Boston Architectural College - 320 Newbury Street - Boston MA 02115 - USA
Nov 19, 2009
Designing Together / Diseñando Juntos
Nov 19, 2009
Teaching and Learning Skills
BAC and CUJAE instructors expected students to be proficient in speaking and writing, critical thinking, graphics, research, site documentation, building technology, and fundamental design. Students having these skills made it possible for the instructors to focus on communication, collaboration, and understanding other cultures’ interpretation of Western traditions in architecture. We at the BAC learned that sustainable design is the norm, as opposed to the exception, in the work of our colleagues in other parts of the Américas.
“Sometimes I’ve had to wait for months for the architects with whom I work to do designs which show the level of sensitivity to historic context represented by BAC / CUJAE student work.”
Bill Barlow, National Park Service
“In having Julio César as our guide I came to realize our destinations were not simply the standard highlights. It was evident we were being taken to the most architecturally significant places around Havana, Vedado, and MIramar, getting a genuine insider’s perspective of the work of many architects such as Max Borges, Mario Romañach, and Ricardo Porro.”
Leo Patterson, BAC student
“I appreciated that BAC students came to learn. They didn’t come to Cuba to tell us how things are done.”
Reinaldo Aguiar, CUJAE student
“My experience in studios with other European and American schools had not been as good as that with the BAC. The BAC has shared itself with us. Other schools come here, eat our cake, and leave.”
Prof. Julio César Pérez”
“It is hard for me to express how profoundly visiting Havana with the BAC has affected me, both as a person and an architect. These are not the sort of lessons one can get from a book, it must be experienced, and it is a much deeper lesson than those learned in other foreign countries.”
Carolyn Highlands, BAC student
“As a participant in two of the three studios, I learned far more about the real world both within architecture and in culture than I have from any other class that I have taken, either at the BAC or elsewhere. The opportunity to work with instructors and students of an un-Americanized culture and experience was valuable in honing our observation and communication skills in situations where not only differences in approaches were involved but also in situations involving significant language barriers.
Thanks for all your involvement and mentorship.”
Loren Witzel, BAC Student
