This article was written by Brian L. McLaren, PhD, Chair in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle on the second century of the school.
The Department of Architecture at the University of Washington recently celebrated its first century with an engaging series of lectures, symposia and social events that explored its past, present and future. The architecture program began under the direction of Chair Carl F. Gould with a cohort of just over 10 students in the fall of 1914. Although it has expanded considerably over the years and experienced many ideological shifts, the Department remains a leading force for architectural education and culture in the Pacific Northwest. It does this by continuing to honor its past while understanding the present as a time of sweeping change and exceptional opportunity. As the profession evolves to embrace new and more agile models of practice in response to contemporary challenges, the department’s home city of Seattle is experiencing phenomenal growth and expanding global influence. To study architecture at the University of Washington today is to directly engage and influence this extraordinary time of challenge and change.
