The Department of Architecture is a vibrant, collaborative learning community. We help students develop the values, knowledge, skills, and practices they need to create better architecture and environments that resonate with people and their cultural, physical, and ecological worlds. Grounded in a unique multidisciplinary structure, the Department of Architecture includes programs in Eugene as well as an urban architecture program based in Portland.
Our programs and faculty are nationally recognized for their innovation in environmental sustainability research in the design of buildings and communities. Learn more about our faculty by reading their profiles or browsing the Guide to Research + Creative Practice.
The Student Experience
The Department of Architecture is dedicated to recognizing designers’ accountability for their impact on environmental, social, and cultural systems. Our student organizations assume leadership roles in developing extracurricular programs and community service. Our graduates are broadly educated designers who attain leadership positions in the professions of architecture and related fields.
Sustainable Buildings
The climate emergency demands that architects design to dramatically reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels in building design, construction, operation, and decommissioning. To thrive in increasing uncertainty, we research how to best create resilient buildings that ensure the comfort, safety, and health of occupants.
Learn More About Sustainable Buildings
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Collaborative and Creative Community
We emphasize collaboration and a noncompetitive but rigorous learning environment and encourage a supportive studio culture through facilitated peer teaching and teamwork. The department doesn't dictate a specific design aesthetic or ideology for you to follow. Instead, we encourage intellectual inquiry as the basis from which you forge your own design path.
Hands-on Environment
A central part of architectural education is the design studio, in which students learn through hands-on experience in design. All students enrolled in studios are assigned their own workstation within a space dedicated to their studio group and available for use at all hours. Advanced students often work together in courses and as collaborators with faculty members in research investigations through independent study courses. Studio work is evaluated by faculty and reviewers, who are professionals in the field, using individualized discussions and written assessment rather than through a traditional letter-grading system.
Enrich Your Academic Experience
We offer study abroad opportunities in Italy, Japan, Germany, Finland, and Denmark. Cultivating a forum for dialogue and networking opportunities between students and professionals practicing ecological and sustainable design, the student-led Ecological Design Center hosts the HOPES (Holistic Opportunities for Planet Earth Sustainability) Conference each spring. Collaborations with other programs within the College of Design provide opportunities to engage in explorations that involve landscape architecture, interior architecture, planning, historic preservation, product design, art, and the history of art and architecture.
Learn More
Visiting the UO is one of the best ways to learn about us. Participate in UO's campus visit programs—Duck Days in the spring or Duck Preview in the fall—to tour facilities, see campus, and meet with faculty members or schedule a tour anytime.
Student Feature
Yash Ahkouri
Yash Akhouri is currently working towards his bachelor's degree in Architecture.
As a student and designer, Akhouri has had the privilege of being born in Renukoot, India, raised in Johannesburg, South Africa and to live in three different countries along the way. Growing up in vastly different cultures has given him a unique perspective on the world, allowing him to grow passionate about learning about diverse cultures, people, and their vernacular. Ecological and vernacular design have also captured his interest, and he is constantly seeking ways to incorporate sustainable practices into his work.
Akhouri believes that by adopting these practices, we can create a better world for our people and future generations.
Honour Colby
Honour is currently working towards a bachelor's degree in architecture, and another bachelors in Romance Languages. She currently works with the communications team as a Student Ambassador for the College of Design.
Here's what she had to say about her experiences at in College of Design and in the architecture program, her educational journey, and her GEO Study Abroad trip to Italy!
Project Spotlight
Imagine a school where clouds form in classrooms and Makani kites generate wind. That’s what a group of undergraduate and graduate architecture students did in the High Performing Environments studio, and they won the Solar Decathlon Design Competition in the grand commercial and elementary school categories.
“This is a monumental achievement and the first time in the competition’s 20-year history to have an architectural team sweep both awards,” said Professor Ihab Elzeyadi, who led the team.
2024 Senior Showcase
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Accreditation
Our Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) and Master of Architecture (MArch) programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).