At its core, an architecture school is a cultural institution. It is a place in which architecture culture is formed, shaping the lived environment and making it more accessible to different communities. Today, architecture faces a pivotal moment—which is also an opportunity—as it recognizes its impact on the world around us. An architecture school mobilizes the agency of ideas, asking questions of critical importance. These contemporary questions may be cultural, social, or environmental; together, they prompt the conceptual and intellectual curiosity that is the hallmark of an architecture education.
Founded in 1899, the Architecture Section at the Knowlton School occupies a distinct place in U.S. architectural education. A strong design culture and pioneering work with technology is the foundation of its educational mission—this has long informed its culture of making. Knowlton Architecture today seeks to have an impact, intertwining aesthetic explorations with questions of social and environmental importance. It is through this intersectional and entangled thinking—cultural production and society, climate and aesthetics—that students design for better and more inclusive futures.
Knowlton Hall is exceptional; it is a living laboratory where students learn to design architecture by observing the building that surrounds them. The design studios incorporate the latest technologies, and modern classrooms are where contemporary questions are discussed. Digital fabrication laboratories transform students’ ideas into reality. These facilities are the spaces in which students are empowered with the knowledge and skills to identify their path to improving the lived environment—whether as future architects, designers, researchers, or entrepreneurs.
Understanding issues from multiple perspectives is essential to an education in architecture. Allowing more voices into design conversations ensures that architecture is for the many and a cultural and social practice with an inextricable engagement with the environment. To be a part of Knowlton’s architecture community involves optimism, in daily conversations about design’s capacity to impact lived experiences. This includes conversations with experts from other disciplines. The Architecture Section provides opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with the Landscape Architecture and City and Regional Planning Sections, as well as with disciplines outside of the school, from engineering to the arts and social sciences.
