Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...

spatial principles, as well as the conception and development of interior
and exterior spaces, building elements, and components is also attended
to in the History/Theory sequence of the curriculum. This is particularly the
case in the required History (AHST) courses, whereby special attention is
paid to these concerns. It is significant and highly beneficial that the History
faculty are in-residence within the School of Architecture; hence, history is
not only taught as a progressive series of events, but attention is given to
the “close-reading” of the buildings and urban spaces as material artifacts
and working organisms. This reinforces the student’s understanding of the
primacy of fundamental design skills not only in the development of their
design studio work, but in the critical insight of precedents and their
contexts.
7. Collaborative Skills
Ability to recognize the varied talent found in interdisciplinary design project
teams in professional practice and work in collaboration with other students
as members of a design team.
Collaborative Skills development occurs across the design curriculum, in
particular as students initiate studio projects. A first and second-year
(DSGN 110, 120; DSGN 210, 220, AVSM 110, ADGM 120) focus on
collaborative skills requires that students go through a period of developing
studio models, research, and digital technology skills development in
collaborative fashion. The apex of this basic skill is reached in the
URBANbuild studios (DSGN 410, 420 micro and macroscale) of fourth year.
In addition all students have the opportunity to develop and execute a
hands-on building project during the course of their education. This also
occurs during fourth-year and in some cases extends to the fifth-year
thesis. These building projects tend to require collaborative efforts, both
during the design and building phases.
Collaborative learning also takes place in the extraordinary array of foreign
study programs the school offers.
While it is true that the usual methods of evaluation are more difficult to
apply when assessing a group project, the pedagogical intention—that of
the design and work collaboration—clearly supersedes the limitations of
conventional grading. It is also true that, in some cases, the clarity of a
conceptual approach is diluted, in other cases the amalgamation of insights
and abilities leads to a much higher degree of resolution and greater depth
in work productivity, a benefit that is reflected in the success of the final
product.
As the students are reminded, the use of collaborative associations in
design and related fields is fundamental to the practice of architecture.
This is particularly showcased in the RBST series of courses as well.
Additional opportunities supportive of the cultivation of collaborative skills
occur in several other areas of the elective curriculum, most notably in
several the course for Studio in the Woods (DSGN 410/ACTS 332) and
particularly in Preservation Studies (“Studio in Building Preservation –