University of New Mexico
School of Architecture + Planning, Department of Architecture
The mission of the architecture department is to critically investigate the architectural systems and social forces that define sustainable built environments both locally and globally, while honoring cultural identities through teaching, research and practice. Moving up in the rankings to #22, UNM's architecture program has a solid reputation for providing a quality education. Our experienced faculty offer personal attention and their research agendas include a variety of topics, including sustainable design, advance computational design methodologies and public interest design. UNM's tuition is substantially lower than peer schools, even compared to other public institutions. Also, out-of-state U.S. residents can petition for in-state residency status after the first year.
http://saap.unm.edu
Setting
New Mexico is a place of exquisite beauty and stark contrasts: the great houses of Chaco Canyon juxtaposed with the Very Large Array radio telescope; verdant strands of Bosque and farmland along the Rio Grande Valley abruptly shift to arid high desert. Albuquerque is situated at the foothills of the Sandia Wilderness Area, where one can go skiing in the winter, biking in three seasons and hiking year-round. The city provides endless opportunities to experience art, music, local food and natural beauty. Local resources include the restored Old Town district, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, a world class biological park, a zoo, a science center and museum of natural history. Situated on a high plateau (higher elevation than Denver), the city experiences four distinct seasons, and moderate weather. The architecture program is housed in the award-winning George Pearl Hall, designed by internationally renowned (and Albuquerque-based) architect Antoine Predock, a former UNM professor. In addition to the spacious, naturally-lit design studio spaces, the building has the latest design and fabrication tools, including various methods of digital fabrication and other modes of making. The newest addition is a metalworking shop. The nationally recognized design / build / evaluate project -- ecoMOD -- moved to UNM Architecture in 2014. Antoine Predock and his wife recented donated is former office to the school, which has been named the Antoine Predock Center for Design and Research, and will officially become part of the school in the Fall of 2018.
School Philosophy
Architecture is a cultural practice, and a challenging, ever-evolving career path. The importance of designing the built environment is increasingly relevant in today's world. Buildings impact our culture, our values, our social interactions, our daily activities, even our health. An architectural education is meaningful in the 21st century because the process of learning to design involves complex problem solving, critical thinking and visualization, much sought-after skills that can help society address important social, cultural and environmental challenges. At UNM we shape future design leaders. The rigorous design training you receive at UNM is already helping our graduates take on complex problems that are putting them in leadership positions. The majority of our UNM Architecture alumni have successful careers as licensed architects. However, we many of our alumni have also become real estate developers, artists, web designers, fabricators, community leaders, set designers, construction management professionals. UNM architecture students receive a lot of personal attention due to a low student / teacher ratio. Our faculty have advanced degrees from the top architecture schools in the country. Some are native New Mexicans who know the region well, and others come from all four corners of the U.S. and various countries abroad. Recent graduates have found employment in NYC, LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and other cities. Two recent graduates have been hired by two notable firms: SHoP Architects in NYC and Kieran Timberlake in Philadelphia.
Programs
The mission of the architecture program is to critically investigate the architectural systems and social forces that define sustainable built environments both locally and globally, while honoring cultural identities through teaching, research and practice. UNM's architecture program has a solid reputation for providing a quality education. Our experienced faculty offer personal attention and their research agendas include a variety of topics, including sustainable design, advance computational design methodologies and public interest design. UNM's tuition is substantially lower than peer schools, even compared to other public institutions. Also, out-of-state U.S. residents can petition for in-state residency status after the first year.
The University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning is the only professional school in the country that exists within both the state's flagship institution and is a Carnegie rated Category 1, High Intensive Research, Hispanic and Minority serving public university. The UNM School of Architecture + Planning [SA+P] exists in a place like no other. New Mexico is a place where the past informs the present and both simultaneously challenge the future. The School is located on Route 66 and near El Camino Real, the roads that opened the American continent. This place sought by artists for its light, by indigenous builders for its mud, this fragile land of high altitudes, little water, diverse cultures, and enormous extremes, creates a radical laboratory for design investigations and experimentation. The architecture (ARCH), community and regional planning (CRP) and landscape architecture (LA) students and faculty apply the most contemporary technology and teaching methods available to investigate and advance the quality of the urban and rural regional and global condition. SA+P boasts faculty that pioneered the integration of sustainability and cultural landscape studies into the traditional professional architectural, planning and landscape curricula. Nearly from its inception, SA+P faculty have dedicated their scholarship and attention to the quality of Albuquerque's neighborhoods as well as the state's economic development. These have been investigated in undergraduate and graduate studios and lectures, as well as applied, by graduate students and faculty in partnership with the state's public and nonprofit agencies. For over 40 years SA+P's Design Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) studio has been involved in everything from urban renewal to design-build. DPAC is the second oldest design center in the country. SA+P's undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (BAA), has three concentrations: Pre-Professional Architecture, Design Studies (a more flexible curriculum) and Pre-Professional Landscape Architecture. The professional architecture graduate, the Master of Architecture (M.Arch.), was re-accredited in 2018 by the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB). A non-professional Master of Science in Architecture degree has concentrations in Computational Ecologies and Public Health & the Built Environment. Other student interests may be pursued through the School's graduate certificates in Historic Preservation and Regionalism and Urban Innovation (focused on addressing complex issues in cities). Students can get involved in the School's Center for Research in Advanced Digital Fabrication (CRAFT), Resource Center for Raza Planning, or the Indigenous Design + Planning Institute. The SA+P maintains interdisciplinary relationships with the University ArtsLAB, the Interdisciplinary Film Digital Media, Water Resources and Sustainability Programs to name but a few. Our summer is generally dedicated to travel. Every summer, our students have the opportunity to travel to Latin America, Europe or Asia. Summer is also the time in which the Historic Preservation and Regionalism program holds its Summer Institute that includes fieldwork experiences with its courses. This is a dynamic School with deep ties to the professions it represents and the diverse people it serves.
of Focus
1. Art & Design
2. Community Design
3. Design/Build
4. Digital Design & Visualization
5. Sustainability & High Performance Build Enviroments
6. History | Theory | Criticism
7. Urbanism
8. Industry Collaborations
Opportunities
Co-Op / Work Placement
Cross-disciplinary experience
Teaching / Research assistantships
Online Courses
Summer Program
Study Abroad
Facilities
24 Hour Workshop
Large-format Printer
Laser Cutter
Woodshop
3D Printing
Metalshop
CNC Milling
Fabrication Lab
Policies
Transfer Policies
Transfer Students must submit the following to the office of the Undergraduate Advisor, George Pearl Hall Room 117, located at 2401 Central Avenue NE:
-Course descriptions for Architectural Graphics, Design Fundamentals, and Introduction to Architecture taken at institutions other than UNM.
-Transfer course evaluation from the Lobotrax Degree Audit. (This is available through LOBOWEB). The above items should be hand delivered or mailed to:
University of New Mexico
School of Architecture and Planning
Attn: Undergraduate Advisor
MSC 04-2530
2401 Central Avenue NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001
