SPECIAL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

There are a variety of special academic programs offered here at the School of Architecture. We are continuously extending our reach towards the world in research and academic programs. Please see our Map of Global Reach Efforts.

Below are a list of on-going programs that have been operating at the School for years. Click on the related links in each section to further investigate your program of interest.

Quick links:
>> Vicenza Institute of Architecture
>> Hong Kong - China Summer Program
>> Preservation Institute: Caribbean
>> Preservation Institute: Nantucket
>> Certificate In Sustainable Architecture
>> Historic Preservation Studies (College of Design, Construction and Planning)
>> Design Exploration Program
>> Professional CEU Program

Vicenza Institute of Architecture (back to top)

The UF Vicenza Institute of Architecture (VIA) is based in Vicenza, Italy, a major center of the Veneto (the mainland region around the urban archipelago of Venice). An important locus of intellectual life during the 15th and 16th centuries, the area has an abundant architectural heritage, all within an hour of Vicenza - from the works of local Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio to the 20th-century creations of modern master Carlo Scarpa. The program focuses on evaluating and understanding the historical, social, cultural and physical aspects of this particularly rich urban context through research, documentation and design. Lectures and presentations by local Italian educators and practicing architects augment instruction from full-time UF faculty. Field trips throughout Italy and Europe further enhance your educational experience. The UF VIA Program’s fall and spring course offerings parallel those offered at the Gainesville campus, ensuring that you remain on track with your curricular requirements while studying overseas.

>> VIA Website

Hong Kong - China Summer Program (back to top)

Nearly all large architectural firms in the United States find themselves competing for projects in China, many with nearly half of their work load being done in its rapidly developing urban areas. It is likely that most if not all of our students who enter practice will at some point work on a large-scale project in China. The imperatives for architectural academia engaging in the modernization of China are not only economic, but also intellectual and ethical. Whereas China's wealthier and smaller neighbor, Japan, has the most sophisticated and fully developed indigenous language of modern architectural expression, China, the largest country in the world, does not. New strategies for indigenous and sustainable urban transfigurations are equally urgent.

>> HK-C Summer Program Website

Preservation Institute: Caribbean (back to top)

The Preservation Institute: Caribbean (PI: C) is dedicated to conserving the ecological and cultural heritage of the Greater Caribbean Basin through education, research and service projects. The PI: C program is engaged in a long-term study of agricultural landscapes that are being transformed by global economic and cultural forces. An important component of this study is a yearly design workshop that closely examines rural landscapes that, over generations, have been constructed as places of ritual, work and conflict. The principle aim of the PI: C program is to study the influence of geography, culture and climate on place making in tropical and subtropical landscapes such as Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. As an organizing idea, since former haciendas are at the source of thousands of current rural communities, the research agenda of the studio proceeds through case studies covering the offspring of the colonial hacienda system. The ultimate goal is to identify and understand place-making strategies emerging in rural developments that potentially contribute to the cultural, ecological, and historical heritage of the region.

>> PIC Website

Preservation Institute: Nantucket (back to top)

The UF Preservation Institute: Nantucket (PI: N) has operated as a center for education in historic research and architectural preservation on Nantucket Island since 1972. Settled by Massachusetts colonials in 1659, this “far away island” (the meaning of Nantucket’s name in a local Indian language) grew into an important whaling village. Its significance waned in the mid-1850s with the decline of the whale oil market and dependent industries. It has since become primarily a summer retreat for New Englanders. The island’s isolation spared the town from the encroachment of urban sprawl experienced by most other colonial New England towns, preserving the integrity of its 18th-century character - and making it an invaluable context in which to study issues of planning and designing within a profoundly historic environment. In the UF PI: N Program, you can earn credit over the summer in advanced courses in the theory, practice, methodology and technology of architectural preservation and building research. 

>> PIN Website