Nulman, Eric  

I did not like him at all. Sometimes he was a nice guy, but most of the time he was such an arrogant ass. I recommend you do whatever you can to take this class with someone else. He's grading is very hard and doesnt seem to understand that this ONE unit course does not take priority over all other courses. He was not flexible at all with the due date of the final project when information posted that was necessary for the project could not be located. He makes you go over the top for every single project which turns out to make them very time consuming and annoying. I hear that a C in Nulman's class could easily be an A in the other ARCH 105 class.

Nulman was horrible. I don't know what's wrong with this guy, but he was very arrogant and inflexible. He didn't care at all about us (and even referred to us in his e-mails like he would refer to cows: "105") and about what we learn. He was'nt informative at all, and you had to beg him to talk like you. Overall, I didn't learn ANYTHING from Nulman, he grades really harshly, and all my knowledge and love for woodworking now is attributable to Doug (and Keith Wiley who was happy to give me constructive criticism on my 105, unlike Nulman). TAKE SOMEONE ELSE!

This guy is a huge fucking tool. He thinks he's the shit because he teaches a third or fourth year studio and thus doesn't give a flying fuck about his 105 class. He showed up to class at least half an hour late several times which made me start skipping. He grade obscenely hard on the ARCH 105 projects and the only way I got an A is because I put in at least 30 hours on my final project. All in all, ARCH 105 is the biggest bullshit waste of time 1 unit class you'll ever take.

This is the guy that gives all Architecture teachers a bad name. He is an arrogant & pompus douche. He knows "it all" and doesn't realize that this is a 1 unit class. I see other reviews for him, and maybe he's better at higher level classes, but not in 105. Ive grown up doing wood/metal projects my whole life, and as a transfer student who is further along than he would like to say this class was truly a waste of time...

If there was a Guinness World Record for the world's worst first impression, Eric would have to be the grand champion. I came to Poly expecting something wonderful, something compelling and exciting for my first day. I was sadly disappointed. Although I wouldn't go as far as calling him a "douchebag" (out loud at least), I would say that he is the worst teacher that has ever set foot on this earth. If you want an A, you must have perfection and nothing short of it. The only problem is, it's difficult to make a project meet expectations if you don't know what they are in the first place. He will tell you nothing in class, have you go online to find your assignment, and tell you it's due tomorrow. If you still have problems, he says not to email him, and if you ask in class, he will stutter, pace around, change the subject, and then tell you to try to figure it out. "So after everyone attempts to do the assignment which is beyond vague, he'll get upset, throw a hissy fit, pout in his chair, then leave." I couldn't agree with that statement more. He leaves class constantly; he makes you do work (the same things over and over for hours) and leaves. A couple of times I could have sworn that he was only in the class for 10 minutes out of the 3 hours. "No wonder the entire class just stared at him like a herd of retarded cows." Another perfect statement. So to sum it up, Eric Nulman: intelligent, helpful, positive Harvard graduate? Definitely not. An extreme, communication-skill deprived, unhelpful, negative, confusing, incompetent teacher? Without a doubt. If you don't believe me, take him. But don't start crying when you find out that you have sent yourself to the deepest circle of Hell.

Good professor, interesting projects. Not always very clear about assignment descriptions though

He changed my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is the best teacher I have ever had by far!!! He is the hottest teacher on campus!!! He makes you work hard but it pays off in the end. He will rock your world!!! Definietly take him as an instructor! Take this to actually learn, not an easy A.

While I was in this class I hated Nulman with a passion he seemed to have no idea what he was doing and I never learned anything until the final project came around. He expected way too much but now that I look back I learned more from that class than my 122 class because he expected perfection and nothing less. He makes you learn everything on your own and you feel lost on all project expectations until about the day before it's due. I recommend him only because I feel like after it was all said and done I actually presented something I was proud of and learned something, more than the other 120 series teachers.

I loved Nulman. I know that most people would disagree. He was the first architecture teacher I had coming into Cal Poly and his class was definitely a challenge but that's what I liked about his class. He's kinda new at teaching, so he sounds a bit awkward and doesn't explain things really well. (also it may have been because we were first years) However, in the rare times he's more himself than a teacher, he's kinda funny. Anyway, we were already building little model things (nothing difficult) when other classes were doing a lot of coloring. I just felt like I progressed more in his class. I liked it a lot.

