Pursuing an architecture education is no easy feat, and with the events that took place in 2020 and 2021, there were plenty of obstacles that could dampen the goals of students around the world. Nevertheless, architecture schools learned as much as they could in 2020 to help students and faculty adapt and persevere.
While 2021 proved to be another year filled with challenges for the architecture industry, architectural academia also experienced its fair share of events. From the announcement of architecture deans leaving to new academic leaders emerging, we must not forget the students and architecture fellows who continued to work hard and keep going.
This year, remote learning, virtual studio crits, and graduations were also met with some in-person learning through hybrid teaching approaches. However, despite the continued obstacles, undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students across the globe continued to learn, explore, and propel the future of architecture and design forward.
To celebrate student work in architectural academia showcased on Archinect in 2021, we have curated a list of notable projects, exhibitions, and student-driven research. We also included a selection of new and exciting architecture programs announced this year.
Archinect's Pinterest round-ups of student projects that inspired us
On top of our editorial-specific coverage of student projects and thesis work, the team at Archinect dedicated time to highlighting student projects shared by students with Archinect profiles. Curated and showcased in Archinect's "Student Work" Pinterest board, our very own Alexander Walter selected projects that inspired us throughout the year.
*Wanna be included in one of the next roundups? Simply upload your work as a Project post to your Archinect People or Firm profile, and with some luck, your work gets featured!
Archinect's 2021 Thesis Reviews
As part of Archinect's ongoing Thesis Review series, we connected with B.Arch and M.Arch graduates to learn more about their thesis projects. By connecting with these former students, we asked questions to learn their process, architectural perspectives, and their take on the industry as young designers. "2020/21 has been a challenging year for all architecture graduates. To support the class of 2021, this year's Thesis Review series aims to highlight the work of students during this unique time of remote learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic."
Now in its fifth edition, the CAB Student Ideas Competition, hosted by the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB), encouraged middle and high school students to explore design in their immediate built environment. The competition invited students to discover how "design can play a role in creating shared spaces and improving communities."
SCI-Arc’s Undergraduate Thesis Students Elucidate Their Final Projects
"Each year, Undergraduate Thesis at SCI-Arc prepares students to articulate, propose, and defend their ideas and positions on architecture as well as engage with professionals as peers and colleagues [...] SCI-Arc conducted an open discussion with its graduating undergraduate students to learn about their work and experiences during their final year. Together they reminisce and share how their time at the institution has provided them with an architectural outlook that has prepared them for what lies ahead."
This year's 2021 Norman Foster Travel Scholarship winner Weronika Zdziarska tackled questions of safety and urban design for women in her research proposal, "Don't Stay Out Alone: Addressing women's perception of safety and freedom in cities by design." During this special interview, Zdziarska explained the reason for her research and how it stemmed from conditioning "women around the world are all too familiar with when it comes to public spaces and cities. She dove into her own experiences and how this subject is a shared experience between other relatives, friends, and women in general."
Eight graduate students from RISD's Interior Architecture (RISD Int|AR) MA Adaptive Reuse program and MLA program developed a design proposal to improve transportation pathways for Rhode Island's iconic Pell Bridge. Their design proposal was accompanied by a special immersive exhibition.
As the official media sponsor for the AIA|LA and ACLA 2x8 Exhibition, Archinect closely followed this year's event preparation and opening day as California-based students and design teams presented their best work. Over the past 19 years, the 2x8 Exhibition has become "the foremost student-focused architecture exhibition and scholarship event in Los Angeles."
"For the Fall 2021 school term, the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design (HCAD) welcomed its students back to in-person learning [...] As the academic year comes to a close for the winter holiday, Archinect was invited to sit in on the Fall 2021 Super Review which took place virtually on December 9 to learn more about the pedagogy and studios at Hillier College." This special editorial coverage focused on the school's Master of Urban Design Studio and Bachelor of Architecture Option Studios, featuring presentations from seven studios.
Benjamin Vanmuysen Explores the Opposing Extremes of the Design Spectrum
In January 2021, an interview with Benjamin Vanmuysen, the 2019–2020 Harry der Boghosian Fellow at Syracuse University kicked off another year of Archinect's Fellow Fellows series. During these interviews, we connect with fellows from various institutions to learn about their research, fellowship experience, and insights. Fellow Fellows is about bringing attention and inquiry to academia's otherwise maddening pace while also offering a broad view of the exceptional and breakthrough work done by people navigating the early parts of their careers. During this interview, Vanmuysen shared with Archinect: "Perhaps most importantly, the fellowship gave me the time and resources to flesh out ideas and translate them into an installation, which will be my calling card for future opportunities."
Michael Jefferson Talks the Future of Fellowships and the Biases of AI Application in Architecture
In our February Fellow Fellows interview with Michael Jefferson, the 2019–2020 Innovation in Design Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he discussed his research and exhibition False Walls. Jefferson also shared his thoughts on the future of fellowship in its relationship to the changing academic environment related to the pandemic. "The 2019–2020 fellows (across the US) may end up as a sort of index of how things once were," he stated. "I imagine future fellows might (and should!) feel emboldened to challenge the brief including its expectations and deliverables if for no other reason than that they can change at any moment."
