The history of architecture is much more than a history of styles, materials, and constructions. It also explores social, cultural, and political realities, and it asks questions of gender and ethnicity. Foremost, however, it is the history of humanity’s interaction with the environment which is the focus of the emphasis Architecture & Environment. Whenever and wherever architects, engineers, and planners design and erect houses, places of business, office and industrial buildings, neighborhoods, and entire towns and cities, they interact with the physical environment. Architecture often stands at the center of public regard and debate, especially when at stake are such issues as urban growth, preservation of the countryside, revitalization of inner cities, the future of historic districts, sustainable living, and the provision of affordable housing.

The Architecture & Environment emphasis allows one to explore how human beings have positioned themselves spatially in relation to the environment at various cultural and historical moments. With six architectural historians among its faculty — one of the largest concentrations in any university on the West Coast — and a wide range of courses incorporating architecture, the department offers a wealth of expertise that comprises major historical periods from ancient to contemporary, as well as many geographical areas and different cultures.

The Architecture & Environment emphasis offers the student a unique way to study architecture in both its historic and contemporary circumstances. It promotes the analysis of conceptual, artistic and cultural ideas that determine architectural design; as well as the mastery of critiquing the manifold influences architecture has on the environment, including the aesthetic, cultural, social, and ecological. The emphasis focuses on architecture as a cultural force that gives concrete material form and appearance to public and private spaces, to the relationship between the man-made and the natural environment, as well as to the self-expression and self-perception of a given society in its environment.

The Architecture & Environment emphasis is structured around three core areas: architecture, urbanism, and cultural landscape. Three primary paths of inquiry are pursued: production of space; environmental aesthetics; as well as design, conservation, and preservation analysis. A distinct feature of the emphasis is the weight placed on interdisciplinary approaches, in which the student takes elective courses that touch significantly on the study of historic and contemporary architecture in its wider setting. Such courses are offered by the participating departments of Anthropology, Art, Classics, Environmental Studies, Film and Media studies, Geography, History, Religious Studies and Sociology. As the emphasis is a specialization within the art history major offered by the Department of Art History and Architecture, students receive a firm grounding in subject-specific knowledge, historical and theoretical methodologies, as well as visual and spatial analysis. Students will also be trained as competent participants wherever historic and contemporary architecture is debated.

The Architecture & Environment emphasis prepares students to pursue graduate studies in the History of Architecture, the History of Art, Public History, Historic Preservation, Environmental History, and Architecture. Employment opportunities will also be found in museums, galleries, public relations, journalism, and numerous other areas. For further information, including professional studies in architecture please look at the career section of this website.