School of Architecture Records

The Department of Architecture began as a part of the School of Applied Design at the new Carnegie Technical Schools in 1905. During the first year of its operation, only courses in architecture were offered in the School of Applied Design. The founder's vision of the architecture program was to create an American fusion of two Paris schools: the Ecole Polytechnique (founded to train engineers and technicians) and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (founded to train artists and architects). At the Carnegie Technical Schools, architectural students began their training in common classes from the School of the Applied Science (in math, chemistry, drawing, and shop practice.) The next three years of the program were spent in practical training courses such as plumbing, masonry/bricklaying, and electrical wiring. Fifty-eight students enrolled the first year to be taught by Henry Hornbostel, Benno Janssen, and Edward B. Lee. The second year, 80 students attended, including students in the new evening classes. Henry K. McGoodwin was also added as a teacher. Henry Hornbostel was the first Head of the Department. Henry McGoodwin also served as Head from 1906-1918.

When the Carnegie Technical Schools became the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1912, the curriculum had shifted toward the Beaux-Art style and emphasis was put on drawing and modeling. A new building was erected in 1916 to house the College of the Fine Arts, and the old School of Applied Design was expanded to include courses in disciplines such as music and drama. By 1923, there were 140 daytime students in architecture and 73 night school students.

By the late 1940s, architectural design at Carnegie Institute of Technology had moved away from the Beaux-Art style and instead focused on observation of human behavior and needs in relation to the human environment. A pragmatic approach was favored and courses were augmented with visiting critics in areas such as landscape architecture. The department also placed emphasis on students' ability to communicate both verbally and graphically. This shift was a result of the implementation of the revolutionary Carnegie Plan developed by President Doherty to incorporate more interdisciplinary studies for all Carnegie Tech students.

The next shift in curriculum occurred with the appointment of Charles M. Eastman in 1967 as Assistant Professor of Architecture and Computer Design. Eastman developed a Ph.D. program in the new science of Computer Aided Design and wrote many articles about both its educational and professional uses. Volker Hartkopf was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Architecture in 1972 and further broadened the post-graduate program, offering courses in Building Science and Computational Design.

During the 1970s, the program was a four level, variable length program. When Omar Akin was appointed Department Head in 1981, he introduced a fixed, five year Bachelor of Architecture curriculum. In 1985, required courses for an undergraduate architectural degree included courses in engineering, management sciences, history, social sciences, and humanities. Students also learned technology and research skills. In 1994, Vivian Loftness was appointed the Head of the Department and a new curriculum was developed by the faculty that centered around a studio sequence where students were taught design, drawing, digital media, history, theory, technology, and practice.