Mission - Architecture Program
“Speak to the Past and It Shall Teach Thee”
—stone inscription on the John Carter Brown Library
The mission of the Architecture Program is to engage the millennia of classic traditions from ancient Egypt and the Middle East to the present through research and emulation. We adhere to the Incarnational view of history and thus believe that a regeneration—a renaissance—of the 'Imago Dei' unceasingly beckons to human beings to build anew. Students learn to avail themselves of the classical canon of time-tested methods and principles to be open to real discoveries of new beauties in the design of all types of buildings. The Christian fostering of the transcendentals of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful underpins our classical approach so that students embrace the awesome responsibility of designing for the human person: body, mind, and soul. Our process prepares students to continue in formal studies at the graduate level or to enter the profession (or related fields) as an intern or designer.
Program outcomes:
- Graduates will be able to read, comprehend, and explain classical facades and buildings.
- Graduates will be able to design and render a public, monumental, classical facade and building, including plans, sections, elevations, perspectives, and detail drawings.
- Graduates will have a comprehensive understanding of classical architecture from its archaic roots to its modern expressions, as well as defend its timeless applications.
- Graduates will be able to use the history, theories, and canons of classical architecture to engage with diverse cultures in both domestic and international applications of the study of the art of building.
- Graduates will understand the basics of many types of construction, including assemblies of foundation, wall, and roof systems, as well as traditional and contemporary building materials.
- Graduates will understand the basics of designing for ideal building performance.
