Architecture Department History

The Architecture Department admitted its first class in 1970. At that time the program was housed in the College of Engineering and the Architecture.  1976 was the first year for Bachelor of Architecture graduates and the first NAAB accreditation visit was in 1978 with accreditation granted retroactively to 1976. The Architecture Department grew in size and stature during that time, building an identity and reputation in the local community; the Philadelphia region that has one of the largest populations of architecture professionals in the United States.

In 1993, with Engineering disciplines moving in divergent directions, Architecture became part of a new unit in the University that included Architecture, Landscape Architecture, fostering growth and overlap of like-professional programs in environmental design professions. The new unit was positive for the disciplinary overlaps that it afforded, however Architecture was housed on the Main Campus of Temple University and Landscape Architecture and Horticulture housed at the Ambler Campus, approximately 45 minutes away. In 1998 Architecture became affiliated with the Tyler School of Art and in 2001-02 a full member of the Tyler School of Art.

Until 2009 about half of the Tyler School of Art (the studio arts programs) was located on a small art school campus in Elkins Park, PA, while the other half resided on the Main Campus in North Philadelphia. The studio arts programs were relocated to a new 255,000 square foot state of the art building designed by Carlos Jimenez on the Main Campus allowing for more focused attention to alignments and identity of the whole school. In January of 2012, the Architecture Department moved into a new 50,000 square foot building that connects directly with the rest of Tyler, yet sits as an independent building. Located across the street from Annenberg Hall (School of Communications and Theater), next to Presser Hall (Boyer College of Music), the Architecture Building serves as a keystone to the Temple Arts Campus. Our location on the Main Campus of Temple University affords the best of both worlds for architecture faculty and students – housed adminstratively in a small and intimate world class art school, but sited in an arts campus within a large university, there are opportunities for interdisciplinarity and fully engaged teaching and learning.

The Architecture Building doubles the space for the department. With a new Master of Architecture Program and new undergraduate programs in Architecture, Facility Management, and Architectural Preservation, the building has studios and learning labs and houses state of the art equipment and technology for the department’s programs and provides opportunities for interaction across disciplines. As the first building that was constructed after the development of Temple’s 20/20 campus plan, the facility takes advantage of University initiatives to use sustainable design principles for new buildings. The building has the first green roof on Temple’s Main Campus and has many other sustainable design features. The building, designed by H2L2, and the campus plan designed by Olin Partners and MGA Partners, are representative of the university’s commitment to increase the role of design and design professions in efforts to upgrade the Main Campus of Temple University.