NAAB Architecture Program Report (APR) 2013 - Tulane School of ...

Tulane UniversityArchitecture Program ReportSeptember 2013Additional Perspectives on Studio Culture:1. The role of the architect as an engaged and enlightened citizenFrom the beginning of the core years, the faculty are entrusted with teaching students thedefinition of their role as architects in society as ‘citizens of the world.’ Values, core principles,and diversity of thought and approach are respected and clearly articulated.2. Articulation of clear goals, outcomes and expectationsGoals and outcomes are defined to the degree that is appropriate and includes as much aspossible the methods for evaluation of student work. These goals and the registration oflearning outcomes does not imply a ‘checklist,’ but rather a guide for the attainment of learnedknowledge. However, time, energy and enthusiasm for the process should be valued andrespected by students and faculty alike.3. Respect for the design processThe productive process of design is also respected as the central educational outcome.Ongoing deliberation and response to critical evaluation, craft and making are important to themosaic of relationships that condition the teaching and learning process.4. Communication and the learning processOpen and careful communication that respects all parties benefits the collective environmentand the individual. Competition, while actively fostered and necessary to the enterprise, doesnot supplant the centrality of the peer-to-peer learning process, nor should it compromise asupportive environment.5. Recognizing and legitimating research‘Having ideas’ does not imply ‘ownership’ of those ideas: the sharing necessary to a supportiveenvironment involves rigorous debate by students and faculty alike. ‘Originality for originality’ssake’ assumes a secondary role to the search for ‘authenticity’ in design work as an underlyingmotive of all studio research.6. The Review’s role in the process of educationCritique sessions, whether one-on-one should be engaged by all participants (students, faculty,outside critics) rather than faculty and/or critics acting as singular ‘judges and juries.’ Mutualrespect is fundamental and essential to a productive and supportive learning environment.7. Coda: the Implications of a five-year Master’s of Architecture ProgramThe basis for the undergraduate “three plus two” program, resulting in a Master of Architecturedegree, sees teaching shift subtly yet recognizably over the five years of a student’s education.In addition, there is the expectation of developing levels of maturity both in the work and thestudent, as well as a concomitant belief in the formation of professional abilities and attitudes.8. The capstone or thesis stresses engagement with issues that currently impact the environmentin which the discipline and practice of architecture are situated. Students, faculty andadministration share responsibility in the underlying the goals of architectural education and therole of its varied participants over the course of the educational process.5