In Rome history shapes a future generation of architects.
Woodbury University’s Rome Center for Architecture and Culture (RCAC) performs as an educational, research, and outreach center based in one of the world’s oldest cities. From piazze to palazzi, Rome and its layered history offer lessons that transform students from visitors into global citizens expert at rapidly and thoroughly grasping the cultural and physical significance of any urban environment within which they dwell.
The RCAC takes Rome, Italy as an educational model. The city, as a center of Western culture, is captivating in its richness: ancient monuments stand next to modern development, the geometries of Baroque churches influence contemporary architectural forms. The RCAC offers students in the School of Architecture a full immersion study abroad experience: walking historical streets, drinking water that flows through ancient Roman aqueducts, shopping at local produce stands, and getting to know the daily rhythms of a neighborhood. Rome’s longevity and the significant cultural, political, and social transformations it has witnessed, position it as saturated with humanities-based and design-based learning opportunities that contribute to Woodbury’s commitment to educating the integrated student.
Seminars and studios focus on architecture in response to cultural context, the archaeological unconscious, and the generative lenses of history and theory.
Dr. Paulette Singley, Director
