Architecture and education both require a profound commitment to a better future. But the future is a leap into the void, a belief in something out there ahead, impossible to predict with any certainty. As architects, we design buildings, landscapes and cities for a society whose ideas and technologies will inevitably change; as educators, we teach new generations of students who will practice in a world more global, more urban, more technologically complex, and more open to change. The only certainty is change itself, and our first obligation is to equip all students with the practical and intellectual tools necessary to invent new practices for the new century.
Architecture at Princeton has always been taught in this broad cultural context. Our design studios and technical courses are rigorous and demanding; they prepare our graduates to practice effectively in a competitive environment. A broad range of technology courses complement the design curriculum and promote innovation. Our history and theory curriculum, with its strong interdisciplinary ties, encourages the critical intelligence necessary to make sense of a changing world. Moreover, the School’s small size enables us to integrate design and theory as no other school can, taking advantage of the overlaps and intersections between studio work and a rich culture of research and intellectual speculation.
Architecture is a collective art-form, involving the expertise of many different fields. As a School, we promote imagination, inquiry and experimentation. The School is committed to a culture of collaboration involving architecture, urbanism, landscape technology and media. Architecture is constantly enriched by the traffic between theory and practice. We are committed to engage the world outside the academy. At Princeton, we are confident that our long history of a productive dialogue between academic research and practical design work will produce a new generation of architects prepared to transform our complex world in previously unimagined ways.
Stan Allen
Acting Dean of the School of Architecture
