Letter to the Editor

As a fourth-year architecture student, I would like to respond to the March 2 article, “Schools of Art, Architecture should work together.” I would argue that there are more interdisciplinary qualities between the two than what is decribed in the article.

I disagree that it is “rare for students of each school to dabble in courses with each other.” I know of plenty of architecture students that have taken art studios or photography courses. I would also like to note that every architecture major is required to take three semesters of drawing courses — not CAD drawing, but drawing in the traditional sense. While it is true that this course is taught within the School of Architecture, it is really more of an art class.

I’d also like to bring to light a collaboration that is currently occurring between art and architecture students that I am involved in. An architecture studio and an art studio have been working together on the renovation of an old house to be turned into a community/sustainability center. We got a chance to work with Peter Fend, the lecturer noted in the article (let me briefly concur with the “crazy” accusation), on the project. I could go into great detail about how the two studios are working together or how many of my peers are involved in artistic endeavors, but the point is that these interdisciplinary instances do arise more frequently than one may perceive at first.

Jared Friedman, School of Architecture