Design Media 1 is required of first-year M.Arch students and is coordinated with Architecture Studio 1. It introduces students to the fundamentals of architectural modeling, geometry, drawing, media, representation, and rendering. The course builds two parallel, complementary tracks. First: it teaches the fundamental technical and digital skills to produce orthographic drawings and renderings. Second, the course explores the broad critical, cultural, and historical contexts surrounding conventions of architectural representation. The course emphasizes the idea that representation is crucial and reciprocal to the design process. It also focuses on students’ development of their own critically informed positions towards representation, as well as clarity in the choice of medium and method in support of a design intention.