Syracuse University School of Architecture
make your mark
School of Architecture The Syracuse University School of Architecture consistently ranks among the best schools of architecture in the nation. The reasons most often cited are our committed and diverse faculty, our variety of study abroad opportunities, and our nationally accredited professional degree programs, which provide students with the technical skill and the cultural knowledge necessary to practice in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. The studio experience, at the core of our undergraduate program, focuses on the intense exploration of the creative process, supported by the most challenging approaches to history and theory in the context of the technologies that inform the future of our field. The School provides a highly innovative environment for design education in which students benefit from extensive one-on-one communication with dedicated faculty in formal reviews and informal interactions. To prepare students for a world shaped by globalization, the School of Architecture offers study abroad semesters in London and Florence at our University centers staffed by full-time architecture faculty. Students also have the opportunity to spend a semester at the University s Fisher Center in New York City, a state-of-the art facility opened in 2014. Shorter study abroad programs are available in locations such as Taiwan, Turkey, Japan, China, and India. The School also brings world-class practitioners and educators to teach and lecture at our home campus, as demonstrated by our visiting lecture series featuring renowned architects and designers, and our visiting critic program in which internationally recognized professors lead studios on campus. Over the past decade, the practice of architecture has undergone dramatic change, placing the architect, once again, at the center of some of the most defining issues of our time.the School of Architecture has not only kept pace with these changes, but our faculty, staff, students, and alumni have also led and continue to lead the effort to make a better world through the design of better buildings and cities. We invite you to visit and to join us. Michael Speaks, Ph.D. Dean, School of Architecture (Image on opposite page: Projects from first-year students.)
Transformative Learning: From Theory to Practice AS AN ARCHITECT, you ll need the technical skills to design sophisticated buildings and the intellect to consider the role of designed spaces in our world. Your five years in the bachelor of architecture program will help you develop both in a top-ranked program that combines advanced practice with contemporary theory and social engagement. You ll connect with communities off campus and around the world as you develop designs; test your ideas by making drawings and digital models, milling, and 3D printing your designs in computing and fabrication labs; and collaborate with students from other universities to turn an empty parking lot into a flash park with benches, tables, and grass. During the first year, you ll take courses in history, theory, technology, representation, and design to get you drafting right away. In the second and third year, you ll integrate urbanism, sustainability, digital design methods, and building technologies into design work of increasing complexity. You can also explore a minor in one of the many fields offered by the other colleges across campus. After completing core studios and courses, you choose where to study and with whom. Continue at the home campus or study in programs in Florence, London, and New York City. Either way, you decide which design studios to pursue, working with Syracuse faculty, international architects, or distinguished visiting critics to develop your projects. During your final semesters, you ll conceive and test a hypothesis about architecture in a yearlong thesis process. Your final project will be the culmination of five years of learning and research and will launch you into your professional career. Syracuse University (USPS 372-590) Volume 40, Number 7 October 2014 Syracuse University is an official bulletin of Syracuse University and is published 14 times a year in October by Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244. Periodicals postage paid at Syracuse, New York 13244. Postmaster: Send address corrections to Syracuse University, Undergraduate Admissions Processing Center, 621 Skytop Road, Suite 160, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290. The School of Architecture program guide is a joint production by Syracuse University s Division of Enrollment Management and Office of Publications.
