Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles that will break down students’ favorite things about each college on the Syracuse University campus.

Syracuse University’s School of Architecture was ranked 5th in the nation by DesignIntelligence this year and has been in the top 10 each year since 2004. The rigorous five-year undergraduate program produces some of the best and brightest architects in the world. But it’s easy to see the rankings and statistics and overlook what is most important: the students and the experience. So what do SU’s future architects think about the School of Architecture?

Favorite Class

Every student surveyed called Architectural Design, what architecture kids call “studio,” their favorite class. If you know an architecture student, you know that’s where they always are.

Juliet Domine, a sophomore architecture student, said it is the most real-life part of the entire school, “where we actually design and are given challenges that we have to solve through our designs.”

Olivia Humphrey, a sophomore, added that studio is unlike any other class she has taken at SU or in high school because it “allows for a lot of creative freedom combined with problem solving within given parameters.”

Favorite Professor

Sophomore architecture student T.J. Attanasio said Kyle Miller is his favorite professor because he enjoyed the atmosphere Miller created within Attanasio’s studio class during the spring of his freshman year.

Humphrey said Professor Joseph Godlewski laid the groundwork for her time at Syracuse Architecture, adding that Godlewski “taught us the basics about how to discuss architecture in a clear and concise way as well as the theory behind the way architects think.”

Domine said she likes Professor Benjamin Farnsworth because of his alternative outlook on architecture.

“He went to SciArch where they do experimental work,” she said. “What he’s teaching us are alternative ways to solve design problems,” she explained.

Favorite Study Spot

While most students surveyed seem to enjoy getting out of Slocum Hall as often as possible, Humphrey said she likes to study at her studio desk.

“It’s a magical place,” she said.

Ross Hanson, a sophomore, said he finds it nice to get away from Slocum. But, if one must stay in the building, he called the Slocum Library a great spot for some peace and quiet.

Domine added that she doesn’t even entertain the notion of finding a study spot in Slocum. She said she likes to study away from the school because it’s much less stressful to do work by herself or with friends not in the School of Architecture.

The Best Part

Domine, Humphrey and Attanasio all referenced the “studio culture” created by the School of Architecture the best part of going to school there.

“Each semester you are in a different studio with new people and those people become a support system throughout the semester,” Domine said. “They are the people who understand the specific assignments with your individual professor and understand all the same problems that you’re experiencing along the way through that project.”

Attanasio and Humphrey enjoy the collaborative atmosphere and the close knit community that studio creates within the classes. Attanasio said she likes how students will help others to get projects done.

The people are Hanson’s favorite part of being an architecture student.

“We are all a family and if I ever needed help or just someone to talk to, I have all of my architecture buds,” he said. “The group dynamics of this school are amazing.”

 

Correction: In a previous version of the article Olivia Humphrey’s class standing was misstated. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on October 5, 2015 at 8:05 pm

Contact: mpmoor02@syr.edu