Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...

students and faculty have gained.
Furthermore, with regard to transitions, the shift from manual to digital
methods of representation has been a major part of the school’s growth in the
last 5 years. Digital design was fully introduced into the school after Katrina with
the modified curriculum, which was tailored to address the education of architects
in the digital present and future. We believe it is critical to understand and
evaluate what has become the digital revolution in architecture and its
subsequent effect on architectural education.
While the majority of the experiences in the semester after the hurricane
were beneficial and the new curriculum has positively integrated digital design
into the school, the school’s transition has not been without its own growing
pains. Our student body is divided into those students who began studying
before the hurricane and those who began after, those whose processes stem
from the drawing board and those whose stem from the mouse. We believe that
the balance between manual and digital processes should be integrated, and that
methodological values should be continually questioned with regard to the
changes in our profession.
The design studio is at the center of every architecture students’ core
curriculum. Learning in studio is radically different from other types of academic
experiences that are more common throughout the university as a whole. Studio
culture fosters intellectual and personal diversity. It is a collective experience that
proceeds from the individual to the group as a whole. Within the context of the
university education, it is perhaps the most unique and effective means of
learning; it is at the same time all encompassing of other disciplines and yet very
distinctive. We endorse the curriculum’s continual inclusion of classes outside of
architecture. It is critical to find a common language with students pursuing other
degrees. The academic dialogue between architecture students and nonarchitecture
students enriches university education as a whole and allows us as
students to gain perspectives that we can bring to our studio discussions and
designs.
Health, time management, and interactions between students and
professors have become critical points of reflection at TSA, as they have in
architecture schools across the country. All architecture schools struggle with the
issue of students’ health and well-being, and Tulane is no different. We believe
leading a balanced life is critical to every student, including those in the school of
architecture, and that a healthy lifestyle only enriches the studio experience. We
suggest that TSA promote physical activity as a way to provide stress relief and a
variety of interactions outside of the school. This could range from an
architecture sports team to advising that students take a break from their work
during stressful periods to exercise and clear their minds.
We understand that participation in any extra-curricular activities requires