Architecture at the Heart of Contemporary Culture, Says Heather Roberge
The UCLA has long been one of the United States' leading public universities, consistently ranking as one of the best public schools for higher education in the country. The Department of Architecture and Urban Design—offering one professional graduate program, a post professional program, and granting three additional academic degrees—is no exception. Their graduate program recently placed first among public institutions, sixth overall, by Design Intelligence’s 2018 annual survey on the top Architecture Graduate Programs. Department Chair Heather Roberge speaks about the importance of architecture in contemporary culture.
"Situated within the School of the Arts and Architecture, UCLA's A.UD is housed alongside programs in the visual arts, design, media arts, world arts and cultures, and dance, where it plays a vital role in the cultural and artistic life of the campus and the broader Los Angeles community. Last year, the Department underwent an administrative changing of the guards when Heather Roberge—who has been a member of the faculty since 2002—was appointed to the position of chair, taking over for Neil Denari. So what's next for the school? Archinect spoke with Roberge about how her time as a faculty member will inform her new position, how the department's positioning within the School of Arts and Architecture is reflected in its programming, and the school's role as a leading public university.
You have been teaching at the school since 2002. What insights from that teaching experience do you think will inform your role as Chair of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design?
One of the advantages of having taught at UCLA A.UD since 2002 is that I have helped establish several of our degree programs, giving me a breadth of experience with the curricula and opportunities of each program. In these various roles, I’ve tried to develop synergies between the programs to accelerate our collective research, support faculty interests, and generate student support. While I primarily teach design, I’ve taught at all levels of the professional curriculum from fabrication seminars to core design studios to year-long research studios. I’m interested in design pedagogy that responds to conceptual questions with innovative and articulate formal and technical solutions. This broad interest helps me choreograph the design sequence in relation to non-studio coursework.
At UCLA, the Department of Architecture and Urban Design is housed within the larger School of Arts and Architecture. How do you think this positioning plays into its programming?
Being a part of UCLA Arts and Architecture puts our department in close contact with other forms of creative cultural production. Our school is also home to UCLA’s public units— the Center for Art and Performance and the Hammer and Fowler Museums, making UCLA an attractor for an international community of talented artists, scholars and visitors and an exciting venue from which to engage audiences. This large, productive creative community locates us at the heart of contemporary culture."— Makenzie Goldberg, Apr. 3, 2018
This post is an excerpt, read the full article on the Archinect website.
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