NCARB Awards Over $50,000 to Two Architecture School Programs

November 7, 2014

Parsons The New School for Design and Clemson University Receive NCARB Award for Innovative Architecture Curricula that Integrate Education and Practice.

Philadelphia, PA—Architecture programs at Parsons The New School for Design and Clemson University have been selected as 2014 NCARB Award recipients for developing innovative curricula that merge practice and education. Earlier today, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) announced the recipients at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Administrators Conference.

The NCARB Award supports initiatives at architectural schools that will have a long-term impact on students, faculty, and curriculum. It is designed to help schools implement new programs that bridge the gap between practice and education in a classroom, seminar, or studio setting. 

The award honors innovative ways for weaving practice and academy together to address real-world architecture challenges,” said NCARB CEO Michael J. Armstrong. “The winning proposals for 2014 explore new paradigms of practice and move students from the theoretical to applied practices working with licensed practitioners.”

2014 NCARB Award Recipients

Program: Clemson University, School of Architecture—Clemson, SC
Proposal: “Graduate Program in Architecture + Health”
Total Award: $30,000

The mission of the project is to advance health care facility design through collaboration among architects, academia and members of the health care industry. The primary outcome will be to expose a cohort of architecture and health (A+H) Master of Architecture students—through three integrated courses within the A+H Curriculum—to the challenges of designing health care settings that support the delivery of high quality, cost effective, culturally relevant health care for medically underserved populations.

This project’s social capacity is far-reaching,” said Wendy Ornelas, FAIA, associate dean and professor at Kansas State University’s College of Architecture, Planning & Design, and the chair of the 2014 NCARB Award Jury. “It creates a road map for health care but is also a framework that is portable across all project types.”

About the Award Jury

The 2014 NCARB Award Jury rigorously and impartially evaluated proposals against a published set of criteria. The jury comprised architects and emerging professionals who volunteered extensive time and expertise to fulfill their charge. Led by Wendy Ornelas, FAIA, Manhattan, KS, chair of the 2013 NCARB Award Jury, members included: Michael Archer, Assoc. AIA, Brooklyn, NY; Leticia Canon, AIA, MBA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Dallas, TX; John Ehrig, FAIA, LEED AP, Orlando, FL; Linaea Floden, LEED AP BD+C, Tampa, FL; Emily Forquer, NCARB, Afton, IA; and Stephen Schreiber, FAIA, Amherst, MA.

Award Jury members with any connection or potential conflict of interest abstained from voting on that school’s proposal.

NCARB Commitment to Architectural Education

Since 2001, the Council has supported the integration of practice and education by awarding more than $900,000 to schools through the NCARB Prize (2001-2011) and the NCARB Award (2006-present; known as the NCARB Grant until 2012). These funds have reached 60 schools—representing more than a third of all NAAB-accredited degree programs.