News: Professional architecture degree approved
THE FLOOR PLAN is in place for a professional architecture program at Portland State. The Oregon State Board of Higher Education recently approved a master's degree, which will build on the University's bachelor's program—now 50 years old—beginning in fall 2009.
"I'm thrilled!" says local architect Don Stastny. "I believe that I also speak for a large percentage of the architecture community when I say that this program is not only a good program option for students, but for the city as well."
Stastny, CEO of StastnyBrun Architects, occasionally teaches urban design classes at PSU. His firm designed the University's Native American Student and Community Center.
The new professional program, one of only two in the state, will build on the existing undergraduate degree, which supports Portland's mission to enhance green building and a sustainable urban infrastructure. Students already have many examples right on campus: eco roofs, passive heating and cooling, and use of rainwater inside and outside buildings.
Portland is not the only laboratory for students, who through the years have taken on projects in Seattle; New Orleans; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Barcelona, Spain.
"Learning what it means to design in different environments and cultures is important," says architecture professor Rudy Barton. "We try to get our students outside the Portland bubble to see what other cities are doing."
He and 12 students were in New Orleans this spring to present their designs for a storefront library in Tremé, the city's oldest African American neighborhood. While there, they all pitched in to clean up the existing library and even catalog some of its collection. This is the second time Barton has taken student to New Orleans.
Approval of the new degree coincides with the reopening of Shattuck Hall this fall. Both the Architecture faculty and classes are housed in the building, which has a new foundry, design studios, metal and wood shops, and high-tech 3D laser printers. The department plans to add six new full-time faculty over the next two years and is seeking professional accreditation with the National Architectural Accrediting Board. Students can apply now for the two-year, 74-credit hour program.
[Architecture students were recently in New Orleans presenting their artistic concepts for a storefront library in Tremé, the city's oldest African American neighborhood. Students may soon take advantage of a new master's degree in architecture, which gets them closer to licensure. The designs are by Hannah Hobbs (top left), Michael Gross (above left), and Christopher Gaddy.]