Submission Deadline: October 19, 2022
2023 Course Development Prize
in Architecture, Climate Change, and Society
A course proposal competition by Columbia University’s Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture and the ACSA
2023 Call for Course Proposals
Overview
Submission Deadline: October 19, 2022
Education in architecture and urbanism is well positioned creatively and critically to address the exigencies of climate change. However, pedagogical methods that prioritize immediate applicability can come at the expense of teaching and research that explore the sociocultural and ecopolitical dimensions of the crisis. This, in turn, ultimately limits the range of approaches addressing climate change in professional practice. Columbia University’s Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture is therefore issuing, together with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, a competitive call for course proposals on the theme of “Architecture, Climate Change, and Society.”
From history seminars to visual studies and from design studios to building technologies, the wide variety of course offerings at schools of architecture is a testament to the diversity of perspectives, skills, and tools that ultimately comprise quality work in the field. In contrast, the urgency of the unfolding climate crisis—especially as it intersects with calls for environmental and racial justice—can seem to demand a singular focus that is antithetical to humanities-based critical inquiry or to longer-term creative and technical endeavors. We seek the kind of realism, however, that redefines problems and leaves room for the imagination. Successful proposals for this Course Development Prize in Architecture, Climate Change, and Society will include methods and themes that innovate within their institutional setting—asking hard questions of students that are equal in weight to the hard questions being asked of society in the midst of a global pandemic as it continues to grapple with the intertwined causes and effects of climate change.
This prize was begun as part of a Buell Center project entitled “Power: Infrastructure in America,” which sought critically to understand the intersections of climate, infrastructure, and architecture. It is being continued in conversation with ongoing research on “Architecture and Land in and out of the Americas.” This plural, Americas, helps decenter the concept of “American Architecture” in two ways: by connecting building practices across the Western Hemisphere, and by recognizing that there are several Americas within the United States. It is in this spirit that the prize aims to contribute to the development of intersectional pedagogy on the theme of “Architecture, Climate Change, and Society” in the Americas today.
Prizes
Up to five proposals will be selected by the jury for eight thousand dollars in cash prizes and two thousand dollars in support to present the winning course proposals at the ACSA111 Annual Meeting. To receive the cash prize and support, winners must demonstrate viability for the course at their host institution within two years of the prize’s distribution via a letter from their program’s head administrator. Developed syllabi of winning proposals will be published on both the ACSA and Buell Center websites.
$50,000
in prizes
Submission
Submissions will be accepted through an online interface beginning July 2022 & must be received through the online submission site by October 19, 2022.
The final submission upload must contain the following:
- Course proposal (three pages)—The course proposal should consist of a title, course description, a list of selected readings or other sources, and a work plan for course development and implementation. Proposed courses must be new, or significantly reconfigured if already taught. Please make proposed revisions clear, if the latter.
- Faculty bio—If multiple faculty are involved, include all (entire bio submission not to exceed two pages).
- Letter of support from the head administrator of the architecture program (one page).
All materials should be submitted in PDF format, with no more than six (8.5” x 11”) pages total.
Timeline
July 2022 | Online Submission Site Opens |
October 19, 2022 | Submission Deadline |
January 2023 | Winners Announced |
March 30-April 1 | ACSA111 Annual Meeting |
Eligibility
The Course Development Prize is open to faculty at all ACSA member schools. Faculty from Columbia University are not eligible. Courses that have been previously recognized for the Course Development Prize will not be considered. Courses submitted but not selected are encouraged to resubmit; however please make note of significant changes to the course proposal.
Review Process
A jury drawn from the Buell Center Advisory Board will review the submissions and determine award winners. Special consideration will be given to proposals that include methods and themes that innovate within their institutional setting.
Questions
Edwin Hernández
Programs Coordinator
ehernandez@acsa-arch.org
202-785-2324
Eric Wayne Ellis
Senior Director of Operations and Programs
eellis@acsa-arch.org
202-785-2324