In 1927, John Llewellyn Skinner initiated the first program in architecture at the University of Miami. By the 1930s, several factors caused the University to reduce its scale of operation, and the architecture program was one of the first affected. The architecture program re-emerged in 1950 as part of the new College of Engineering in the Department of Architectural Engineering.
From 1950 to 1968, James Elliott Branch led the department and grew the faculty to solidify the five-year Bachelor of Architecture. Upon his arrival in 1981, President Edward T. Foote II initiated consideration of three new schools: architecture, communication, and international studies. By 1983, the School of Architecture achieved autonomy with Dean John Steffian, moving to its current location on campus: a group of international-style buildings designed in 1947 by Marion Manely, South Florida’s first woman architect.
In 1992, the school participated in post-Hurricane Andrew workshops and focused all students on issues of rebuilding. The Center for Urban and Community Design was established during this period. Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk became dean of the school in 1995 and proceeded to build its international reputation in city making and community building. She stepped down in 2013 after 18 years in this post to become the Malcom Matheson Distinguished Professor of Architecture.
The Knight Program in Community Building, launched in 2001 with the support of the Knight Foundation, eventually grew into the Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism. In October 2005, the school opened the Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center. Designed by renowned European architect Leon Krier, the building now serves as the hub of the School of Architecture campus.
Rodolphe el-Khoury began his tenure as dean in 2014. He brought more attention to environmental issues and technology, with new graduate programs tackling climate change impacts and emerging fabrication and construction practices. The school has expanded under his leadership, opening the Thomas P. Murphy Design Studio Building and B.E. & W.R. Miller BuildLab.
At present, U-SoA has more than 600 students, including 80% undergraduate students and 20% graduate students. There are about 97 full and part-time faculty, plus a professional staff of 16, educating and supporting students. More than 50 percent of the School’s students participate in study-abroad programs based in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.
