The Department of Architecture faculty generate scholarship — creative work and research— in a wide variety of areas and topics that include historical, technical, cultural, artistic and professional.

 

Areas of expertise include:

 

Architectural Design

Building Sciences, Technology and Fabrication

Community Engagement

History and Theory, Cultural Studies/Humanities, and Social Sciences

Allied Design Fields

 

Many of these scholarly activities come under the following broad categories:

 

Studios and classes are interactive and participatory environments, often based on collaborative approaches. From teaching beginning of design principles to graduating design projects, our faculty explore ideas and methods of design as process, critical thinking, creativity and communication.

Built and natural systems interact in very complex ways that have emergent and unexpected outcomes. In particular, the Gulf region presents a unique set of circumstances in which to understand these interactions as they play out now and in the future.

New ideas about materials and their use in structures push the boundaries of design possibilities. In particular, these ideas are realized in small to large design and build projects using state-of-the-art facilities and tested to better understand their potential and the limits to their use.

Public lectures and events, design consulting and speculative or built work for diverse sectors of society is part of the designer’s ethical responsibility and service. Sometimes this work requires understanding complex scenarios and operating in environments of limited resources.