Blinn College-Brenham architecture students explore the Houston Museum District

Blinn students get first-hand look at techniques discussed in the classroom

December 6, 2017

Blinn College-Brenham architecture students recently visited the Houston Museum District to explore the Museum of Fine Arts, the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Children’s Museum, and The Menil Collection. 

“Trips to places like these provide essential exposure to works by world-renowned architects discussed in class, architecture considered to be exceptional, and architecture of diverse styles and time periods,” said Tommy Upchurch, Architecture Professor. “Being inside or adjacent to a building provides a better sense of detail, scale and materials, and aspects that can be difficult to grasp when seeing it only in a textbook.”

The field trip provided an opportunity for students to see buildings designed by 20th century architects such as Mies van der Rohe, Robert Venturi, and Renzo Piano as studied in class. Students were also able to see churches of Neo-Classical and Gothic revival styles during the neighborhood walking tour, connecting 20th century architecture to historical periods studied earlier in the semester.

“Being able to go a place that has architecture that we have gone over in class is really eye opening,” sophomore Mackenzie Cooley said. “It is so much more interesting and bigger to have it in front of your face than on a power point slide.”

Designed to give students a foundation in architecture and design, Blinn’s Architecture Program includes rigorous introductory courses. With small class sizes, students receive personalized instruction from program faculty and are challenged with projects and presentations compatible with curriculum at four-year institutions. The Associate of Arts degree in architecture began on the Bryan Campus and has now expanded to the Brenham Campus with course offerings in Architectural History I and II.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 7,800 new architecture positions will be created between 2014 and 2024, a growth of approximately 7 percent. Architects earned a median salary of $76,930 in 2016.

Registration for Blinn’s Winter Minimester, which allows students to earn college credit in just three weeks, is available through Thursday, Dec. 14. Registration for the Spring semester remains open through Monday, Jan. 15. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.