Architecture is one of those fields that wonderfully blends two things you normally wouldn't associate with each other: art and engineering. Everything from homes to entire cities need to be designed, and today things such as livability, ecology, transportation and costs must be kept in mind. Universities have been offering studies in Architecture at the master's level to maximize students' specializations in this field.
The Schools
In Canada, architectural schools can be found at Waterloo University, McGill University, and Dalhousie, just to name a few. Students in these programs are instructed in developing plans and determining the feasibility of construction projects, as well as zoning and sites. Course material will also challenge you in the type of critical studies that generally define a Master's program. To help you address the various issues facing architecture and urban design, you'll work closely with 3D modeling tools, geographic information systems, realistic rendering, and of course you'll be applying the knowledge you gained during your undergraduate studies. Our focus at Waterloo tends to be on the urban periphery because that's where the open issues are, says Val Rynnimeri, an associate professor teaching at Waterloo's School of Architecture. Smaller towns around major cities are territories for urban design work. Most people know how to do reasonably good work in a city centre, the real problems of the future lie in the suburbs.
As our communities progress, questions that will require more architectural expertise are those that ask about urban planning, livable space, and the coordination of transit, energy, waste, and the populace at large. Students preparing to enter this field will face these issues and must know how to approach them. How can we design an art gallery to be aesthetically pleasing yet environmentally sound? How do we build an infrastructure that leaves as small an ecological footprint as possible? And how can we build a high-rise condo to be cost effective yet still adhere to standards and building regulations?
Sustainability and Green Initiatives
Rynnimeri stresses how crucial population sustainability is from an architectural standpoint. If you don't have population sustainability, then you become Detroit. He explains that although the Motor City boasts an impressive architectural collection of arenas, stadiums and other attractions, it remains in a sinkhole situation, lacking in livability.
In addition, Rynnimeri adds that now it's especially important to have a green strategy, and students should bare this mind when they enter the field. One challenge is designing an urban environment that balances the ubiquitous concrete and steel of the city with green and open areas. Among the many innovations that urbanized construction projects are implementing are green roofs; rooftops covered with vegetation such as grass and even gardens. The Computer Science Building at York University built a 20,175 ft2 grassy roof for storm water management, while Toronto's own City Hall has implemented the same green roof design.
Get to Know Cities
Canada has numerous tourist destinations, many of them in or around major cities that are prime areas for architectural design. I think people go to great cities to see interesting places, says Rynnimeri. But if you're going to rely on just a bread and circuses approach to tourism where you create half a dozen wonderful destinations, I think that's just half of it. When I go to Paris, I don't go there just to see the Eifel Tower; I go there to walk around and embed myself in the daily life of the city. If you can create that [] then the city would have its own identity. He explains how cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver could improve on the urban fabric of their streets to make city life more cohesive, something that architectural students can definitively become involved in.
Cities will only become denser while surrounding districts and metropolitans experience substantial population booms. Given these developments, construction companies, urban planners, and architects are working closely together to accommodate our daily needs, as well as the needs of the environment. Armed with the necessary skills to address these concerns, a Master's in Architecture will not only put you on the front lines in this field, but will also put you in the command centre, developing new strategies and technologies to help move our society into the next century.
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