School of Architecture: General Information
2008-2009 Academic Year
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The Tulane School of Architecture today is home to approximately three hundred
and fifty students who are taught each semester by twenty full-time faculty as
well as part-time professionals and visiting instructors. Programs of study leading
to the Masters of Architecture degree are supplemented by a variety of special
academic opportunities: Architect's Week, conferences and symposia, a public
lecture series, exhibitions, competitions, research opportunities, student activities,
and school publications.
At present the School is undergoing a significant shift in its focus and programs.
Our students will be encouraged to understand architecture as a vehicle for, and a
generator of, civic engagement. We are creating a new teaching and research
facility in downtown New Orleans--The Tulane City Center--in which students
will take courses that emphasize innovative design in the public arena. We will
offer an expanded selection of courses, as well as new joint degree programs with
other academic and professional disciplines. We are adding to our already rich
array of foreign travel programs. And, critically, our wireless-enabled building
will become the hub of a new focus on digitally-aided design and fabrication.
These and other initiatives will be reflected in the dynamic new curriculum. The
Master's Degree will remain the accredited program, but incoming students
should expect and understand that changes to the courses of study outlined in this
catalog are likely. These changes will be thoroughly documented and explained in
supplemental published materials, and it is the responsibility of each student to
keep abreast of these developments through their academic advisers.
NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans is one of American's truly unique cities. Culturally rich, it is the
birthplace of Jazz music, Creole cooking, and Southern literature. New Orleans
also offers exceptional advantages for studying architecture. The French Quarter's
romantic courtyard buildings, River Road's majestic plantation houses, and the
Garden District's early suburban mansions are unique examples of 18th and 19th
century American architecture, elegant and beautiful adaptations of European
prototypes that demonstrate vital principles of environmentally responsive design.
These exist side by side with the skyscrapers, sports stadiums, and commercial
facilities of contemporary society. All reveal the variety of design and cultural
influencesAfrican, Caribbean, European, Latin Americanthat have contributed
to the richness and vitality of the city. And all exist against the physical,
environmental and spiritual backdrop of the Mississippi river, which gives
definition not only to the city, but to so many enduring aspects of American
culture and history as well.
Beginning with the first architecture courses taught in 1894, Tulane's faculty has
involved itself with both the preservation of our historic environment, and the
design of significant new structures responsive to contemporary values. We instill
in our students a sensitivity for this remarkable city, a value system that respects