House Divided: Threats to Design/Build From Within

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” -Abraham Lincoln There are approximately 100 design/build programs throughout the 123 NAAB accredited architecture schools. Design/build education has certainly become a prevalent model but are these programs sustainable? Through an online survey of 42 faculty involved in design/build education at 36 institutions, the paper comparatively analyzes issues of: program structure, decision-making, faculty/student motivation, project-ownership, risk, student/faculty relationships, and the role of faculty. The analysis of respondent answers yields several important findings which architectural faculty, students and administrators might carefully consider. Although the number of programs has increased dramatically since the early 1990’s (and the founding of Auburn’s Rural Studio,) there appears to have been a decline in their growth over the last five years. And it appears that the threats to design/build education seem to originate primarily from within the faculty and institutions themselves! First, faculty admitted to taking on many roles in design/build programs- everything from cheerleader to architect of record. Are these roles taken on by choice or necessary liability? Can these multiple roles be sustained? Faculty also stated that self-motivation was at times problematic. Design/build projects are physically and mentally exhausting for all involved, especially the faculty which shoulder much of the responsibility. Second, faculty expressed great concern over the lack of support from colleagues and administrators. Design/build projects seem to alienate and isolate faculty from the rest of the school. It is apparent from the survey that many colleagues of the faculty engaged in design/build education do not take it seriously as a form of teaching and research. Additionally, administrators tend to look the other way to avoid liability and usually do not offer institutional support in the form of resources. These threats to the design/build programs are ironic considering they bring great notoriety to the university, often represent the best in community-outreach/ service-learning, and they are in high-demand by students. But with low faculty motivation, low academic rewards, and high risk, can design/build education survive? “If you’re going to do this you gotta pack your bags, kiss your wife goodbye, and go to war.” – Sambo Mockbee

Volume Editors
Ikhlas Sabouni & Jorge Vanegas