Professional Treasures

In spring 2011 third year students from two courses,an Intermediate Architecture Studio [342 Studio],and a Professional Practice Elective Course calledProfessional Treasures [490 Practice] learned aboutthe practice “secrets” of two non-faculty architects.The courses were structured to prepare undergraduatestudents for the subsequent Practicum Studioas well as the culminating Doctor of Architecture researchyear. The Interaction between students, thearchitects and their professional colleagues, includingarchitects from their firms, community leaders, andclient organizations was made possible in part by anNCARB Grant1. NCARB Grants are designed to helpschools implement new programs that merge practiceand education in a studio or classroom setting.The primary NCARB Grant objective was to support“architecture schools’ efforts to create academicinitiatives that will have a long-term, ongoing impacton architecture students, faculty, and the curriculum,and raise awareness about issues centralto practice.” To achieve NCARB goals, the practicingarchitects collaborated with the instructor/ProjectDirector to expose students to their unique practiceskills. The results will be published in a report titled“Professional Treasures: Design as a vehicle for sustaininghistoric and cultural identity.” The publicationis in process. This paper is a preview of the NCARBGrant findings.

Volume Editors
Ikhlas Sabouni & Jorge Vanegas