The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has awarded the Architecture Program a 2004 NCARB Prize for the course "Integrated Building Systems." The prize includes $7,500.

The NCARB Prize honors educational initiatives that unite classroom and office dynamics in creative ways. The Architecture Program was one of six programs that received the prize in 2004.

Part of a building technology sequence for second-year Architecture and Interior Design students, "Integrated Building Systems" is built around a collaborative teaching partnership with a consulting engineering firm and professional mentors.

By introducing students to the complexities of building systems, the course helps them establish a foundation for future knowledge. The collaborative teaching model comprises professional architects and engineers who demonstrate why technical requirements are integral to architectural design. Students study actual buildings and their respective systems, learning to dissect components and functions, analyze their behavior, and represent performance through diagrams. As an added twist, the professional mentors are the designers of the studied buildings.

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See the NCARB Prize webpage for more information about the winning architecture programs.