About the College

Contact Information

Who’s Who in the College of Architecture and Design

Dean: Patricia Belton Oliver, M.Arch., University of California, Los Angeles

Associate Deans: 

Dietmar Froehlich, Ph.D., University of Applied Arts Vienna

Trang A. Phan, Ph.D., University of Houston

Director of Undergraduate Architecture: Rafael Beneytez-Durán, Ph.D., Escuela Superior de Arquitectura de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSA-UPM)

Director of Interior Architecture: Sheryl Tucker de Vazquez, M.Arch., University of Texas at Austin

Co-Director of Industrial Design: Mark Kimbrough, Master of Industrial Design, North Carolina State University

Co-Director of Industrial Design: Jeff Feng

Director of Graduate Studies: Gail Peter Borden, Master of Architecture, Harvard University

Director of Business Operations: Nhu-Thuy Mai

Overview

Design reconciles conflicting visions and exploits all available technologies to shape and sustain a better world. Houston’s hot-humid environment, low-lying Gulf-Coast geography, and dispersed pattern of un-zoned metropolitan development presents designers with an extraordinary laboratory, full of challenges and opportunities. The proposals seeded in the vast urban sprawl of Houston are transmutable to cities around the globe.

The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design offers its students a platform of integrated disciplines - architecture, space architecture, interior architecture, and industrial design - from which to negotiate the complexities of contemporary practice in a world that is grappling with diminishing economic and natural
resources, the realities of post disaster re-construction, and, at the same time, continued, rapid urbanization. Faculty and students work together in a studio-centric curriculum, supported by a premier digital fabrication facility. Open studios seamlessly incorporate coursework into project-based learning through material investigations and applied research. At the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, making is not simply an action or a craft, but a form of critical thinking, calling forth innovative solutions for contemporary conditions. Our programs foster an environment where ideas find form, where practices that are socially equitable and fundamentally ecological establish a model from which to develop Houston’s future and to inform and shape design strategies globally.

We seek applicants to our programs that possess curiosity, commitment, initiative, creativity and a solid work ethic. We strive to graduate students who become reflective practitioners and leaders in their fields. The curriculum is designed to prepare our graduates for professional practice in architecture, industrial design or interior architecture, by equipping them with a depth of understanding of human needs and a command of a range of technologies that will enable them to shape their environments and the objects in them. We are keenly aware of our responsibilities toward our environment and our concentration on sustainable design has forged collaborative projects across the disciplines.

Architectural Accreditation

In the United States, most state registration boards require a degree from an accredited professional degree program as a prerequisite for licensure. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), which is the sole agency authorized to accredit U.S. professional degree programs in architecture, recognizes three types of degrees: the Bachelor of Architecture, the Master of Architecture, and the Doctor of Architecture. A program may be granted an 8-year, 3-year, or 2-year term of accreditation, depending on the extent of its conformance with established educational standards. Doctor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degree programs may consist of a pre-professional undergraduate degree and a professional graduate degree that, when earned sequentially, constitute an accredited professional education. However, the pre-professional degree is not, by itself, recognized as an accredited degree.

The University of Houston, Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design offers the following NAAB-accredited degree programs:

• B. Arch. (160 undergraduate credits)
• M Arch. (pre-professional degree)
• M Arch. (non-pre-professional degree)

Next accreditation visit for all programs: 2030

William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library

The Architecture and Art Library, located within the college, affords easy access to a collection of more than 89,000 books and periodical volumes in the fields of architecture, industrial design, and art. The library’s online catalog provides access to the collection of the Architecture and Art Library as well as the holdings of the campus and system libraries. The Architecture and Art Library Special Collections include the personal libraries of architects John F. Staub and Kenneth Franzheim, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

Resource Areas

The College of Architecture and Design offers many opportunities for students to be involved in classes and research programs which are of special significance to the community and the design professions. These activities are found within the resource areas of the college and include:

• The Burdette Keeland, Jr. Design Exploration Lab: A fabrication space for students at the University of Houston College of Architecture and Design. With over 50 total machines, the lab spaces are well equipped with the latest in woodworking, metalworking, and digital fabrication tools. Students who have attended safety orientations and instructional demonstrations have convenient access to important tools of their professions, providing them valuable experience in prototyping, fabrication, and model building as they compete in their discipline.
• The Architecture and Design Computer Lab offers a variety of programs on the windows platform allowing students to create drawings, BIM models, parametric models, and solid models. There are over 40 computers, an 11x17 scanner, a large format scanner, 2 printers, and 6 plotters to allow students to conceptualize and realize their creative designs.
• The William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library, located on the first floor of the College of Architecture building, houses a collection of approximately 125,000 books, journals, DVDs, and other research material.  Our collection also includes the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room, which contains treasures published in the 17th through 21st centuries.  Computing, scanning, copying, and printing services are also available.  Our staff at the Jenkins Library are experts in architectural and design research and enjoy assisting students, so please come in for materials, consultation, and study space. 

Learning Abroad Opportunities

• The Hines College offers students with a wide range of global studies and learning abroad opportunities, including UH faculty-led programs, bilateral exchange agreements that support faculty and student travel and study, and competitive travel fellowships.

Advising

The College of Architecture and Design’s Student Services Office is committed to our students and their success. Through the utilization and integration of college and university-wide resources, the college’s academic advisors partner with students, faculty, and university representatives across campus to challenge, empower, and support students to make informed and proactive decisions that will advance their academic, personal, and professional goals. Advising in the College of Architecture and Design is multi-faceted and dynamic. Our advisors are engaged with our students and remain informed about advising issues to develop best practices and initiatives that will address challenges and trends that affect our students.

Undergraduate students may make appointments through Navigate. Graduate students should contact Associate Dean Trang Phan by emailing tphan@central.uh.edu.