ARCH_616 Degree Project

As the differences between architectural practice and architectural education diminish, it is important to recognize this situation as not just a challenge but an opportunity. The discipline of architecture must be understood as an arena where speculation and compromise with the real world are compatible, necessary parameters, rather than antagonistic forces prohibiting interaction.

For the Degree Project, each student spends one semester conceiving of a design proposal and their final semester implementing it. They work closely with select faculty experts to enhance their knowledge and embolden their future practices. First and foremost, the faculty want the students to be licensed to dare, to test, to inquire, and to propose.

Though these are individual initiatives, a common thread unites their intellectual efforts. Collectively, they represent a persistent operation to scrutinize, evaluate, and tackle pressing issues of the contemporary city. Our own location in Saint Louis has proved an exciting territory for this compendium of projects, fostering exploration at various scales and with multiple programs and users. It offers a clear opportunity for thoughtful analysis of place and condition.

As the culminating architectural studio, the Degree Project is a vivid, powerful statement of our deepest belief that architecture can, optimistically, make important contributions for a better world.