Inside The Curriculum... 4-6 Student Work...7-11 Study Abroad...12-13 Faculty Spotlight... 16 Alumni Profiles... 17 Resources and Opportunities...18-19 Campus Life... 20 The City... 21 How to Prepare... 22 Meet Syracuse University...Inside Back Cover
The Curriculum The Syracuse architecture education centers on the design studio, where you ll learn to tap the creativity required to design buildings, landscapes, and cities. The design studio is a physical place a set of rooms where each student has space and a desk at which to work. It is also a way of teaching and learning that s unique to architecture school. You will spend nearly 12 hours a week in studio working in small groups with professors and presenting work to faculty, students, and guest critics for discussion and review. Through the design studio you will receive intensive feedback as you develop your work, learning as much from what your classmates do as from your own process. Because the bachelor of architecture degree (B.Arch.) combines an undergraduate liberal arts education with professional training in architecture, students who complete the program are eligible for architectural licensing without having to pursue a graduate degree. The curriculum incorporates courses in architectural history and theory, building technology and structures, drawing and digital design, and professional practice. It also includes a large number of electives that allow you to pursue your interests both within the program and beyond it. The chart that follows gives an overview of the course sequence. NEAR WESTSIDE INITIATIVE In conjunction with the Near Westside Initiative in the City of Syracuse, architecture students have opportunities to be involved in housing design/build efforts to help revitalize the economically distressed neighborhood. soa.syr.edu
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THE CURRICULUM DESIGN HISTORY/ THEORY TECHNOLOGY STRUCTURES PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVES A&S/OPEN ELECTIVES TOTAL HOURS FIRST YEAR FALL ARC 107 6 CH* SPRING ARC 108 6 CH ARC 141 ARC 133 ARC 121 ARC 181 ARC 182 WRT 105 STRUCTURES PREP 15 credit hours 18 credit hours SECOND YEAR FALL SPRING ARC 207 6 CH ARC 208 6 CH ARC 134 ARC 242 ARC 222 ARC 211 A&S ELECTIVE A&S ELECTIVE A&S ELECTIVE WRT 205 18 credit hours 18 credit hours THIRD YEAR FOURTH YEAR FLORENCE/LONDON/NYC PROGRAMS FALL SPRING FALL SPRING ARC 307 6 CH ARC 407 6 CH ARC 408 6 CH ARC 409 6 CH ARC HISTORY ELECTIVE ARC 322 ARC 423 offered only on Main Campus ARC 311 PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE A&S ELECTIVE A&S ELECTIVE OPEN ELECTIVE A&S ELECTIVE OPEN ELECTIVE 18 credit hours 15 credit hours 15 credit hours 15 credit hours FIFTH YEAR FALL SPRING ARC 508 6 CH ARC HISTORY ELECTIVE ARC 505 ARC 585 PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVE A&S ELECTIVE OPEN ELECTIVE 15 credit hours OPEN ELECTIVE 15 credit hours TOTAL CH 54 CH 18 CH 12 CH 6 CH 12 CH 18 CH 42 CH 162 CH *CH=Credit Hours 6
Student Work First-Year Studio Samples 7
Student Work Second-Year Studio Samples
Student Work Third-Year Studio Samples
Fourth-Year Studio Samples
Student Thesis Samples
Students study abroad in Florence, Italy.
Study Abroad As an upper-level architecture student, you can spend a semester, summer, or full year studying abroad at the University s centers in Florence and London or domestically at the Fisher Center in New York City. In these locations you ll learn as much on site visits, field trips, and cultural activities as from the architects and scholars teaching the studios and courses. Nearly all students spend at least one semester off campus, and half of them combine these programs into a yearlong engagement in field study. Established in 1980, the Florence Architecture Program is designed to help you engage the traditional European city and gain an international perspective on design and theory. You ll work alongside students from other fields of study in architectural studios that are housed in 19th-century artist studios on Piazza Donatello, just a 15-minute walk from the city s historic center. You ll have opportunities to meet with European architects and critics at symposia, lectures, and trips to such sites as Bologna, Lucca, Milan, Pisa, Rome, and Venice. The Syracuse University London Center, near the British Museum, offers the perfect base from which to explore the historic and contemporary architecture of London. As in Florence, the program is structured around a design studio and includes history courses and a field studies seminar. You ll learn from London-based faculty, guest lecturers, and visiting critics from the extensive London architecture community. And you ll participate in excursions throughout London as well as Bath, Cambridge, Edinburgh, and Oxford. For more information on the study abroad programs, visit soa.syr.edu and suabroad.syr.edu. SHORT-TERM STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS Three visiting critic studio classes traveled to Taipei for a week as part of the Rubin Global Design Studio. Students developed design proposals for the Taipei Train Depot site, working with architecture students from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The trip was made possible by Todd Rubin 04 and the Rubin Family Foundation.
