Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...

increasing complexity of the conditions for practice necessitate life-long learning and the
concomitant renewal and acquisition of skills and knowledge. As with the internship
program and the registration exam above, continuing education has also been the
subject of debate among all members of the architectural community.
There are forces within the academy itself that are influencing the character and
direction of architectural education. The study of architecture is increasingly a
knowledge-based, theoretical discipline that relies on the traditions of the university. A
knowledge-based education—and profession—depend on being able to pursue the
intellectual framework for analysis of broad cultural conditions. These conditions permit,
as above, the practice of architecture within an increasingly globalized culture. In
response to this demand, architecture is moving to a more central position in crossdisciplinary
studies on university campuses. The knowledge-base of architecture—which
enables its being part and parcel of the tradition of the university—is being reformulated
through the application of architectural intellectual structures to social and cultural
situations formally considered outside the discipline. Still, the relationship between
theory—and the university—and the practical applications of the profession in
professional programs such as architecture is subject to considerable debate on 'both
sides of the aisle.'
Accreditation criteria promulgated by the National Architectural Accreditation Board
(NAAB) also reflect a changing environment for architectural education. While the
accrediting board is concerned with architecture as a discipline within the university, it
also endeavors to support the role of architectural education in light of architectural
practice. Thus, there is a set of ongoing revisions in the conditions and procedures of
the NAAB that reflect the changing conditions of the profession. Increasing attention is
given to the mastery of construction and digital technologies—reflecting developments,
changes and modifications for the practice of architecture—as well as management and
organizational issues and other professional skills. Simultaneously, there is the
requirement to more broadly educate students on the burgeoning cultural horizons that
must be assumed by contemporary practitioners. While not impossible—as Tulane
School of Architecture shows in its curricular array—these two broad areas of
educational responsibility are nonetheless difficult to achieve within the confines of
standard academic structure and curricula. Accreditation standards are presently
undergoing another set of revisions, thereby underlining its mission of evolving principles
reflective of the developmental nature of architectural education and practice.
Still another 'environmental context' makes the case for a 'community-based'
architectural education, In 1997, the Carnegie Foundation on Higher Education
published a report entitled Building Community: A New Future for Architectural Education
and Practice. Almost ten years in the making, this report was the fifth major national
study of architectural education in the twentieth century. Its basic premise was to define
the contemporary context for architectural education in North America. It also became
the background for the evolving accreditation standards mentioned immediately above.
The report includes a call for a refocusing of architectural education around "Seven
Designs for Renewal." They are:
An "enriched mission" for the schools by focusing on preparation for competent
practice, designing for beauty, a connection to human needs, and healthy,
sustainable architecture;
Producing "diversity with dignity" by sustaining multiple missions of the schools of
architecture and rewarding the various talents and strengths of programs and
faculties;