Architecture is a synthesis of art and science, and emerges from inseparable aspects of the heart and mind. The study of architecture demands a cultivated sensitivity.

The Faculty of the School of Architecture shares an optimistic view of the future and recognizes its unpredictability. Through the exploration, discovery, and evaluation of the interactive relationships between architecture and the evolving systems of society and its institutions, it is recognized that change is inherent in the creative work of architectural design.

In the process of design, ritualization of the private and public domains, the ideal and circumstantial conditions of culture, program, site, and technology are explored and celebrated. In pursuit of this aim, the School of Architecture has intellectual, ethical, and professional intentions.

The intellectual intention empowers students as they prepare for a life of learning and practice. In architecture, practice must be accompanied by an ability to think in order to justify action. To this end, the choices made in the design process are based on the integration of rational and intuitive principles which determine judgment.

The ethical intention instills individual and public values through academic achievement and community involvement. Students, faculty, and the profession strive to reach the highest standards in the creation of architecture, and in the conservation of cultural heritage.

The professional intention upholds the unity of design, and the shared responsibility of the allied professions and society at large in the commitment to responsible citizenship and improved quality of the built environment.

Program Mission

The School of Architecture is an institution of shared learning, an operative organization within the "laboratory" of the City of Fort Lauderdale, South Florida, and the Florida-Caribbean and Latin American regions. Through projects and programs that are interdisciplinary and internationally relevant, students and faculty have the opportunity to work cooperatively with communities, allied professionals, artists, builders, developers, manufacturers, and governmental agencies. This participation extends into the pedagogical objectives of the College for Design and Social Inquiry to which the School of Architecture belongs, and the University itself which emphasizes the concept of "learning by doing."

The School of Architecture prepares students for the profession and practice of architecture. By developing an understanding of the design process as it embraces the interrelated and interdependent processes of construction, planning, and governance, the students will have broadened capacity and readiness to recognize their societal responsibilities in improving the quality of our physical environment, and with it, our quality of life.

Educational Mission

To develop an educational program of excellence in architecture that builds upon a pre-professional Associate's degree from the State's community college system, and culminates in a first professional degree.

The faculty intends to educate architecture students as leaders of the future by:

1. Exploring the role of design in the full range of scales of human habitation including but not limited to buildings, cities, and open areas.
2. Researching, documenting, and advocating for the values of a diverse local cultural heritage, and enriching the global community with this experience.
3. Educating beyond the School, and establishing itself as a learning center for area professionals in concert with the Open University and Continuing Education Department of Florida Atlantic University.
4. Inspiring excellence in the work of students and faculty by nurturing an intellectual ambience of mutual respect, trust, and tolerance.
5. Developing and assembling a range of cognitive and physical tools and methods to further broaden the boundaries of the discipline of architecture.

The faculty is building a model curriculum that prepares students to base architectural decisions on ethical principles, and to think and work creatively as professionals within the context of a diverse and changing society. The faculty realizes that to deliver such an education in three years at the undergraduate level requires continual assessment, evaluation, and refinement of the curriculum.

Center for the Conservation of Architectural and Cultural Heritage (CCACH)

Director: Ralph B. Johnson, Professor of Architecture

The Center is a research and educational forum for academic and community interaction. The Center investigates aspects of cultural and historic preservation, and prepares or completes tasks related to the Community Studio (a studio or elective option). The Center organizes and facilitates projects with and for community, municipal, and academic entities. It is allied with the research centers of the College and the Anthony James Catanese Center for Urban & Environmental Solutions.