New York City In addition to Florence and London, you ll have the opportunity to study in New York City. The Syracuse University Fisher Center, launched in 2014, features 20,000 square feet of studios, smart classrooms, and a lecture hall. Advanced design studio, at the heart of the program, gives you the opportunity to focus on contemporary architectural and urban design issues unique to New York City. And an urban studies course provides you on-site study of the city s buildings, parks, and urban ensembles. Prepare for a wide range of vibrant experiences at the Fisher Center and throughout the city to expand your view of the design world. You ll visit reviews at area architecture schools and have behind-the-scenes access in outings to museums, buildings, and construction projects throughout the city. The programming includes lectures, debates, and symposia with leading designers and thinkers.
New York City
Faculty Spotlight Jean-François Bédard, associate professor and graduate programs chair, specializes in the theory and practice of French architecture during the 18th century. His teaching focuses on the social rituals and political values of court society in relation to architecture, decoration, and ornament. He received the 2012 Meredith Professorship Teaching Recognition Award, and his book Decorative Games: Ornament, Rhetoric, and Noble Culture in the Work of Gilles-Marie Oppenord was published in 2012 by the University of Delaware Press. Julia Czerniak, professor and associate dean, is educated both as an architect and a landscape architect and teaches architectural studios as well as seminars on landscape theory and criticism. Czerniak s work focuses on the physical and cultural potentials of urban landscapes. Recent projects advance landscape as a protagonist in the remaking of formerly urban cities, from a series of public space interventions along a derelict creek to ecologically and spatially rich streetscapes for a newly planned campus of Syracuse University. Lydia Kallipoliti, assistant professor, is an architect, engineer, and theorist whose research focuses on recycling material experiments and the intersection of cybernetic and ecological theories in the 20th century. Her design work has received awards in several international architectural competitions and has been exhibited worldwide. Her theoretical work has been published internationally in magazines and books, including Log, Architectural Design, Praxis: Journal of Building + Writing, Domus, The Cornell Journal of Architecture, and Routledge s Urbanism Reader. Bess Kreitemeyer, assistant professor, is an architectural designer and researcher focused on the ways in which emerging material technologies, human behavior, and computational design processes influence the construction of sustainable built environments. Her current research examines the potential of environmentally responsive building skins to act as flexible membranes that embody aesthetic variability and individual control. Anne Munly is a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Excellence in Teaching. Her research and teaching are characterized by an interdisciplinary focus, and she has received several research grants in support of her work on the American city. Timothy Stenson, associate professor and undergraduate program chair, focuses his design research on sustainable highperformance houses. Current projects include the study of the design processes in architecture and engineering to optimize lowenergy building systems. For complete bios on Syracuse architecture faculty members, visit soa.syr.edu.
Alumni Profiles Patrick Ahearn 73 President / Patrick Ahearn Architects, Boston, MA One of the profound tools that I learned in the design studios at the School of Architecture was a rich and fertile understanding of scale, not only for buildings but for the spaces created between and around them. This knowledge has been applied to all of my design work over the last 41 years and, as such, has enriched many people s lives with human-scale architecture, town planning, and urban design. Lea Ciavarra G 95 Co-founder / Lubrano Ciavarra Design, Brooklyn, NY I think it was the passion and dedication of the faculty at the school that most impacted my development as an architect and as a teacher of architecture. It is not often that you can say you ve had multiple mentors. The professors I had, many of whom remain friends today, were incredibly supportive and inspiring, both intellectually and artistically. Richard Gluckman 70, 71 Principal / Gluckman Mayner Architects / New York, NY My Syracuse education covered the subjective and the objective, the poetic and pragmatic. I will always value the pedagogic approach of the designoriented practitioner it prepared me well for my career. Katherine Hogan 05 Principal / Tonic Design + Tonic Construction, Raleigh, NC Syracuse s emphasis on design as a means to meet diverse human needs and aspirations has informed the way I view each project at our firm: as a unique opportunity to transform challenges into opportunities. My education engendered a reverence for material and a respect for the site and budget that have contributed directly to my professional success. Todd Rubin 04 Minister of Evolution / Republic of Tea, Corte Madera, CA My Syracuse experience has had an incredible impact on my personal and professional life. The opportunity to study abroad opened my eyes to culture and amazing architecture. The relationships I built with professors are still ongoing as well as lifelong friendships with fellow peers. The rigorous program, emphasizing critical thinking and creative approaches to challenges, has contributed enormously to my professional success in business. Annabelle Selldorf 87 Senior Principal / Selldorf Architects / New York, NY My Syracuse education was characterized by the school s profound passion for architecture and the belief that understanding the history of architecture, art, and culture will make us better citizens. D. Rodman Henderer 74 Senior Vice President / RTKL, Washington, DC My education at the School of Architecture was both rewarding and challenging, laying the foundation that served as the launching pad for my career. The experience provided me with not only the required design and technical skills, but also with an understanding of broader concepts and architecture s relationship to the larger global culture.
