College of Architecture

Other Information About the College

Office of the Dean	713-743-2400
General College Information	713-743-2400
William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library	713-743-2340
Internet Address: http://www.arch.uh.edu/

Dean: Joe Mashburn, B.Arch., University of Houston; M.Arch., Texas A&M University

Associate Dean: Lannis Kirkland, B.Arch., Auburn University; M.Arch., Rice University

Director of Graduate Studies: Thomas Colbert, B.A., Arch., Princeton University; Dipl. Arch., Cambridge University

Assistant Dean: Trang Phan, B.A., M.E.D., University of Houston

Business Administrator: Mary Benham

From the design of furniture and small buildings to cities, design exerts a lasting influence on the way we live. The way we interact with our world is at the heart of design, and design is consequential to our daily lives. The study of architecture and industrial design at the University of Houston is focused on design as the fundamental, essential activity of our discipline.

We seek applicants to our programs who possess mechanical inventiveness, aesthetic awareness, creativity, commitment, and initiative, qualities contributing to their potential to become leaders in architecture and design. We strive to produce graduates who question deeply and are skilled in their craft, who can utilize advanced technology and advanced methods of industrialized production, who understand and respect the power of design to shape our lives, and who are equipped to use their design skills to be effective in the world.

As a public college of architecture located in a major U.S. urban setting, we are able to take advantage of the numerous cultural, professional and industrial resources of the fourth largest American city. With its unique form and vitality, Houston provides an exceptional laboratory for exploring problems and potentials of contemporary society.

Architectural Accreditation

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted a 6-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards.

Master's degree programs may consist of a preprofessional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the preprofessional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture degrees are accredited by National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library

The Architecture and Art Library, located within the college, affords easy access to a collection of more than 89,000 books and periodical volumes in the fields of architecture, industrial design, and art. The library's online catalog provides access to the collection of the Architecture and Art Library as well as the holdings of the campus and system libraries. The Architecture and Art Library Special Collections include the personal libraries of architects John F. Staub and Kenneth Franzheim, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

Resource Areas

The College of Architecture offers many opportunities for students to be involved in classes and research programs which are of special significance to the community and the design professions. These activities are found within the resource areas of the college and include:

The Resource for Historic Preservation and Adaptive Use
focuses on the study of historic preservation and adaptive use as a means to effect positive change within urban settings. The unit undertakes projects in partnership with numerous neighborhoods and organizations in fulfillment of its mission.
The Computer Design Laboratory,
established in 1983, extends its mission beyond teaching computer literacy to include academic research and practical investigation of the computer as a design tool, with emphasis placed on modeling, visualization, and animation using both Macintosh and MS DOS platforms.
The Sasakawa International Center for Space
Architecture
is an endowed center with a focus on re-search and design studies for life in outer space and investigations into design for other extraordinary habitats such as Antarctica. Projects are frequently undertaken with NASA and the aerospace industry.

Foreign Studies

The Mexico Program
is a summer program in Mexico which seeks to introduce students to preservation architecture theory, history, and application in an international setting. Students complete exercises in field recording of structures and their context, using examples of significant historic merit in Mexico.
The Barcelona Internships
sponsor upper-level students in six-month internships with one of two internationally recognized architectural firms in Barcelona, Spain: Fundacion Oscar Tusquets Blanca or Benedetta Tagliabue Arquitectes.

Counseling

Students of all classifications benefit from counsel. However, counseling and enrollment (registration), although related, should not occur simultaneously. The college provides advisors for all students. Students should consult their advisors about matters relating to course sequences, selection of electives, academic course requirements, prerequisites, or any petition for deviation from the required curriculum in anticipation of future enrollment (registration). Appointments with a college advisor may be made with the receptionist in the dean's office.

Students entering the university and the college are required to participate in orientation as their first meeting with the college advisors before enrollment (registration). Advisors will discuss transfer credit, required curriculum, and educational objectives of the college and determine the courses for enrollment (registration).

Faculty

Professors:
Larry Bell, Elizabeth Bollinger, Richard Browne (Visiting Research), Joseph Colaco, Rafael Longoria, Joe Mashburn, John Perry, Shafik I. Rifaat, Bruce Webb, Peter Zweig

Associate Professors:
Leonard Bachman, Geoffrey Brune, Thomas Colbert, Tom Diehl, Stephen Fox (Adjunct), Dietmar Froehlich, Robert Griffin, Donna Kacmar, EunSook Kwon, Lewis May (Adjunct), Barry Moore (Adjunct), W. O. (Bill) Neuhaus, III (Adjunct), Patrick Peters, Ronnie Self, William F. Stern (Adjunct), Charles Tapley (Adjunct), John "Jack" Zellner (Visiting), John Zemanek

Assistant Professors:
Jeffrey Brown, (Visiting), "Duke" Fleshman (Adjunct), Lannis Kirkland, Nora Laos, Joseph "Mac" McManus (Adjunct), Robert L. Morris (Adjunct), Santiago Perez, Susan Rogers (Visiting), Michelangelo Sabatino, Rives Taylor (Adjunct), William Truitt (Visiting), Drexel Turner (Visiting), Andrew Vrana (Visiting), Adam Wells

Lecturers:
James Arnold, Travis Baldwin, Cord Bowen, Fernando Brave, Paul Brow, Robert Burrow, Sharon Chapman, John Clegg, Alejandro Colom, Scott Cutlip, Gary R. Eades, Carolyn Foug, Chan Q. Huynh, Stephen James, Jason Logan, Joe Meppelink, Peter Noldt, Benjamin Notzon, Luisa Orto, Paul Patel, William Price, Kevin Story, Gerald Tackett, James B. Thomas, David Tsai, Steven Umbach, Celeste Williams

Last updated:
Friday, August 20, 2008 - 5:30 PM