Dean: Daniel D. Bennett, M.Arch. in Urban Design, Rice University
Dean of the School, 120 Vol Walker Hall, 575-4945
Associate Dean: Michael J. Buono, M.Arch and Urban Design, Washington University
Associate Dean, 209 Vol Walker Hall, 575-4705
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas houses the two professional design programs of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The Architecture program was founded in 1946 and has been accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) since 1958. The Landscape Architecture program was established in 1975 and has been accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) since 1983.
The School's programs combine traditional models of professional studio-design education with innovative teaching in history and theory, technology, and urbanism. A broad range of course offerings equip graduates with the knowledge required for the challenges of a changing world. Design instruction occurs in a carefully planned studio sequence, providing educational experiences appropriate for students who wish to pursue both traditional and non-traditional forms of professional practice. Fundamental principles and techniques of problem solving are stressed, and the curriculum strives to empower students by developing skill and knowledge and a deep sense of responsibility to the cultures we serve. Design studio projects survey issues and opportunities in built and natural settings, as well as complex social, physical, and cultural relations that constitute the built environment.
ORGANIZATION, FACILITIES, AND RESOURCES
The Department of Architecture and the School's administrative offices are located in Vol Walker Hall, the former university library building, which has been extensively remodeled to meet the needs of the department and School. The Landscape Architecture Department is located in Memorial Hall. The departments share lecture and studio space in both buildings.
The university location in a relatively undeveloped area of northwest Arkansas now experiencing rapid growth and change affords unusual opportunity to study the impact of urbanization in a rural setting. The School includes as part of its program field trips, guest lectures, research assignments, and other teaching techniques oriented toward major urban and rural problems as a means to broaden the educational base of its students.
Classes are also offered in a variety of settings away from the campus. Options include a semester in the school's facility near the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, a semester in a special joint venture studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, a summer design studio in Mexico City, Mexico, and exchange programs with Brighton University, and the University of Central England in the United Kingdom.
The University of Arkansas Community Design Center
The School of Architecture provides community service opportunities through the University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC). The Center was founded in 1995 with the support of the Harvey and Bernice Jones Charitable Trust. The Center utilizes students, faculty, and professional staff to provide technical assistance to the towns and communities of the State of Arkansas in such areas as town and environmental planning, low and moderate income housing, and community and policy development. In addition to providing design leadership, the Center also gives students the opportunity to work directly with leaders throughout the state to solve real problems in the context of actual situations and conditions.
Accreditation and Membership
The School holds memberships in the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), organizations comprised of North American schools of architecture and landscape architecture.
The Design Studio
The design studio sequence is the core of each discipline of the School of Architecture. Students spend three afternoons each week in a design studio, with complementary lecture courses taught to allow knowledge from those lectures to inform work produced in design studios. This method is designed to develop and nurture the intellectual and creative skills of students, and to allow them to approach problem solving in a disciplined, logical and analytical manner.
Design professionals must be able to conceptualize responses to project programs and client needs, to communicate with clients, to present ideas verbally and to demonstrate ideas graphically. Most need to maintain technical knowledge of building materials and construction technology and must be able to negotiate with contractors and owners to administrate construction and to market their services. Each must fulfill a multitude of roles, whether practicing alone or as a team member in a large multidisciplined organization.
The design studio consists of a series of projects of increasing complexity, all requiring three-dimensional problem-solving, conceptualization, and final presentation to the studio critic, other faculty members, and fellow students. The amount of material to be covered, the fast pace of assignments, and the pressure of critical reviews by faculty and other students all combine to produce a highly-charged and energetic studio atmosphere.
Landscape architects approach the design of outdoor space from a point of view similar to that which architects use to shape buildings and interior spaces. Design solutions are determined by the intended function, natural, physical, and climatological attributes, and the appropriate aesthetic character of each outdoor environment. Projects are broad in scope and range in scale from residential to urban and regional complexity.
Library Resources
The School of Architecture's publication collection is housed in the Fine Arts Library, located in the Fine Arts Building. This library contains approximately 50,000 catalogued volumes relating to architecture and areas of environmental design, art, music, and other related subjects. Approximately sixty-five professional journal subscriptions are housed in the library. The University of Arkansas library system (Fayetteville campus) contains over one million volumes including a number of which are pertinent to environmental issues.
A collection of over seventy thousand slides and 300 videos
relating to architecture, architectural history, landscape, and urban design
is housed in the School's C. Murray Smart media center, which is located
in Vol Walker Hall.
Garvan Woodland Gardens
This 210-acre botanical garden located on Lake Hamilton
in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is operated by the Department of Landscape Architecture.
The land and endowment were the result of a large bequest to the Department
of Landscape Architecture in 1985. Landscape Architecture students spend
part of a summer learning to identify plants in the garden. The garden is
open to groups by reservation. A master planning effort of the garden has
recently been completed. The garden includes facilities designed by E. Fay
Jones and Maurice Jennings.