- Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies
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The College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech consists of four schools, including the School of Architecture + Design, which consistently ranks among the best in the country.[1] In 2010, the college earned national recognition for its Lumenhaus project, which won the Solar Decathlon Competition in Madrid, Spain.[2] Headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, the college also has sites in Alexandria, Virginia and Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. Spread out among these three locations, the college consists of nearly 2,200 students, making it one of the largest schools of architecture in the nation.
Viriginia Tech
College of Architecture and Urban Studies
Motto Ut Prosim (That I may serve) Established 1964 Type Public Dean Jack Davis, FAIA, LEED Location Blacksburg, Virginia Website http://www.caus.vt.edu/ Contents
Academics
The College of Architecture and Urban Studies offers 13 bachelor’s degrees and 11 graduate degrees through its four schools. Programs offered within these schools are architecture, art and art history, building construction, environmental design and planning, government and international affairs, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, public administration and policy, and urban affairs and planning. On the Blacksburg campus, the college is located primarily in Burchard Hall, named after the college’s first dean Charles Henry Burchard, and Cowgill Hall. [3]
School of Architecture + Design
The School of Architecture + Design's programs include architecture, interior design, industrial design, and landscape architecture. Through the school, students can earn Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees, which are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.[4] The Bachelor of Architecture degree at Virginia Tech has been accredited by the NAAB, consecutively, since the 1957-58 academic year making it one of the oldest, accredited architecture programs in the U.S. along with Syracuse University, Cornell University, Pratt Institute, Auburn University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and University of Oregon.[5] According to the College of Architecture and Urban Studies website, the architecture school's mission is "to create a setting for the pursuit of theoretical, practical, and productive knowledge, embracing the duality of the education of an individual and the practice of a profession".[6]
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts offers programs in art history, visual communication design, and studio arts, with concentrations in visual communication design/graphic design, creative technologies, 3-D animation, modeling, painting, ceramics, animation, and sculpture. Areas of study include the studio arts (B.F.A.), the visual communication design (B.F.A.), art history (B.A.), and the creative technologies (M.F.A.).[7] The school’s administrative offices are located in the Armory, one of Blacksburg’s historic buildings.[8]
Myers-Lawson School of Construction
The Myers-Lawson School of Construction is a joint venture between the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering. It offers degrees in building construction and construction engineering and management.[9] The school's programs are unique in that they blend building construction and civil engineering.
School of Public and International Affairs
The School of Public and International Affairs was established in 2003 with the intent of offering an "innovative integration of scholarship and professional instruction in policy and planning in public administration, urban affairs, environment, governance, and international relations."[10] The school offers undergraduate students either a bachelor of science in environmental policy and planning or a bachelor of arts in public and urban affairs. In addition, the school offers master's degrees in public administration, public and international affairs, and urban and regional planning. Doctoral students may earn degrees in planning, governance and globalization or in public administration and public affairs.
Research
The college has earned national recognition for its Lumenhaus project, which won the 2010 Solar Decathlon Competition in Madrid, Spain. In addition, the college is connected to research centers at the university, college, and department level. Students and faculty on the Blacksburg campus also have access to the Art and Architecture Library.
Lumenhaus
The Lumenhaus project began, in 2002, as a research project by architecture students and faculty as an integration of architecture and technology and went on to win the international Solar Decathlon Competition in Madrid, Spain in June 2010. [11] Built from renewable and recyclable materials, the fully automated solar house is completely self sufficient, zero-energy, and provides an entirely new approach to environmental and sustainable design. The north and south walls of Lumenhaus are made of glass to let in more direct sunlight. An open floor plan connects occupants to each other within the house and to nature outside. The house was inspired by the glass pavilion-style Farnsworth House designed by Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. Since the house won the competition, the house has been displayed in Times Square in New York City, N.Y.; Millennium Park in Chicago, Ill.; and currently resides at the Farnsworth House in Plano, Ill.[12]
Research Centers
The college is affiliated with research centers with which faculty and students can use to conduct research and further engage in their respective fields. For example, the student-run FourDesign agency, affiliated with the School of Visual Arts, offers students a chance to help diverse organizations with design services for product and company branding, logos, concept development, multimedia presentations, printed publications, packaging, and font and web design. The School of Architecture + Design’s Henry H. Wiss Center for Theory and History of Art and Architecture also provides students with the opportunity to become more engaged in their field of interest. Via the center, students who wish to study the history of art and architecture, architectural criticism, or design theory may further engage in these areas of study through lecture courses, seminars, and national and international trips.
