flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Kean University creates Michael Graves School of Architecture

Kean University creates Michael Graves School of Architecture

Graves remains active in his practice, designing buildings and objects that are beautiful, accessible and highly functional. 


By Kean University | October 28, 2014
Kean University announces the newly formed Michael Graves School of Architecture as an integral event that celebrates the 50th anniversary of his Princeton, New Jersey-based firm Michael Graves Architecture & Design. Winner of the AIA Gold Medal, the National Medal of the Arts, the Topaz Medallion and the Driehaus Prize for Architecture, Graves is best known for his contemporary building designs and prominent public commissions.
 
“Michael Graves and his namesake, Kean’s Michael Graves School of Architecture embrace the University’s principle goals – teaching students to think critically, creatively and globally,” said Kean University President Dawood Farahi. “Providing our students with the opportunity to learn from his visionary philosophy and world-class approach to design will empower them to succeed as premier architects of the 21st century.” 
 
“Developing the curriculum for the Michael Graves School of architecture at Kean University and Wenzhou-Kean University has been a deeply gratifying experience for me,” said Michael Graves. “Students will develop a well rounded understanding of the role of architecture in society, with a respect for its history and clear vision for the future.”
 
The School’s curriculum will intensively utilize the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area and the Wenzhou region of China, where Kean University has an English-speaking campus, as a pedagogical component of the curriculum. Students will engage with the discipline within a real-world context. The program, which consists of 185 credit hours, will address the increasing level of professional design services required in the 21st century, and the increasing globalization of architectural design. Students are encouraged to complete a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Architectural Studies, followed by a 2-year professional Master of Architecture degree. 
 
David Mohney, Acting Dean of the Michael Graves School of Architecture, describes the unique approach of his former instructor and mentor. “In our technologically savvy world, to this day, Michael Graves’ philosophy is to draw by hand first so that the students see, “feel” and experience the new building spatially. Then, only after the drawing is complete will the students transfer the design to a computer so that the computer becomes an execution tool, not an ideation tool.”
 
In 1962, after a two year fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, Michael Graves began a 39-year teaching career at Princeton University, where he is now the Robert Schirmer Professor of Architecture, Emeritus. He has received 14 honorary doctorates, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. 
 
In 2003, an infection left Graves paralyzed from the waist down. He partially credits his strong empathetic sense to design with his ordeal as a patient. Graves remains active in his practice, designing buildings and objects that are beautiful, accessible and highly functional. 
 
“One of the market differentiators of the Michael Graves School of Architecture will be the ability to study architecture abroad such as the classically designed buildings in Italy and some of the oldest buildings in the world in China,” added Dean Mohney.
 
David Mohney, FAIA, previously worked as the Dean of the College of Design at the University of Kentucky and taught at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in New York City, the Graduate School of Design at Harvard, and the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles. A practicing architect, he was educated at Harvard University and Princeton’s School of Architecture. David serves on both the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Board of Directors, and the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture Board of Governors.
 
The Michael Graves School of Architecture will be housed in the award-winning Green Lane Academic Building that opened in early 2014 on Kean’s Union Township campus. There will also be a building designed by Graves that will house the Michael Graves School of Architecture on Kean’s Wenzhou China campus. 

Related Stories

Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Jan 17, 2024

Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction

This continuing education course, by Walter P Moore's Amos Chan, P.E., BECxP, CxA+BE, covers design considerations for below-grade waterproofing for new construction, the types of below-grade systems available, and specific concerns associated with waterproofing deep foundations.

Sponsored | Performing Arts Centers | Jan 17, 2024

Performance-based facilities for performing arts boost the bottom line

A look at design trends for “budget-wise” performing arts facilities reveals ways in which well-planned and well-built facilities help performers and audiences get the most out of the arts. This continuing education course is worth 1.0 AIA learning unit.

Giants 400 | Jan 15, 2024

Top 130 Hospital Facility Architecture Firms for 2023

HKS, HDR, Stantec, CannonDesign, and Page Southerland Page top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest hospital facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Airports | Jan 15, 2024

How to keep airports functional during construction

Gensler's aviation experts share new ideas about how to make the airport construction process better moving forward.

Adaptive Reuse | Jan 12, 2024

Office-to-residential conversions put pressure on curbside management and parking

With many office and commercial buildings being converted to residential use, two important issues—curbside management and parking—are sometimes not given their due attention. Cities need to assess how vehicle storage, bike and bus lanes, and drop-off zones in front of buildings may need to change because of office-to-residential conversions.

MFPRO+ News | Jan 12, 2024

As demand rises for EV chargers at multifamily housing properties, options and incentives multiply

As electric vehicle sales continue to increase, more renters are looking for apartments that offer charging options.

Student Housing | Jan 12, 2024

UC Berkeley uses shipping containers to block protestors of student housing project

The University of California at Berkeley took the drastic step of erecting a wall of shipping containers to keep protestors out of a site of a planned student housing complex. The $312 million project would provide badly needed housing at the site of People’s Park. 

Giants 400 | Jan 12, 2024

Top 10 Casino Architecture Firms for 2023

JCJ Architecture, HBG Design, Gensler, and WATG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest casino architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Senior Living Design | Jan 11, 2024

Designing for personal technology is crucial for senior living facilities

Today’s seniors are increasingly tech savvy. It isn’t enough to give senior living residents a pre-determined bundle of technology and assume that they’ll be satisfied.

Giants 400 | Jan 11, 2024

Top 40 Convention Center Architecture Firms for 2023

TVS, Populous, Arcadis North America, Gensler, and EUA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest convention center and event facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021