architecture - Sam Fox School - Washington University in St. Louis

Dean’s Letter
Architecture,
Washington University
in St. Louis
57
than any time preceding us; our ability to connect is accessible at
a global scale. Communication and collaboration is critical to the
success of the design process and profession. Pedagogical goals for
the studio will stem from this notion.
Students will have the opportunity to work in a studio
environment that is simultaneously rigid and open. The studio
will expose each student to a potentially new approach and rigor
while allowing the flexibility to develop and refine their own
methodology, their own path. Process will be key.
Each student’s process will remain transparent. Daily progress
will be made evident by consistent sharing of data and work.
A voluntary field trip to Kansas City to visit signature works
of architecture, top fabrication facilities, similar (sub)urban
conditions and relevant design offices is proposed.
Precedents & Research
The studio will initiate and research project issues as it relates
to precedents, climate, history, site, programmatic testing,
sustainability, material, light, structure, environment and scale
(Community - Site - Construct – Individual).
Evaluation
The refinement of a student’s process is central to the success of
one’s architectural education. As members of a graduate-level,
professional program, each student will have the opportunity to
test, provoke, elicit and postulate within an energetic, rigorous
environment; daily progress and a critical process will be central
to one’s success. Highly resolved work presented in a refined
manner with clear intentions is expected of this comprehensive
studio.
Writing and Technology will be promoted at all stages for
presentation, communication and collaboration.