supported by the continual donations from Paul and Verla Neel Fund.

THE COLLECTIONS

The Neel Resource Center's Book, Periodical, and Image collections are specialized collections intended to complement or supplement the collections of Kennedy Library. These collections support the particular needs of CAED's students and faculty by providing architecture and environmental design resources for both general and specific research purposes.

NEEL BOOK COLLECTION

Neel NRC Book Database  
(Library Name= MRC Books, no password required)

Major focal areas of the Neel Book Collection include:

  • New technologies in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design
  • Energy uses and conservation
  • Sustainability in architecture, landscape architecture
  • Reference materials on green building products
  • Details on modern building design

CIRCULATION PERIODS

Books: One week
Periodicals: One week
DVD's: Three days
Material Samples: one week

References: NRC use only                                   

NEEL MATERIAL SAMPLES COLLECTION

The NRC has amassed a large Materials Collection of building materials, approximately 7,000 samples that offer students hands-on experience with actual samples of innovative and sustainable materials used in the built environment.

Materials are central to all disciplines focused on the Architecture-Engineering-Construction industry. A Materials Library was created at Cal Poly as a learning resource for all students in the CAED intended to prepare them to enter a fast-paced world with a well-developed knowledge base and value set regarding resource use.

NEEL DIGITAL IMAGE DATABASE

The Neel NRC’s Digital Image Database (NRC-DID) some 24,000 images. is a joint and on-going project created and augmented with the cooperation of faculty, students and the NRC staff. The CAED faculty, students, and alumni donate their travel slides to the NRC-DID collection. The NRC staff supplement these donated travel images with scanned images from books in the public domain.

Major subject areas of the NRC-DID include:

  • CAED Archive of student Studio Project  and Competition entries
  • European, Asian and African architectural works, city parks and gardens (both historic and contemporary).
  • Historic city views and plan

Contact: Robert Arens, Director
Email: rarens@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805.756.2165

 

Updated 10.12.22 (CT)

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