SPSU Architecture Program

Vision

Building on its strong history of excellence, the Architecture Program at SPSU continues to create an environment supportive of collaborative and multi-interdisciplinary hands-on approach to learning, creativity, scholarship, application, and engagement. We believe that these components are integral to a strong educational foundation, the creation of an environment that fosters our student's drive to achieve excellence and to contribute to their profession and their communities, and which encourages a greater appreciation of architecture and good design.

Mission

The Architecture Department at SPSU attracts and retains a strong faculty committed to professional excellence and recruits and supports qualified students who desire to learn, achieve and excel in their field. The mission of the Architecture Program is to be a prominent leader in architectural education at the national and international levels. It fulfills this mission via a strong commitment to:

• Creating and continuously improving a multidisciplinary curriculum that nurtures critical thinking; embraces new technologies and encourages creativity and innovation through the integration of the theory, art, technology and science of the built environment.

• Applied learning methods that emphasize hands-on exploration designed to provide the student with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to be productive, contributing leaders in the architectural profession and civic community.

• Encouraging outreach programs designed to maintain vital connections with the architectural community, improve effective communication, support continued professional development and build future leaders of the profession.

• Advocating an appreciation of good design and the benefits of responsible architecture through the education of its students and the civic community.

Values

In addition to the core values identified in the strategic plans of SPSU and the School of Architecture, Civil Engineering Technology and Construction, the Architecture Department holds the following core values as important:|

Professionalism: The Architecture Department values its strong relationship with the professional community and the active role its members play in the Architecture Program, as colleagues with its faculty, participating on design juries and the advisory committee, and serving as mentors and role models to its students as they strive to develop design expertise, aesthetic competency and sound contextual responses in their work. We believe that this serves to strengthen our pursuit of the Program’s goal to develop and nurture a culture of professionalism and a strong sense of ethics within the program and the profession.

Balancing theory and practice: The Architecture Department places great value on balancing theory and practice in its curriculum. We believe that an emphasis on applied learning and hands- on experience combined with theoretical exploration contributes to higher design standards that are evidenced in the quality and technical prowess of our student projects, the challenging studio and community projects we pursue, and the intellectual dialogues that our students and faculty engage in. We believe that this contributes to our student’s proficiency and preparedness in addressing issues of professionalism, a commitment to improve the man-made environment, an awareness of environmental issues and sustainability, urbanism, etc.

Diversity: The Architecture Department values diversity in its student body, faculty, supportive interdisciplinary climate, commitment to teamwork, and learning environment. We believe that this encourages collaboration and strong professional relationships among student, faculty, alumni and professionals and strengthens our commitment to encouraging critical thinking, creativity and innovation.

NAAB 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) is the sole agency authorized to accredit Professional Programs in Architecture in the U.S. The Board recognizes two types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture. A program may be granted a five-year, three-year or two-year term of accreditation, depending on its degree of conformance with established educational standards by NAAB.

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

Architecture Program at SPSU is a 5-Year Program fully accredited by the NAAB (The National Architectural Accreditation Board) since 1990 (link) explains the accreditation policy:

Architecture Program Facilities

Building N: Professional Program
The Architecture Building was designed by Heery International to express the nature of architecture and the technology of its construction through the integration of materials, the structural system, plumbing, electrical conduit, space, light and color. As a result, the whole building offers a unique spatial experience for which Heery International received a Design Excellence Award. The facility is comprised of 103,000 square feet of classrooms, galleries, studios, labs and a shop and has more than doubled the space of the previous architecture building allowing enrollment to expand to over 400 students. This new building with its cubical style studio layout offers students an experience that closely resembles a true working environment and fosters professional pride within graduates.

Building I: Design Factory
Given, the exponential growth in the Architecture Program, Design Foundation Program has found their new home in Building I which originally served the Architectural Engineering Technology Program and then Architecture Program for more than twenty years. A fully rehab architectural spaces fully illuminated with natural light, nested in rolling landscapes offer a unique working atmosphere for our promising architects. Building I is known among students as Design Factory.

A new addition to the Design Factory is soon expected and to be completed in 2008 to fully accommodate First and Second Years with a possibility to introduce a new Program in Bachelors in Architecture Science.

Visting SPSU

We want you to come visit us! Come discover the rich, exciting world that awaits you at SPSU. Whether it is through our virtual tour, Open House, or private visit, we look forward to seeing you soon.

Directions

From I-75 North, take exit 263 (Southern Poly/Roswell). Follow the ramp towards Southern Poly. Merge onto South Marietta Parkway. Go through three traffic lights. Take the East Main Entrance on the left which leads onto campus.

From I-75 South, take exit 263 (Southern Poly/South Marietta Parkway). Turn right at the traffic light onto South Marietta Parkway. Go through two traffic lights. Take the East Main Entrance on the left which leads onto campus.

From I-85 North, take I-285 West to I-75 North (Chattanooga/Marietta) and follow the directions for I-75 North.

From I-85 South, take I-285 West to I-75 North (Chattanooga/Marietta) and follow directions for I-75 North.

From I-20 East, take I-285 North to I-75 North (Chattanooga/Marietta) and follow directions for I-75 North.

From I-20 West, take I-75N/I-85N Connector to I-75 North (Chattanooga/Marietta) and follow directions for I-75 North.

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