Approach: Student work from the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design

Washington University releases graduate and undergraduate Approach publications

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis is pleased to announce the publication of the latest graduate and undergraduate editions of Approach, which celebrate student work produced by architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design students.

“The work featured in both Approach publications reflects how, through critical thinking, research, and unique collaborative structures, our school gives students the means and motivation to improve our world,” says Heather Woofter, director of the College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design. “The publications also evoke the life of the school—a place of experimentation, where our full range of programs combine to create forums for new modes of thinking. Every day, students interact with architects, landscape and urban designers, artists, curators, and theorists. These encounters, however brief or informal, influence student thinking and working. Students can access unique facilities across the Sam Fox School alongside makers of all kinds.

“Our students challenge their thinking by engaging with one of the greatest assets of the university—the St. Louis region,” continues Woofter, the school’s Sam and Marilyn Fox Professor. “This location is the epicenter of community collaboration, one where we move socially impactful projects forward while also engaging our unique environmental context with critical work in climate change. Students take these lessons from St. Louis and expand their strategies with select national and international sites.”

Graduate Approach
The graduate version of Approach provides a substantive look inside the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design during the 2018-19 academic year. The bulk of the publication is devoted to showcasing the full range of the curriculum across the architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design programs, from the core studio sequence and seminars, to advanced options studios and the final degree project. Studio descriptions are paired with select images of student work covering a wide range of thematic areas, including building technology, cultural arts, ecology, housing, digital and analog fabrication, history, socially engaged practice, and urban sustainability. Approach 18-19 also highlights key moments in the life of the school during the 2019-19 academic year, including faculty publications and public programs. 

In tandem with the book, the school has launched a dedicated Approach website that includes the full repository of images of student work featured in print.

Mónica Rivera, professor of practice and chair of the graduate architecture program, served as the editor of Approach 2018-19. The book and website were designed and produced by Desescribir.

Undergraduate Approach
The undergraduate publication is the latest in a series of thematic issues, providing a snapshot of the educational approach, visual language, and experimental ethos that permeate the College of Architecture. The current edition, [Atmospheric] Approach, focuses on studios that engage with aspects of atmosphere—from the material explorations of air and climate to the conceptual notion of ambience in architecture and urbanism. It features a selection of projects generated in the second semester Core Studio titled Air: Flight of Icarus, the third semester core studio titled Rendering Light: A Single Theater of Two Characters, and a selection of options studios. A digital version of the publication is featured on Issuu.

Igor Marjanović, the JoAnne Stolaroff Cotsen Professor and chair of the undergraduate architecture program, served as the editor of [Atmospheric] Approach, with Jane Neidhardt, head of publications for the Sam Fox School’s Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, serving as managing editor. The book was designed by Elisa Kim.