Archinect - AIAS UNM Chapter

Take Control of Your Curriculum

2017-05-23T11:49:41-04:00

Cameron Townsend, Graduate student

I was one of the youngest people in my undergraduate graduating class. I went directly into architecture school my first semester of college and never slowed down, averaging 18 credit hours a semester, and usually taking courses over the summer. I managed to get decent grades, but I always felt pressed for time. I couldn't help but feel that I could have done a better job on my schoolwork if I just had more time. Unfortunately, you cannot squeeze more hours into a day, but you can choose how to spend the hours that you do have.

I decided to take a different approach for my graduate degree. I took the traditional 2-year master's degree and spread it out over 3 years. By cramming fewer classes into a semester, I was able to focus more on the classes that I took. For me, this equated to the difference between just doing the work to get the grade and doing the work to fully learn and retain the material. Another big factor in this decision was landing a ...

100 Years of Modernism

2017-03-21T17:28:45-04:00

Every Spring semester UNM SA+P's newest, 200-Level students are assigned to research, draw, and build a defining residential project of the Modernist movement. However, this year was unlike any other: with the incoming class of nearly 75 students (as opposed to the usual 45), when it came to pin-up day UNM SA+P's "Crit Bridge" was bursting with 100 Years of Modernist houses. In chronological order, digital boards lined the pin boards as far as the eye could see accompanied by painstakingly small, detailed models of each project. From UNStudio's Mobius House to the Case Study #20 project of the 1950's, students managed to capture the monumental period in a physical space no bigger than a classroom. The condensed nature of the exhibition provided a new perspective of the architectural phenomena. Being able to see a century's worth of architecture in its entirety almost allows one to fully grasp the gravity of the Modernist movement... almost.

Check out a few of the fantastic Modernis...

AIAS at UNM SA+P!

2017-02-13T18:08:37-05:00

Rebecca Martinez, 300 Level student

Student chartered organizations on campus can be a great way to help boost your resume and learn responsibility, but it’s also a way to gain new experiences and learn how to work as a team -you might even make a few friends! However, balancing a full-time school load can already be demanding enough, especially when you’re studying Architecture which, as we students all know, essentially becomes a way of life… with a little college on the side. So you might be thinking, “Why should I bother with student chartered organizations when I could be dedicating all my time to my grades and my degree?” That’s why I’m here to tell you about my experience in the American Institute of Architecture Students.

When my peers ask me, “So, what can I get out of AIAS,” my response is to tell them, (like anything else) you get out of it what you put in. For most people however, they see AIAS as a gateway to AIA. And in general they would be right; if you make the right ...

An Architectural Landscape

2016-12-10T13:56:30-05:00

Shreya Bhaskare, 200 level student

The landscape of the Southwest is undeniably unique. Miles of visibility, sandy gold tones, violet-laced sunset mountains, and picturesque desert vegetation compose the surroundings of the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture and Planning. As a 200 Level, or second year student, I have gathered a great appreciation for the beauty of New Mexico through my education. Even after a year and a half of living in New Mexico, I am still inspired and amazed by its distinct landscape and its clear influence on the local architecture.

Since the landscape of New Mexico is artistically inspiring, it is appropriate that the focus of the second-year curriculum at UNM SA+P is to design architecture that integrates with the land. During the first semester of 200 Level (Studio 201), the mission is to study and understand the complexities of a natural setting, as opposed to an urban setting. For this year’s 201 project, we visited Bosque del Apache in mid-...

Welcome to the UNM SA+P family, Professor Ane Gonzalez Lara!

2016-11-20T22:29:56-05:00

AIAS UNM Graduate Liaison, Alex Rodriguez, interviews our newest faculty member, Ane Gonzalez Lara! Check out the interview on the UNM AIAS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10154083155061659&type=3

The Land of Enchantment

2016-11-20T21:35:08-05:00

Madie Wickstrom, 400 level student

As a 400 level student, a senior here at The University of New Mexico School of Architecture and Planning, it’s hard to resist the haze of nostalgia that has begun to waft over my last year. Moments of deja-vu and the realization that your studio family will part ways after graduation triggers a retrospective mindset, urging me to cherish every last moment of this life and family that have been mine for the past three years. I am able to realize the weight of my experience here, and how this state, this program, and these people have shaped who I am and what my life will be.

First impressions mean a lot in this profession, and the landscape of the Southwest does not disappoint. UNM SA+P is nestled within a world of dusty-rose tones of adobe and sandy desert landscapes that are reminiscent of a Georgia O’Keeffe painting -actually, they probably are an O’Keeffe painting. New Mexico, known as the Land of Enchantment, has been home and inspiration to man...