Resources and Opportunities: The Whole Picture Slocum Hall Slocum Hall, the School of Architecture s campus home, offers an ideal environment for research, production, and exhibition. Constructed in 1918 and listed with the National Register of Historic Places, the fivestory building was redesigned in 2008 to restore and enhance original qualities while updating it technologically, functionally, and aesthetically. It includes a soaring central atrium space, a new auditorium and gallery, expansive design studio, and research spaces, as well as a library and a café. You ll have access to state-of-the-art equipment as you prepare your architectural designs. Full-time computing staff members support two computer labs that offer advanced software linked to plotters, flatbed and large-format scanners, a render farm, a vacuum former, laser cutters, foam cutters, CNC mills, and a 3D printer. The fully equipped model shop is staffed by a fulltime professional instructor. The Reading Room provides quick access to key resources, such as course reserves, current periodical titles, reference works, and architectural working drawings. The collection includes commonly used architecture books, such as history surveys, monographs on key figures in architecture, technical sources, and reference standards. Students also use Bird Library, the University s main research library. Events Each semester, there is a series of public lectures by architects, scholars, curators, theorists, and critics who are important contributors to the world of architecture, design, urbanism, and technology. The lecture program is an extension of the curriculum focusing on topics in practice, history, and theory and is a critical aspect of the intellectual life at the school. The school also sponsors an exhibition series and fall and spring symposia. Exhibitions rotate throughout the year and are typically accompanied by lectures or gallery talks. Symposia are hosted in Syracuse and at the centers in Florence, London, and New York City. Career Services The School of Architecture s Career Services office offers you professional development opportunities and access to an extensive network of alumni and architectural firms nationally and internationally. Services include resumé consultation, interview training, and portfolio workshops. The office e-mails employment opportunities to students and alumni, hosts on-campus recruiting for national architecture firms, and offers web-based resumé and sample page postings to graduating students. Slocum Hall
Play Perch, an outdoor classroom designed by architecture students for the Jowonio School in Syracuse Student Organizations You ll have many opportunities to become involved in activities outside the classroom. In addition to participating in some of the more than 300 campus-wide student organizations, architecture students run several groups specific to architecture. American Institute of Architecture Students This national student organization acts as the official voice of architecture students in both the educational system and the profession of architecture and design. Freedom by Design This group of architecture students designs and builds small-scale projects that help individuals in the community faced with physical, mental, or financial challenges. Architecture Student Organization The student government oversees student affairs and communication with the school administration and sponsors such social events as the annual Beaux-Arts Ball. Society of Multicultural Architects and Designers This group supplements the academic curriculum with multicultural pedagogies in all spatial design majors and addresses admission and retention of students of multicultural ethnicities. National Organization of Minority Architecture Students Affiliated with the National Organization of Minority Architects, this organization strives to further communication and fellowship among minority architecture students through a variety of work and social events. Peer Advising Program In this program, upper-division students serve as peer advisors to first-year students as they adjust to architecture school during their first semester on campus and beyond. Student Liaison Team This group assists in recruiting and admissions efforts by meeting with prospective students and introducing them to the life of the school. The Warehouse Architecture Theatre (WhAT) WhAT gives students from architecture and other fields the opportunity to perform in student-initiated dramatic productions. The group performs a play each semester, both original and professional works. 19