Art and Architecture Library
The Art and Architecture Library is located in 100 Cowgill Hall on the Blacksburg campus. The library contains a collection of approximately 78,000 volumes and more than 200 journals, which encompass the visual arts, art history, architecture, decorative arts, and design. In addition, the library holds nearly 900 multimedia items, including DVDs, videotapes, and slides, and houses several hundred architectural plans and drawings for in-house use. The library supports the departments and curriculum of the college.
Distinguished Faculty
Robert Dunay currently serves as Director of the Center for Design Research. He was one of the primary faculty advisors for Virginia Tech’s 2002, 2005, and 2009 entries in the Solar Decathlon Competition sponsored by the Department of Energy.[13]
Ronald Kemnitzer, Chairman Emeriti of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), holds over 15 U.S. and international patents for his work.[14]
Paul Knox, University Distinguished Professor of urban affairs and planning, was dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning for eight years. While Knox served as dean, the college became one of the top architecture colleges in the nation.[15]
Keith and Marie Zawistowski received a Design Excellence Award from the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects for their Arritt Farm House project in 2009.[16]
Rankings
The School of Architecture + Design consistently ranks as a top tier Architecture school in the United States. According to the 2010 rankings by DesignIntelligence, the journal published by the Design Futures Council, Virginia Tech’s overall architecture program is ranked number one in the nation. The program has held this position for 10 years (tied with Harvard, Yale, and Columbia). Additionally, the School of Architecture + Design is ranked 4th in their undergraduate program and 12th in the graduate program. In the skills ranking, the school places in the top five for Analysis, Communication, Computer Applications, Construction Methods & Materials, and Design. [17] As for the school's other programs, the undergraduate program in landscape architecture is ranked third in the nation, while the graduate program is ranked fourth. The interior design and industrial design programs are also ranked sixth and 10th in the nation, respectively.
The U.S. News & World Report also ranked some of the college’s programs as top in the nation. The graduate urban planning program was ranked seventh in the nation, and the public administration graduate program was ranked twelfth in the nation. In addition, the public affairs program was ranked as twenty-seventh in the nation.[18]
Notable Alumni
- Thomas W. Moss Jr. (building construction 1950) was Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1991-2000.
- Earl Swensson (architecture 1952, M.S. 1953), founder and chairman of Earl Swensson Associates, designed several famous landmarks in Nashville, Tennessee, including the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and the AT&T Building, Tennessee’s tallest building.
- Robert Turner (architecture 1972) was a partner of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill by his mid-30s. During his time at SOM, he led high-profile projects including the Atlantico Pavilion in Lisbon, Portugal, and master plans for the University of Malaya and the financial district at Canary Wharf in London.[19]
- Brian Keith Fulton (urban affairs 1989) is vice president--Strategic Alliances for Verizon Communications. Previously, he worked as a senior policy analyst for the United States Department of Commerce's Office of Policy Analysis and Development (OPAD), served as vice president of AOL Time Warner Foundation, and founded and directed the Technology Programs and Policy office of the National Urban League.[20]
See Also
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
References
- ^ "CAUS". College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Virginia Tech. http://www.caus.vt.edu/. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ http://www.solardecathlon.gov/past/2009/where_is_virginia_tech_now.html
- ^ http://www.id.archdesign.vt.edu/facilities.html
- ^ "School of Architecture + Design". Virginia Tech. http://www.archdesign.vt.edu/. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ "NAAB Accredited School Database". NAAB. http://www.naab.org/schools/view.aspx?id=14485&origin=results&QS='&vSchoolYMGHFREregion_id=2&startrec=1&viewby=50&union=AND&top_parent=99. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "About the School of Arch/Design". V Tech. http://www.archdesign.vt.edu/about/.
- ^ "School of Visual Arts". Virginia Tech. http://www.sova.vt.edu/. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ 6. http://www.sova.vt.edu/. School of Visual Arts. Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies
- ^ "Myers-Lawson School of Construction". http://www.mlsoc.vt.edu/. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ "School of Public and International Affairs". Virginia Tech. http://www.spia.vt.edu/. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ "About Lumenhaus". http://www.solar.arch.vt.edu/about/index.html. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ http://www.lumenhaus.com/
- ^ http://www.greenbuildingfocus.com/default.aspx?id=3334
- ^ http://idsa.org/ronald-b-kemnitzer
- ^ http://www.spia.vt.edu/people/spiafacultybios/knoxspiabio.html
- ^ http://onsitearchitecture.com/3/artist.asp?ArtistID=26185&AKey=F4WAF579
- ^ "America's Best Architecture Schools". Design Intelligence. Architectural Record. http://archrecord.construction.com/features/0911BestArchSchools/0911BestArchSchools-2.asp. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
- ^ http://www.caus.vt.edu/about. Virginia Tech College of Architecture and Urban Studies.
- ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46550#s5
- ^ http://www.p21.org/index.php?Itemid=5&id=160&option=com_content&task=view
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