UT Arlington School of Architecture

UT Arlington School of Architecture This is the official page for the School of Architecture at UT Arlington.

The School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington offers professionally accredited and internationally recognized degrees in Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture. Our newest program is a graduate-level Certificate in Property Repositioning and Turnaround added in 2009. The School's location in the center of the nation's fourth largest metropolitan area gives s

tudents almost every cultural, social, and professional opportunity nearby. Works by the foremost contemporary architects and landscape architects may be experienced and studied firsthand.

✨ Snapshot from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 2026 🧱 Our Architecture and Planning facult...
04/14/2026

✨ Snapshot from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 2026 🧱

Our Architecture and Planning faculty had a strong and inspiring presence at the 2026 ACSA 114th Conference "CONVERGENCE DIVERGENCE," held in Chicago, IL.

✅ Professor Zachary Tate Porter presented "Peripheral Mechanisms" in the Design as Agency track.

🏅 Professor Lorena Toffer presented the ACSA award-winning project La Esperanza Community Center in Dallas, TX: transforming a vacant school into a community hub through design, diversity, and collaboration, with a commitment to environmental justice.

✅ Professor Amy Trick presented "Tales from a Colmado: An Evolution of Architecture and Infrastructure" in the Urbanism & Community track.

✅ Professor Shermeen Yousif presented "From AI Representation to Performative AI: A Method Framework for Leveraging Diffusion Models to Learn Ecological Design Strategies" in the AI Methods and Design Intelligence track.

✅ Professor Wei Zhai co-authored A Taxonomy of Vacancy II: Testing Multifamily Housing Strategies on Underutilized Land Along Commercial Strips in the Housing & City Form(s) track.

Proud of our faculty's contributions and presentations across multiple tracks, and of their continued commitment to advancing architecture, technology, and community-centered design. 👏

🔗 Read more:https://www.acsa-arch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ACSA114-AbstractBook-12Feb2026.pdf

Pictured far left: Professor Amy Trick
Pictured from far right to left: Professors David Franco, Shermeen Yousif, and Lorena Toffer

🎉 We are proud to celebrate Dr. Lorena Toffer, RA, RID, NOMA, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow in the Scho...
04/14/2026

🎉 We are proud to celebrate Dr. Lorena Toffer, RA, RID, NOMA, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow in the School of Architecture, for successfully defending her doctoral dissertation at SMU. Her study, LIFT AS WE CLIMB - Pláticas on Ser, Poder, y Haciendo Espacio en Architecture, offers a powerful qualitative exploration of identity, belonging, and community cultural wealth among first‑generation Latina college graduates. 👩🏻‍🏫 🎓

Dr. Toffer will walk onto the stage on May 15, 2026, at Moody Coliseum, marking a milestone that reflects years of scholarship, mentorship, and community engagement.

🔗 Read the abstract of the study: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lorena-toffer-aia_dissertationdefense-doctoraljourney-firstgenscholars-activity-7427049608402440192-Dfk0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAC8wzyIBN11uyDNM6b9NJVMchDhIThd3fUc

In addition to this academic achievement, Dr. Toffer has been named the recipient of the 2026 ACSA Diversity Achievement Award, a distinguished national honor from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Her project, La Esperanza Community Center in Dallas, TX: Transforming a vacant school into a community hub through design, diversity, and collaboration, with a commitment to environmental justice, was the sole winner in this category. 🤝 🏅

This award highlights Dr. Toffer’s sustained commitment to advancing diversity and elevating the voices of underrepresented individuals in architectural education.