Campus Life At Syracuse University, you ll enjoy the best of two worlds. It s large enough to offer a wide array of academic programs, student organizations and performing arts groups, and a Division I athletics program. But it s also small enough to ensure that you ll easily feel at home within the intimate community of your home college. Syracuse University students come from all 50 states and more than 130 countries, and they choose from among more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered in the University s undergraduate schools and colleges. Regardless of your major or your home college, you ll build lasting relationships with like-minded peers and mentoring faculty members. On Main Campus, you ll find a mix of classic and contemporary academic buildings and a sweeping Quad where you can enjoy lunch, toss a Frisbee, or just stretch out on the grass for a little idle skygazing. Residential housing is provided either on Main Campus or on South Campus, the latter of which is located about a mile away and served by a free shuttle. There are also living and learning communities to promote connections with your classmates around common interests. Most of the University s 21 residence halls are equipped with lounge space, laundry rooms, and recreation space. Many also have a computer lab, café, or exercise area. Wireless capabilities are available in most locations across campus. At mealtime, you can choose from five residential dining centers, two student centers with dining services, numerous cafés, and two campus groceries. Outside of class, you can choose from more than 300 student organizations, including performing arts groups; sports teams; and student-run print, radio, and broadcast media, to name a few. Work out, swim, or join a pickup basketball game at one of our recreation facilities; take in a concert or lecture at Hendricks Chapel; or get involved in any number of service opportunities through the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service. Opportunities for involvement extend into the community as well, with the Universitycity Connective Corridor initiative linking the campus with downtown galleries, museums, theaters, music venues, and cultural festivals.
The City The mini-metropolis of Syracuse, New York, fuses distinctive neighborhoods, yearround festivals, parks, professional sports, destination shopping, and a thriving art, music, and social scene. View American impressionism at the Everson Museum of Art. Hike the trails at Green Lakes State Park. Browse the shops in historic Armory Square. You ll soon find that the University campus and city community are deeply intertwined. You can take classes downtown at Syracuse s modern Nancy Cantor Warehouse building, which houses community art spaces and a creative problem-solving lab. You may also want to join faculty, staff, and other students as they work with the city on planning the Connective Corridor, a threemile urban design project that links the University with the city s cultural attractions. Beyond the city, you ll likely be tempted to take road trips, too. Just down the road are the Finger Lakes. Venture north to ski, hike, or gaze at the Adirondack Mountains. Explore the area s landscape, and you ll soon discover the city and region s distinctive character and robust spirit. Join other Central New Yorkers in capturing the energy of each of the four seasons: brilliant color displays in fall, snowy ski trails in winter, flower-filled parks in spring, and balmy beaches in summer. Come see for yourself. We invite you and your family to visit Syracuse University to experience the campus and community, and meet with our faculty, staff, and students. The Office of Admissions is open Monday through Friday and selected Saturdays in the fall and spring. Call 315-443-3611 or go to admissions.syr.edu to schedule a visit.
