Architecture Program Report Tulane University New Orleans ...

centers primarily on the recognition of the needs and aspirations of the
client. Recognition of this responsibility is seen in the fundamental
concern for the relationship between users and the built environment—a
concern that is brought to bear on much of the critical discourse of the
school.
The parameters for achieving registration are not inculcated as a
separate, identifiable concern; rather, the stress on issues associated
with technical competence, the acquisition of skills, and public welfare
permeate the curriculum. The subject of review and critique, these issues
are presented in the introduction to architecture course and are
reinforced in the early phases of the design studio. This is followed by an
increasing awareness of these concerns in later years, whereby a
general attitude is abetted through the application of coursework
specifically associated with the areas of technology, skills, human factors
and life safety. While students understand architecture as a matter of
both ‘making’ and knowledge in the first two years, this position is
succeeded by a more articulate view of the architect as a responsible
and responsive professional entrusted with the welfare of the numerous
'’clients”: individuals, communities, and the environment.
Requirements for graduation, the professional concerns course and a
professional concerns elective—usually taken in the student’s fourth- or
fifth-year—features two lectures on registration, one by a member (or
director) of the Louisiana State Licensing Board and one by the
Louisiana State Head of the Intern Development Program. IDP
information is distributed during this presentation and again in the final
semester of thesis-year. Bruce Goodwin, our IDP liaison, also enlists
members of the State Licensing Board to give presentations during the
school year.
In addition, students are prepared for practice and registration by the
two-summer internship (“Summer Field Work”) requirement. This
curricular requirement is intended to emphasize the nature of
professional education and practice, and the necessary preparation for
licensure.
Architecture Education and the Profession
Tulane School of Architecture actively promotes the idea of the architect
as an ‘enlightened professional’. Throughout the history of the program,
there has been a strong relationship between practitioners and
educators; indeed, most of the full-time faculty—along with all part-time
faculty—are actively engaged in architectural practice. Drawn from local,
regional, and nationally recognized offices, reviewers of student work are
by and large practitioners of note. Many of these individuals engage in
traditional practices, while others have advanced careers in fields
associated with architectural practice: preservation, politics, real estate,
government, urban planning, environmental law, community advocacy,
and the fine and allied arts. Hence, students are engaged throughout the
course of their educational career with the responsibilities and activities
associated with practice—not only from the point of view of practitioners,
but from the point of view of the numerous constituent groups that