We congratulate Dr. Toffer on these outstanding accomplishments and celebrate the impact of her work on our students, our community, and the future of design education. 🎊

🔗 Read more: https://www.acsa-arch.org/awards-archive/2026-architectural-education-award-winners/

The Design Build Tower by Alberto Alvarez, Nicole Chebret, Kurt Greiger, Bryan Hernandez, Ryan Matthew, Shane Pellerin, ...
04/02/2026

The Design Build Tower by Alberto Alvarez, Nicole Chebret, Kurt Greiger, Bryan Hernandez, Ryan Matthew, Shane Pellerin, Aurora Rivas, Bailey Samide, Jimin Shin, Devin Trinidad, Leah Wanamaker | Design Build Spring 2025 | B.S. ARCH | Professor Brad McCorkle

The Design Build Tower project focused on solving a real world problem, protecting the dust collection system from the elements while keeping the collection bags dry. It was a collaborative effort, with students working together to find common ground and develop a practical and functional solution.

Through the hands on building process, they discovered that design goes beyond ideas. It requires precision, problem solving, and careful ex*****on. The project deepened their understanding of how every detail plays a critical role in successful construction.

🌿 Snapshots from CELA 2026 🏙️ Our Landscape Architecture (LARC) and Architecture faculty had a strong and inspiring pres...
03/29/2026

🌿 Snapshots from CELA 2026 🏙️

Our Landscape Architecture (LARC) and Architecture faculty had a strong and inspiring presence at the CELA 2026 Annual Conference, “Catalyzing Connections: Integrating Strategies, Knowledge, and Action with Communities in Landscape Architecture,” held in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This year was especially meaningful as Dr. Taner Özdil concluded his tenure as CELA President (2025–2026)—a proud moment for our program and community.

Our faculty contributed across multiple tracks and conversations, shaping the future of the discipline:

✅ Dr. Taner Özdil — Presented “Why Green Infrastructure Matters in Urban Design: Longitudinal Review of the US EPA’s Rainworks Challenge and Its Impacts” and served as a panelist on “The Changing Face of Landscape Architecture: Demographic Insights” and “Special Session: CELA-LAF Landscape Architecture Research Exchange (LARX) Initiative: Insights, Opportunities, and Trajectories.”

✅ Dr. Diane Jones Allen, LARC Director — Panelist on “Under Pressure: Teaching, Mentoring, and Maintaining Standards in Difficult Times.”

✅ Dr. Austin Allen — Presented “Olmsted in Birkenhead and Bois de Boulogne: Dreaming of Africa and Africans in the Formative 1850s” in the Film and New Media session.

✅ Dr. Nubras Samayeen — Presented “Catalyzing Local to Global Connections: Landscape as Integrative Strategy” in the History and Theory track.

✅ Dr. Joowon Im — Presented “Environmental Education for Circular Economy: Green Building Design and Construction” in the Resilience and Climate Action track.

Proud of our faculty’s leadership and continued commitment to advancing landscape architecture and community-centered design.

Fifteen students. One model of the Dallas City Hall. And a bold question: What if downtown didn’t have to choose between...
03/29/2026

Fifteen students. One model of the Dallas City Hall. And a bold question: What if downtown didn’t have to choose between past and future?

Recently featured in The Dallas Morning News, architecture students from the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) are turning the conversation about downtown Dallas into a hands-on, forward-thinking vision.

After months of research, analysis, and design, these students developed a comprehensive master plan that reimagines the city’s core—proposing a new arena for the Dallas Mavericks, more walkable, connected neighborhoods, and greener public spaces—all while preserving and integrating the iconic Dallas City Hall. 🏙️🏛️🌿

At the heart of their work is a simple but powerful idea: progress doesn’t have to come at the cost of identity. By studying everything from wind patterns and heat exposure to transit access and community needs, these students are tackling real challenges facing the metroplex—and offering solutions rooted in innovation, sustainability, and inclusion.

Their proposal introduces a “green loop” that transforms underutilized space into a vibrant public corridor, connects districts, reduces urban heat, and creates what they describe as a “living room for the public.”

This recognition by the newspaper goes beyond a project—it underscores the impact of student voices in shaping the future of our cities. CAPPA future architects aren’t waiting for change—they’re designing it.

