Archinect - News

University of Minnesota Launches New Degree: High School to Licensed Architect in Seven Years

2013-01-19T17:55:00-05:00

"Anything we can do to expedite the speed with which people can get licensed is a good thing," says David Cronrath, AIA, Dean of the University of Maryland's School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. "What Renee [Cheng, Professor and Head of the University of Minnesota's School of Architecture,] has done is establish a roadmap which a lot of people can follow. And, I think, of course they will."

Starting this spring, the School of Architecture, at the University of Minnesota's College of Design, will offer a new concentration in research practices within their master of science in architecture degree (MS-RP) for students starting the fall of 2013. The program aims at halving the amount of time from high school to licensure for architects--from an average of 14.5 years to 7.

By offering this model, the School of Architecture nudges the profession toward true culture change, one that expects all students to be licensed upon graduation, regardless of their final career choices. It also takes advantage of recent changes to the National Council of Architectural Registration Board's Intern Development Program and Architect Registration Examination, and leverages the historically strong connection between practice and academy in the Minneapolis/St Paul community.

Architect Magazine is out this January with a piece featuring the MS-RP degree. The article details the wo...

Editor's Picks #270

2012-06-25T00:49:00-04:00

Günther Domenig passed away on June 15, 2012. Wolf D Prix, design principal at Coop Himmelb(l)au, released the following statement "I insist that Günther Domenig was one of the most important Austrian architects. Important in terms of being weighty. Meanwhile our own tammuz felt "his steinhous is an beautiful and seminal poem of architecture"

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Günther Domenig passed away on June 15, 2012. Wolf D Prix, design principal at Coop Himmelb(l)au, released the following statement "I insist that Günther Domenig was one of the most important Austrian architects. Important in terms of being weighty. In my opinion the former Z-Bank branch in the Favoritenstraße in Vienna was one of his best buildings. Long before the convoluted computer architects started using parametric tools to give their lame design a boost, Domenig had not only designed the first threedimensional facade, but actually built it, too."

Meanwhile our own tammuz felt "his steinhous is an beautiful and seminal poem of architecture" and Dimitri Kim wrote "Finally, an english speaking journal covered the late great Gunther's death. He's work was radical beyond he's time, beyond he's predecessors (Coop Himmelblau, Zaha hadid, EOM, and etc), and clearly beyond mainstream fabric of contemporary architecture."

The NYT Commercial section published a 30-Minute int...

Editor's Picks #237

2011-11-13T16:13:32-05:00

Richard.Rozewski, discusses a microtecture solution being developed by a friend Patrick of APOC. Stephanie however contends “ the idea that this will promote sustainable living is patently false...the construction, however small, of individual buildings for individual people, will always inherently mean the opposite of 'sustainable' ” To which holz.box responded “false false false. microtecture can be very sustainable”.

In Archinect’s latest In Focus feature we talk to British photo artist Simon Gardiner. Simon is a “street photographer who fuses the street with a cinematic feel”.

Guy Horton, in part two of the What Should Architecture Occupy series, argues that what architecture needs is “more consumers not less”, consumers who can afford to purchase architecture. Guy goes on to suggest that the AIA should be less concerned with supporting policies which “protect the narrow interests of wealthy clients” and instead align themselves with the OWS movement since both “should be on the same side of the economic argument. After all, architects are famous for making utopian proposals. Then how about making a utopian proposal rooted in sound economic principals that will foster long-term growth and lead to greater economic stability?”

On a related note check out Reinhold Martin’s Occupy: What Architecture Can Do over at Places journal, in which he writes “Architecture is capable of mounting a prof...

Will there be a lost generation of architects?

2011-10-18T20:28:19-04:00

Changes to the ARE, according to NCARB, were meant to make the exam more flexible, and to unify it across jurisdictions, making it easier to get reciprocal licenses. But Tulane’s Kinnard says that those changes have had unintended consequences: “A careful analysis of the system we have in place today suggests that the regulatory bodies, with all the best intentions, have designed a system that could not be more complex.”

Elizabeth Dickinson is on the case of the 50 year old intern... Her essay questions the long term effects of more and more "young" architects deciding to not pursue licensing. Should we care about a decline in registered professionals? , What would this mean for the long term prospects of the profession? The piece opens with thoughts regarding the value of licensing and the tension between pursuing licensure and other forms of professional development, from sevensixfive aka Fred Scharmen.