UC to set up an architect in residence

UC to set up an architect in residence

March 7, 2014

The University of Canterbury will, for the first time, set up an Architect in Residence within its College of Engineering.

The residency has support from Sir Miles Warren’s Warren Architects Education Charitable Trust and from former graduate Jim Rutherford.

Professor Mark Davidson says the trust and Rutherford have been crucial in creating the new position.

``The Architect in Residence will provide a catalyst for developing more systematic and effective interaction between the architectural and engineering professions.

``More specifically, this unique initiative will provide important opportunities to broaden the education of our engineering students in an architectural context.

``The residency will also contribute to our education and research activities in earthquake engineering at the postgraduate level, where UC has considerable expertise and there is a need to further develop that specialist expertise in an architectural context,’’ Professor Davidson, head of civil and natural resources engineering, says.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Engineering Professor Jan Evans-Freeman says the residency is an exciting move for the Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering in particular.

``In their professional lives, architects and engineers work closely together and this will be an opportunity for us to foster those types of collaborations at a graduate level.

``We are also seeking to encourage architectural students from overseas to visit Christchurch and this appointment provides a direct link for them with the University.

``This is a time of optimism for engineering at UC. Our civil and structural engineering section has just been ranked 19th in the world among the top 3000 universities by the London-based ranking company QS.’’

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