From September 1-6, 2021 the 11 senior architecture students at UVU traveled together to study the cities and architecture of the American West, from Utah to the San Francisco Bay area.  Students measured, sketched, and photographed cities and neighborhoods at various scales, with a focus on walkable, mixed-use, and traditional urbanism.  Historic mining towns like Virginia City, NV and Grass Valley, CA are well-preserved examples of compact and pedestrian friendly urbanism at lower densities.  The neighborhoods of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Palo Alto exhibit the same principles of walkability at higher densities.  Students were introduced to urban spatial types such as plazas and squares and how these can be combined with various building and street types to create memorable, sustainable, and beautiful places.  These patterns of human settlement are studied as a viable alternative to automobile-centric suburban sprawl, which has become the default type of modern development in Utah.

 

            Objectives:

            - Measure, observe, study, and photograph examples of walkable urbanism in the American West

            - Understand how principles of walkable urbanism can be achieved at various densities

            - Learn to identify and design various residential and mixed-use building types

            - Develop a library of precedent examples for future architecture and urbanism projects

            - Strengthen connection to the history and people of the American West

              - Gain expertise about historic architects of significance in the region

Examples of Student Work

Examples of Faculty Work