Chair’s Message

Welcome to the Department of Architecture at Florida International University.

At FIU, architecture is an academic pursuit that involves learning by making and by experiencing the tangible realities of a building. The Architecture department is dedicated to educating future generations of ethical professionals, creative designers, and informed citizens. Our faculty comprises award-winning practitioners, distinguished researchers, and noted scholars. The department offers two degrees: The Master of Architecture and the Doctor of Design.

The Master of Architecture (M. Arch) is accredited by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB). This degree program prepares our graduates to pursue the rewarding art of architecture and to contribute to architectural practice and profession, teaching, or further graduate study.

The Doctor of Design Program (DDes) is a low-residency program that focuses on three main areas of research: Advanced Design Technologies, Environmental Studies and History, Theory and Criticism. As a post-professional degree, the DDes provides specialized credentials for advanced professional and academic applied research.

The department embraces the extraordinary built and natural environment of Miami and South Florida. Located in the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture Building, students and faculty come together in a mini-campus of 5 adjoining structures, which include studio space, galleries, the Fabrication Lab, the Structures and Environment Technologies (SET) Lab, and the Robotics and Digital Fabrication Lab (RDF Lab).

The Department of Architecture offers an array of study abroad programs. Our summer study abroad programs have recently visited Tokyo, Berlin, and Barcelona. During the fall or spring semester, students can participate in FIU’s Genoa, Italy program.

I invite you to explore our programs and visit us.

Jason R. Chandler, FAIA
Chair & Associate Professor
Department of Architecture
chandler@fiu.edu

First adopted by faculty vote April 2007 then amended by the faculty in spring of 2016.

Mission

As part of FIU, a “top public research university,” the Architecture department is dedicated to educating future generations of ethical professionals, creative designers and informed citizens.

Vision

We believe architecture to be a conceptually based intellectual endeavor and a form of critical inquiry that addresses the built and natural environments from the scale of the city to the scale of the detail. The department is committed to producing conceptual thinkers and skilled makers who are versed in the techniques and knowledge of the discipline and who are cognizant of: critical theory, history, science and progressive social values. To realize these objectives, design is taught as a critical, speculative and creative endeavor embracing both the humanities and the sciences.

To achieve our mission and vision, our decisions and actions are informed by the following seven core values and beliefs:

Diversity

Serving a diverse student body with a variety of academic backgrounds, experiences and interests by creating an open atmosphere of inquiry and exchange that engages the varied cultural and academic experiences of faculty and students.

Design as Critical Thinking

Presenting architecture as a reflective and conceptually based discipline. We encourage students to form thoughtful and imaginative solutions to the challenges confronting urban society here and abroad and to cultivate intellectual curiosity and life-long learning.

Education of the Professional

The department educates professionals. Students learn the disciplinary norms of knowledge and skills necessary to take leadership roles in a changing profession.

Commitment to Innovation

Celebrating the power of innovation and experimentation and our discipline’s commitment to imagine and construct beautiful, healthful and responsible environments.

Appreciation for the Constructed and the Natural Environments

Fostering sensitivity and appreciation for the constructed and natural environments of South Florida and engaging our communities’ challenges. The Architecture department values the unique opportunities and challenges for creative exploration and problem-solving afforded by South Florida’s rich sub-tropical ecologies, urban contexts as well as multicultural and multilingual populace.

Culture of Connectivity

Promoting connections between the Department of Architecture and members of the design community in local, national and international, academic, professional and lay contexts. In particular, we seek to engage our colleagues in the college and the school, local practitioners in design education and to develop cooperative links with schools of design in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Ethos of Trans-Disciplinary

Engaging adjacent disciplines within the School of Architecture to create an atmosphere of trans-disciplinary cooperation in order to collaboratively address the complex spatial, economic, social and environmental challenges of contemporary practice.