Fellow Fellows: Jennifer Meakins Interrogates Power Imbalances Within Architectural Pedagogy
During the month of August, we spoke with Jennifer Meakins, the 2020–2021 Schidlowski Emerging Faculty Fellow at Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design. During our interview, she discussed how her research focused on "architecture's role in upholding and furthering systems of inequity and injustice." She also discussed the current state of fellowships and provided insight into why she pursued a fellowship versus a full-time position at a firm.
In October, Archinect had a special opportunity to connect with Todd Brown, UT Austin's 2021–2023 Race and Gender in the Built Environment Fellow. "Brown dives into his eclectic academic background that combines a series of disciplines that are often seen as separate approaches intertwining later in practice." At the end of the interview, Brown expressed: "As more and more schools of architecture embrace the importance of prioritizing socioracial issues in architectural design and the production of built space, I hope that these themes become prevalent and normalized throughout their design curriculums."
Harvard GSD announces Loeb Fellowship class of 2022
The Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Loeb Fellowship announced its Class of 2022 in June. The ten individuals were selected from a group of 134 candidates and work across fields including activism, urbanism, public art, film and media, technology, and real estate development.
May welcomed the appointment of the 2021–2022 Wheelwright Prize winner and Harry der Boghosian Fellow
This year, architect and assistant professor (University of Miami School of Architecture) Germane Barnes and architectural designer Leen Katrib were awarded notable architecture fellowships. Barnes was awarded Harvard Graduate School of Design's Wheelwright Prize and Katrib was selected for the Harry der Boghosian Fellowship initiated by Syracuse University. These prestigious recognitions offer a chance for each individual to expand on their architectural work and research interests that both question and challenge architecture.
Five architecture students awarded the 2021 Kohn Pedersen Fox Traveling Fellowship
Continuing with Archinect's fellowship coverage, five architecture students from five different schools of architecture were selected for the Kohn Pedersen Fox Travel Fellowship. The program provides scholarship and fellowship opportunities for students to explore and expand their architectural experiences.
Exhibit Columbus' 2021 University Design Fellows Bring Architecture Research to Life in the Midwest
This year, Archinect and our sister site Bustler were the official media sponsors for the 2021 Exhibit Columbus Exhibition. Curated by architect Iker Gil and critic Mimi Zeiger, the third iteration of Exhibit Columbus expanded on a theme fit for the current social climate, New Middles. From March 2021 through November 2021, the city of Columbus, Indiana acted as a hub for the local community and those outside Columbus to learn how the city "continues to fuel new architecture, art, and design." (Words by Anne Surak, director of Exhibit Columbus.) This year's selected Design Fellows and curators discussed how their work "uses mapping as a tool/process to examine, reveal, and represent the world around us" while responding to the Exhibition's overall theme.
"Advocates of social and structural change within architecture and professional practice, the Architecture Lobby has announced the launch of a new online summer program that will address three themes: capitalism, labor, and collective practice. The Architecture Beyond Capitalism (ABC School), invites students, faculty, practitioners, and members of various publics in all parts of the world to 'interrogate the structures and systems of power.'"
The summer of 2021 opened up remote and hybrid summer programs for teens and individuals looking to explore a career in architecture. "UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's notable summer programs welcome individuals interested in exploring design and learning introductory skills in architecture in a new virtual format." The Teen ArchStudio and JumpStart programs are two new programs created for high school students and adults. To learn more about this year's programming, we spoke with its program director and UCLA faculty member Julia Koerner in a special interview.
The University of Arizona launches Indigenous Resilience Center, addressing environmental issues
"The University of Arizona is launching a new interdisciplinary center that will partner with Native American nations to work on projects that address environmental issues. Called the Indigenous Resilience Center, the program will be a partnership between Native nations and the university’s Arizona Institutes for Resilience, Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice, and multiple faculty members and academic programs that focus on supporting the resilience of Indigenous communities."
Woodbury School of Architecture to launch three new programs in Fall 2022
Woodbury School of Architecture announced three new degree programs set to launch in Fall 2022. According to the school, the upcoming programs will "complement Woodbury SoA's other degree programs — Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Practices, and Bachelor of Science in Design Computation."
Free 3D planning tool launched to help schools teach architecture
"Planner 5D, a digital design tool, has created a free educational version to help schools teach architecture and design. The tool, which allows users to generate 3D home designs, is offering its free educational licenses to 'encourage students to foster their creativity in a digital realm while learning design principles.' The tool is available to teachers worldwide, who can download up to 100 free educational licenses for use by students."
Be sure to follow Archinect's special End of the Year coverage by following the tag 2021 Year In Review to stay up to date.
If you're interested in fellowship opportunities for 2022, be sure to check out the Archinect Job Board for current listings. View all fellowship listings here.
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