How to Prepare Important Deadlines November 15 Early Decision application and portfolio deadline December 1 Final day for in-person portfolio reviews under the Regular Decision plan January 1 Regular Decision application deadline January 5 Portfolio postmark deadline for Regular Decision applicants High School Coursework and Experiences The bachelor of architecture is a demanding and rigorous professional program. One of the best ways to prepare for this challenge is to make the most of the educational opportunities offered in high school. Take classes in the humanities, the sciences, and the arts. Honors and AP courses are especially valuable particularly in math, physics, and English, where they can count toward college requirements and free up time for electives. Studio and fine art classes are essential to building a portfolio of creative work for the application process. Choose courses that develop your creative capacities, your perceptual and drawing abilities, and your craft. Drafting, mechanical drawing, and computer-aided design courses are usually not helpful, as they tend to emphasize rote technique rather than creativity. To build your experience, start learning about architecture through extracurricular channels too. Read books and magazines about architecture and the arts. Follow architecture and design blogs and other online sources. Talk to architects, builders, urban planners, real estate developers, artists, and designers in your community to find out what they do and how they got started. Seek out innovative buildings at home and in your travels, then develop your artistic skills by drawing or photographing them. Summer College in Architecture One of the best ways to get started on your education is to enroll in a college-level summer architecture program. Syracuse University offers an intensive six-week summer program for students who have completed their junior year of high school. You ll live in undergraduate residence halls and eat in campus dining centers while taking courses that introduce you to architectural drawing, design, and theory. Through lectures, studios, and site visits, architecture faculty will help you develop the conceptual, technical, and creative skills to excel in your future coursework, and the projects you complete will enhance your application portfolio. For information and an application, contact Syracuse University, Summer College for High School Students, 700 University Avenue, Syracuse NY 13244; 315-443 5000, or visit summercollege.syr.edu. Portfolio Requirements To apply to the bachelor of architecture program, you ll need to complete the Common Application to Syracuse University and submit a portfolio of creative work to the School of Architecture. The portfolio is a selection of your work in art and design that represents your creative vision and technical capacities. Your portfolio should include reproductions of between 12 and 24 pieces, along with a brief statement outlining your interest in the field of architecture. Include freehand drawing from real-life observation along with work in whatever other media you ve used, such as painting, graphic design, photography, woodworking, sculpture, or conceptual art. You must submit your portfolio through the mail in a binder or printed portfolio. We also offer the opportunity to meet with an admissions committee member for an in-person portfolio review on campus or in selected cities across the nation. For more information on the application process, including portfolio format, content, submittal, and review, take a look at the Admissions section of our web site, soa.syr.edu. If you have more questions, contact Director of Undergraduate Recruitment Vittoria Buccina at vabuccin@syr.edu. FREEDOM BY DESIGN In the American Institute of Architecture Students Freedom by Design initiative, students design and then build small-scale projects to assist elderly and disabled persons within the Syracuse community.
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Exterior view of Slocum Hall s auditorium taken from the gallery, a floor below David Joseph 24 soa.syr.edu
Meet Syracuse University: On Campus and Around the World SYRACUSE Helpful Information: Office of Admissions Syracuse University 100 Crouse-Hinds Hall 900 South Crouse Avenue Syracuse NY 13244-2130 315-443-3611 admissions.syr.edu orange@syr.edu In Los Angeles Office of Admissions - West Syracuse University 4312 Woodman Avenue Suite 302 Sherman Oaks CA 91423 818-446-2155 In New York City Metropolitan New York Office of Admissions Syracuse University Joseph I. Lubin House 11 East 61st Street New York NY 10065 212-826-0335 School of Architecture 201 Slocum Hall Syracuse University Syracuse NY 13244 315-443-2256 soa.syr.edu Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs Syracuse University 200 Archbold North Syracuse NY 13244-1140 315-443-1513 financialaid.syr.edu Syracuse University campus Regional admissions offices Areas we visit Check out your options and register for a visit. Click Visit Us at admissions.syr.edu. PHOTOGRAPHY: Jamie Young, Susan Kahn, Shutterstock, SU Photo and Imaging, Syracuse Business Services 21
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Office of Admissions 100 Crouse-Hinds Hall 900 South Crouse Avenue Syracuse NY 13244-2130 Why Syracuse University? Real-world experience. Test what you learn through valuable internships, community/corporate partnerships, and close collaboration with faculty and professional experts. Belong to a vibrant community. Syracuse is an active, residential campus within the City of Syracuse in beautiful upstate New York. There s always something to do on campus, in the city, and in the rolling hills beyond. Experience the best of two worlds. Syracuse combines the warm personality of a small college with the resources of a large research university (superior facilities, world-class speakers, 300+ student organizations, top faculty and professionals). Syracuse alumni bleed orange! Syracuse graduates belong to a global network of enthusiastic alumni, many of whom mentor students in achieving success at Syracuse and beyond. soa.syr.edu