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Session 2306

INTEGRATING ENGINEERING, ART, AND BUSINESS INTO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM

Daniel Davis, AIA University of Hartford

Abstract

At the University of Hartford, we are establishing an architectural program that integrates art, engineering and business with architecture. Architecture by its very nature is connected to other disciplines, however architectural education is often criticized for a lack of integration in the curriculum. By increasing the awareness of the interrelationship between different areas of study, we are attempting to strike a new and more effective balance. Resonating throughout the curriculum are the benefits of having an architectural program at an independent, comprehensive university that can provide educational programs in the liberal arts and professional disciplines for undergraduate and graduate students.

Introduction

Developing our new Master of Architecture program and improving our existing Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering Technology program creates an opportunity to view the programs as an entity. Additionally, we can begin to understand the importance of having a single, universally understood mission that is evident in every component of the school’s programs. Educators and students alike must recognize that the curriculum which counts ultimately is one that changes perspective and is still apparent in the lives of students ten or twenty years later.

The Carnegie Report "Building Community: A New Future for Architecture Education and Practice" by Ernest Boyer and Lee Mitgang criticized architecture programs for lack of integration of the curriculum. At the University of Hartford’s Department of Architecture we have been challenged by this criticism and have developed our curriculum in response. The uniqueness of architectural education lies in its combination of theory and technology courses in the lecture/seminar format within the design studio.

The original mission of the architecture program was as follows: To prepare students for a variety of professional careers in the design and construction industries. We have decided to continue to embrace this goal but have expanded it to include the opportunity to take advantage of much more of what our state, city, community, university, program, curriculum, design studio, accreditation agencies, and department structure can provide.

The City

Hartford, Connecticut’s Capital City, is centrally located halfway between Boston and New York in the heart of New England. The city is rich in architectural heritage as well, with significant works by both modern (Richard Meier, I.M. Pei, Cesar Pelli, Robert Venturi, and Wallace K. Harrison) and historic (H.H. Richardson, A.J. Davis, Cass Gilbert, Ernest Flagg, Richard Upjohn, James Gamble Rogers, and Charles Bulfinch) architects. In additions, new buildings are being planned by Robert A.M. Stern and Frank Gehry.

The University of Hartford’s adjacency to the state’s capital and legislative bodies provides opportunities for contact and interaction with legislators and others concerned with the issues facing the design and construction industry. For example the State of Connecticut Licensing Board is located in Hartford.

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition © 2003 American Society for Engineering Education

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Davis, D. (2003, June), Integrating Engineering, Art, And Business Into A Multidisciplinary Architectural Program Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--11444