Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...

ody is itself diverse; along with university initiatives, efforts to further
develop a school that is more reflective of society’s broad spectrum is
encouraged through recruitment, admissions, and retention policies.
This is reflected in curricular and extracurricular activities in which
students, faculty, and staff are involved. Curricular activities—studio
projects, history and theory courses—stress diverse socio-economic and
historical conditions, thereby revealing the complex variety of local,
national, and global culture. Throughout the course of their education,
students are exposed to a wide variety of cultural, economic, and social
conditions. Programs and student-faculty exchanges in Europe, Central
America, and Cuba allow for extended perspectives regarding socioeconomic,
political, and cultural difference. By way of example, faculty
and staff actively encourage a heightened sensitivity both in word and
deed.
Reflecting the urban context of New Orleans—a city that has a history of
diversity and cultural inclusion coupled with the social and political
demands of negotiation and mediation—the School of Architecture
actively resists exclusivity and elitism by incorporating a broad
constituency of interest groups. This is evidenced in the composition of
the faculty and student body, as well as in the various projects and
course subject-matter that students and faculty endeavor to undertake.
Moreover, concerns regarding the shifting ideals and venues of
architectural practice in a global economy are also articulated in formal
coursework across the curriculum, as well as in discussions regarding
the need for students to have an awareness of ever-changing
demographics and economies.
Students now have a real chance of developing relationships with the
community through both URBANbuild and Citybuild (under the aegis of
Tulane City Center) The former allows students and faculty to establish
theoretical 'practices' relating to the urban issues of the New Orleans
community while the latter promotes actual real-world expertise in finding
practical solutions to the rebuilding of the city through built work. An
outline of both projects—URBANbuild and CITYbuild—can be found in
the supplemental appendix, the successive HUD grant materials for the
former and the recent publication on CITYbuild for the latter.
In addition, Tulane architecture students are now educated and thus
participate more strongly in the global community through the availability
of numerous study-abroad programs. Taken primarily in their fourth-year,
students are able to assume education in the 'global society' through
programs in Rome, a travel program in Prague, Berlin and Basel,
programs in Brazil and Guatemala (through the Historic Preservation
Program), the Water Cities Program, and Junior Year abroad, which has
historically placed top students in European architecture programs.
There are numerous scholarships available for students to compete to
study a range of topics on architectural education and practice, including
studies in Amsterdam, Japan, and China, among other international
locations.
1.3 Architecture Education and Registration
As reflected in the licensing exam, the architect’s social responsibility