Strategic Plan

The Architecture faculty continues a long time commitment to the study of architecture through the examination of history and the exploration of design in studio. Curriculum enhancement plans include increased student engagement with the practice of smart growth, new urbanism and green building, as well as renewed efforts in information literacy, community service, national competitions, and the School’s Rome program and other study abroad programs.

The School seeks to support the faculty’s dedication to excellence in teaching and research with named professorships in design, construction, preservation, real estate development, and urbanism. Facilities enhancements are being planned to combine the library, computer lab, and slide library and the Archive for the New Urbanism into an integrated learning and research center.

Other priorities include maintaining and expanding the nationally renowned Community Building Program and the regional outreach efforts of the Center for Urban and Community Design.

Building on a firm foundation of student, faculty and alumni achievement, the School of Architecture is poised to reach across a broader spectrum of professional education. New directions are being explored in interdisciplinary collaboration across the University: with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) in joint teaching; with the College of Engineering in the combined Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering and Master in Architecture program; and with the Miller School of Medicine, in research on environment and behavior. A new master’s degree in Real Estate Development and Urbanism is being prepared for enrollment in fall 2008, with Business and Law School faculty participation.

Internationally recognized for faculty expertise in traditional architecture and urban design, the School of Architecture is widely regarded for a curriculum based in the discipline of architecture as a civic art, central to the building of community and always part of a larger social and environmental context. The School’s Strategic Plan reflects the Architecture faculty’s belief that evolving professional demands require the architect to engage the broader context for building design. From the natural environment to large scale city components, the design responsibility of the architect has expanded to include urban design and community building.