John Victory | Banner Architecture students work on projects in their new designated studios. With spaces dedicated for students to work on class assignments and projects, the architecture studios also provide areas for students to enjoy as a “home away from home.”
Located at the new Health Science Campus on Monroe Street, the new architecture studio is designed for architecture students to have the real feel and convenience of the architecture world.
“Studios are a really important part of the culture of architectural education because studio education is very different than classroom education,” said Mark Roberson, dean of the College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design, and professor of architecture. “One of the things that is not only traditional but required by the accreditation body for architects is that a student get a space that is theirs 24/7.”
Architecture students are able to use the space they have not only for architecture purposes, but also for personal purposes. Some students would even describe this new space as a “home.”
“You can get all your work out, leave it there and work on it anytime,” Roberson said. “You could put up pictures of your girlfriend or your dog. It becomes your little home away from home.”
Roberson said students have the added benefit of collaborating with and learning from one another through the introduction of the new studio.
“There are the social advantages of learning from the other students in the class and really forming a community with these other people in the room because you’re there all the time,” Roberson said.
For the students this year, the new architecture studio has become a place where they can not only feel like students, but also have the feeling of what it is like to have space to call their own.
“It is a place of my own, almost like an office that I can just go to and do my work without being interrupted,” said Alex Gordon, sophomore architecture major.
Roberson summed up the architecture studio as a space for the students to work together because there is a great deal of collaboration involved in architecture.
“It has to be done in cooperation and in collaboration, so learning in an environment like a studio where it is all very collaborative prepares you for how the world really works,” Roberson said.
The addition of the studio is something both new and exciting to some students majoring in architecture and aids the process of learning with the added convenience.
“I’m obviously excited to have our own space because last year we had to drag all of our stuff across campus every single day we had class, so it is nice to just have it all there and not have to bring it back and forth,” said Kaylan Cummins, sophomore architecture major.
The addition of wall space and shelving provides the students with more space to display their work and projects that they are working on over the course of the year.
Thee new lab will also feature more desk space so that students who are using the space are able to do their work comfortably without disturbing their fellow classmates.
Cummins said she is also excited about having space on the wall for students to hang up some of their projects so
that over time, they are able to see the drawings and the sketches included in the process and can be inspired.
