The School and the City

The School of Architecture’s location within the metropolitan Miami area provides an outstanding laboratory for research and advanced study of architecture and urban design. Its main campus, at the heart of the Garden City of Coral Gables, was designed in 1944-45 by Robert Law Weed and Marion Manley, the first licensed female architect in the State of Florida, and continues to grow with new buildings by Michael Dennis, Leon Krier, Arquitectonica International, and others.

The challenges of conservation and development are intense in one of the nation’s fastest growing urban areas. These challenges result in an increasing demand for skilled professionals. In Downtown Miami and Brickell high-rise apartment building construction has surged in the last ten years, more than quintupling the resident population; two new museums are in construction by Swiss architects Herzog & De Meuron (Miami Art Museum) and the British firm of Nicolas Grimshaw (Miami Science Museum). Wynwood and the Design District, two rapidly re-developing areas provide an urban setting for Art Basel annually and year round for the arts, education, interior design and quality retail. Across Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach hosts a public life that is anchored by a strong preservation movement with ten historic districts with buildings ranging from the early 1920’s to the late 1960’s. With the opening of the New World Symphony designed by Frank Gehry and its adjacent park by Adriaan Geuze of the Dutch firm West 8, the award-winning mixed-use parking garage by Herzog & De Meuron, and other projects by Enrique Norten and Zaha Hadid, the city has become a destination for observing contemporary architecture as well.

The School of Architecture graduate programs sustain a creative, open and supportive environment, emphasizing personalized instruction through small classes and studio courses. Learning resources include a state-of-the-art computer laboratory, a reference library, and a model shop complete with laser equipment. The Design Build Program, the Center for Urban and Community Design and teaching and research opportunities enhance the graduate curriculum. Interdisciplinary opportunities are offered by the other schools and colleges of the University of Miami. The School of Architecture Rome Center provides the opportunity to study in-situ the roots of Western civilization and architecture.

The School of Architecture’s distinguished faculty is joined each year by nationally and internationally renowned visiting scholars and architects who lecture and teach at the school. In recent years this group has included Alex Wall (TU Karlsruhe), Stanislaus von Moos (University of Zürich), Adriaan Geuze (West 8, Rotterdam/ New York), Terry Riley (Miami-New York), Juan Azulay (Los Angeles-Miami), Rene Gonzalez (Miami), Alex Gorlin (New York City), Sara Caples (New York City), Anne Heringer (Salzburg/ Harvard University), Manuel Clavel Rojo (Murcia), and Brian Phillips (Philadelphia). Already announced for 2012-13 are Sabine Müller (SMAQ, Berlin) and Giancarlo Mazzanti (Bogotà).