Architecture stands on solid ground
Student exhibits pass accreditation board’s review
By Laryssa Kreiselmeyer
Students and faculty at the UCLA School of Architecture can now
breathe a sigh of relief after the school’s four-day
re-accreditation examination by the National Accreditation Board
ended Wednesday.
In order to retain validity of student degrees, all architecture
schools are required to complete the process every five years.
A five-member team appointed by the national board arrived at
UCLA on Sunday to "scrutinize" the student exhibit in Perloff Hall,
explained Jurg Lang, chair of the Architecture and Urban Design
department. All of the 120 three-year professional degree students
were required to participate in the exhibit.
"I didn’t know what to expect," said first-year student Hansol
Park, explaining that his professors asked his permission before
submitting his work into the exhibit.
"It’s a very serious thing," said Lang.
Lang stated that failure to pass the routine evaluation would
require the university to be placed on a one or three year
probation period. After this period, schools are inspected again
and must pass or else lose accreditation.
The displays consist of five years of collections and represent
one year of preparation by the department.
In order to represent the whole of student work, Lang said the
Board required that passing and inadequate work be shown along with
excellent work.
"We don’t just bring in the best students’ work. It’s a whole
mix of work (to represent) the scope of issues we address," said
Lang.
Casey Nagel, a third-year student whose work was featured in the
exhibit, said that he did not see much of the judging team while
they were at UCLA.
"I think they were pretty fair. (The exhibit) doesn’t represent
only the strongest projects or students," he said.
Lang said that the process included many criteria for judgment
but that he expected the department to score very well.
"It’s part of self-evaluation. It’s good to see the work and you
have to comply with all the criteria," he said.
He added that all these components were necessary to keep the
school as one of the "leading architecture schools" in the
country.
Judges will draft an official report on the school within a
month.