Architectural models
(Photos by Stephanie Mota)

Architecture school shows student projects

(Feb. 20, 2004)--The UTSA School of Architecture hosts a visit Feb. 21-25 by a four-person team from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and a local observer. The visit is part of the accreditation renewal process for the professional program in architecture, a "4-years + 2-years" program leading to a master of architecture degree.

At the UTSA Downtown Campus, the visiting team will review School of Architecture materials, tour the facilities and meet with administrators, faculty, staff, students, the School of Architecture Advisory Council, alumni and local professionals.

The team will determine whether the program meets the NAAB conditions for accreditation, including the 37 Student Performance Criteria, then write a report and forward recommendations to the NAAB board for a decision on the term of accreditation.

Following the NAAB team's departure, a display of student and faculty work will be open for public viewing in the Durango Building Southwest Room at the Downtown Campus. The display includes work from each of the six years of the program with a focus on student projects. Exhibit hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26 through Thursday, March 4.

To arrange an escorted tour of the exhibit, contact the UTSA School of Architecture at 210-458-3010.

"This exhibit represents a clear picture of the school's growth and evolution," said Julius Gribou, dean of the School of Architecture. "I am pleased by the quality of the work on display and hope that most of the practicing architects and design professionals, as well as any aspiring architects, will be able to visit the exhibit. I would also welcome any comments from the visitors."

The School of Architecture completed a move from the 1604 Campus to the Downtown Campus last summer, the second UTSA academic unit to locate completely downtown. The move is in keeping with the school's mission to equip students to be effective practitioners by using an urban setting for theoretical and practical study of San Antonio's architecture in an historic and contemporary context.

The three architecture degree programs (bachelor of science in architecture or interior design, and master of architecture) take advantage of the unique culture in South Texas and the borderlands of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

The school began as a program in 1979, offering a four-year, preprofessional bachelor of fine arts degree in art and design with a concentration in architecture. The B.F.A. became a bachelor of science in architecture degree in 1993, and the master of architecture degree program began in January 1996.

--Tim Brownlee