🔗 Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2026/03/27/ut-arlington-architecture-majors-have-a-plan-to-save-dallas-city-hall/

📸 Photo credit: Shafkat Anowat, The Dallas Morning News

Join us Wednesday 4/1 at 4 PM in the CAPPA Lecture Hall for our final guest of the Spring Lecture Series: ‘Unsettled Gro...
03/27/2026

Join us Wednesday 4/1 at 4 PM in the CAPPA Lecture Hall for our final guest of the Spring Lecture Series: ‘Unsettled Ground’ with Pablo Hereñu, founding partner of H+F Architects!

Play into Peace by Alfredo Zungia, Juan Pina, Mariam Munira, & Shane Pellerin | Design Studio IV | B.S. ARCH | Spring 20...
03/12/2026

Play into Peace by Alfredo Zungia, Juan Pina, Mariam Munira, & Shane Pellerin | Design Studio IV | B.S. ARCH | Spring 2024 | Professor Mehdi Farahbakhsh

Play into Peace proposes a 3D-printed pavilion integrated within a neglected creek corridor on the UTA campus, transforming the site into a space that supports both play and peaceful reflection. Research showed that the surrounding area is set within a range of programs from apartment buildings, tennis courts, picnic tables, and soccer fields—but lacks spaces dedicated to relaxation and cooling down. The pavilion uses robotic 3D printing to generate a porous, cellular structure that spans the creek and creates a sequence of spatial experiences. Larger cavities within the structure encourage climbing, exploration, and playful interaction, while smaller, more enclosed spaces provide areas for meditation, quiet seating, and contemplative views of the creek and landscape. The project therefore frames a transition from play to peace, while also drawing attention to the environmental condition of the creek and reimagining the corridor as a restorative public landscape. Currently the site experiences erosion and potential tree damage, the project hoped to repair the landscape and offer new types of outdoor space to the UTA campus.

Last Tuesday a group of students from ARCH 4395/5395 Grounding Architecture: Louis Kahn’s Designs visited the Kimbell Ar...
02/27/2026

Last Tuesday a group of students from ARCH 4395/5395 Grounding Architecture: Louis Kahn’s Designs visited the Kimbell Art Museum!

During the visit, students engaged the building firsthand—observing, sketching, and critically analyzing its spatial logic. A key part of the exercise involved drawing sections from different sides of the building and gauging about the relationships between landscape and architecture

The group also had the opportunity to meet Fort Worth architect Mark Gunderson, who generously shared his professional insights and experiences with the museum. His reflections added an invaluable contemporary perspective to the students’ encounter with Kahn’s work.

Artist and Scientific Residency by Abby Lease | Design Studio: Architecture I | 3rd Year B.S. ARCH 3553 | Spring 2025 | ...
02/26/2026

Artist and Scientific Residency by Abby Lease | Design Studio: Architecture I | 3rd Year B.S. ARCH 3553 | Spring 2025 | Professor Zachary Porter

The project is a proposal of an artist and scientific residency and research field station located at the Clear Creek National Heritage Center in Denton, TX. The building is an exploration of space as a catalyst for artistic and scientific practice, living quarters, exhibition zones, and integration with the surrounding landscape. Flat forms and continued roof terraces create a seamless transition between nature and building, and the use of skylights allows for natural light. The project focuses on the balance between nature and architecture through program as well as form.

📚 ARCH 3554 in the Archives 📖As the studio reimagines the UTA campus as a city organized along Cooper Street, students e...
02/23/2026

📚 ARCH 3554 in the Archives 📖

As the studio reimagines the UTA campus as a city organized along Cooper Street, students engaged with the UTA Archives to deepen their work. Sifting through original plans, photographs, and documents that trace the university’s evolution, they examined how past decisions have shaped today’s campus fabric. By working closely with these materials, students ground their projects in research and reimagine the east-west campus connection.

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601 W Nedderman Drive, Suite 203
Arlington, TX
76019

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Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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