ETN...what is there to say about Eric Thomas Nulman...too much for words. Even though its his first quarter teaching ever, this man takes the cake for being one of the biggest douchebags to exist. Lets see...grading. You are not judged on the quality of your work and the ability to solve the problem at hand. No, that is a small percentage of your grade. The biggest portion is beating your classmates. In multiple emails he made it clear that in order to receive a C, at the least, you had to be better than 10 of your classmates. If not, you get a D or an F. :) If you want clarity, I suggest you go somewhere else, somewhere far away. The whole 5 hour class is spent discussing readings that no one does for hours, then doing pointless "critiques"...if you can even call them that... Then you're sent on your way and told that the next assignment is up on Blackboard, and to have it done for the next class. No explanation, nothing. So after everyone attempts to do the assignment which is beyond vague, he'll get upset, throw a hissy fit, pout in his chair, then leave. No wonder the entire class just stared at him like a herd of retarded cows for 5 hours. Don't believe me? Then take Eric. Project for the quarter wasn't all that intruiging, and over half the quarter was spent doing research and "prep" work, with little time to actually design anything. Bottom line: his Harvard attitude and extreme, awesome lack of ability to communicate ANYTHING makes for a very frustrating, terrible quarter. Unless you enjoy the Guillermo-like setting with pointless work and someone who's a dick, stay away. FAR away.

OK, so you'll notice I gave Eric a C in his "ability to present the course material clearly," and a D in his " ability to recognize and clarify student difficulties," yet still an overall B. Here is why: at the end of the day, we must consider what we left with, not what we went through. From Eric I learned design techniques I NEVER would have known without him. His style was completely contrary to most of what I've learned thus far - which was very frustrating at times (as in, we didn't know the site until very, very late in the game...) - but honestly, my design interested me. Also, while Eric doesn't work very well in the general classroom environment, he can be quite helpful in one-on-one crits. Yes, I'll admit he made a TERRIBLE first impression, but at quarter's end I was saddened by the class' inability to look past that. I won't promise you'll get along with Eric, nor will I promise an enjoyable quarter. All I can say is that I came out of the class with more than I went in with, so I am happy.

Because it was Eric's first quarter teaching, there were some issues (personality, ability to adjust, etc.) however, I think it was less his teaching style than the ability of the students to be able to interpret the project for themselves. The majority of the class seemed to want the architectural problems handed to them, and then proceed to have Eric hold their hands and walk them through the solution. I, personally, think the vagueness in the project statement's were a way to let us explore concepts that he indirectly introduced in the readings (which were helpful if you did them). I think it needs to be understood that all teachers/quarters are different and each benefitial in their own way. And although he made the grading seem tough, most people got in the A/B range (it should also be understood that just because you do all the work, you shouldn't automatically think you deserve an A.. or a B).

Very good instructor!!!

Nulman's studio was ultimately a very worthwhile. His credentials include having worked in the offices of Thom Mayne (Morphosis) and Jean Nouvell, both recent Pritzker Prize winners, so you know you're getting good education (to say the least). Emphasis was on digital work, but with weekly tutorials, most students were able to impress at the final show. The daily class schedule is VERY unique here at CP. Instead of like a typical studio where you are left to your own for the majority of the time, Nulman runs a more traditional class where he actually instructs / teaches in small groups or as a whole class! This ultimately proves to be invaluable for the developmental stages of design. Lastly, I'll just mention that some students had problems with the structured class periods, but I think that in the end we all agreed that we actually learned something (specifically about architectural design), and that Nulman knew what he was doing (despite being relatively new).

Business majors: A degree for the intellectually impaired, HA HA.

This is my second Nulman review because it is my second time taking him (thanks ARCH department for having enough staff. No, really)... Even though I initially wanted a different professor to instill more variety into my educational experience, I do not regret taking Nulman at all. People complain that he's arrogant, but he's not, just a little socially awkward (which he's getting better about with every passing quarter). He has an interesting outlook and works hard to give his students as much experience and opportunity as possible: whether it be in arranging interesting firm visits or working with the new CAD/CAM equipment CP finally made available to us. If you take Nulman's class, the following certainties exist: 1. you will not have enough time to finish your design project, he is infamous for cramming final projects into 4 weeks or less. 2. you will have to read architectural theory articles, some of it twice, and there will be reading discussions, sometimes they will be awkward because no one will be 100% sure what they're talking about. 3. you will have to produce a significant amount of digital work. 4. you will design something you have not designed before, something out of your "box" due to the utilization of methodology you're unfamiliar with. This is a very good thing. 5. you will learn to think differently, and as a direct result will design differently, expanding your creativity palette.

To those reading the reviews concerning Prof. Nulman as an Arch 105 instructor: all 105 classes are like that. ALL OF THEM. Thus, whichever prof. you get stuck with for 105, you hate, until you realize that it\'s the class - not the teacher - that sucks. Yes, it\'s a 1 unit course that takes up WAY too much time. Yes, it\'s stupid that so much is expected of you, and if you care about your grades, you have to work really hard for almost no credit. Yes, most architecture professors have high standards and expect you to actually create a good project, even for a one unit class. That\'s just life. Suck it up and move on. The reason that Arch 105 is only 1 unit isn\'t because it\'s easy, it\'s because the department has to pay teachers based on their unit load, and in order to afford the class, which is necessary for safety reasons, etc., it\'s made out as 1 unit.