Why Architecture: The Intersection of Architectural Education and the City
Abstract
This thesis questions the potential relationship between a school of architecture and the
public. Redefining the role of architecture education as advocacy for better designed
cities, a new dialogue between the public and architecture will flourish. The ideas
produced within a porous school will filter out into the city, changing it for the better.
The thesis question was investigated through the adaptive reuse of the former Royal
Alberta Museum, a Canadian Centennial Building contributing to the national effort to
define itself through the use of architecture. Identifying the former exhibition volumes as
the school, and introducing a perpendicular indoor street creates a moment to celebrate
the intersection of architecture and the public. This monument once containing static
artifacts, is reimagined as a dynamic exposition of architectural ideas. This school
envisions engaging the public to discuss architecture, aspiring to empower its citizens to
ameliorate the future of the city.