The Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design is a college part of the

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...

(Cal Poly Pomona). The college houses over 1,600 students; making it one of largest

environmental design Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environm ...

programs in the United States. The college offers bachelor's degrees in five departments, as well as three master's degree programs. It is the only academic unit within the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

system to be associated with a

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...

laureate (often referred to as "The Nobel Prize in Architecture").

History

The planning programs at Cal Poly Pomona evolved from the undergraduate landscape architecture program that originally was part of the School of Agriculture. After approval of the creation of a new School of Environmental Design, the landscape and urban planning programs moved into their current building in January 1971. The Department of Urban Planning was created and soon after a Department of Architecture. Department of Urban Planning was renamed "Department of Urban and Regional Planning" in 1983 to reflect an expanded program. The School was renamed the "College of Environmental Design" in 1988. The Department of Art was transferred to Environmental Design from the College of Arts in 1992. In 1978, the College was briefly led by

Richard Saul Wurman Richard Saul Wurman (born March 26, 1935) is an American architect and graphic designer. Wurman has written, designed, and published 90 books and created the TED.com, TED conferences, the EG Conference, and TEDMED. Education and honors Wurman r ...

, founder of the

TED (conference) TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

and given credit for coining the term "

information architect Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of shared information environments; the art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability; and an emerging ...

In the summer of 2009 the University hired former Los Angeles City Councilman and current member of the Planning Commission Michael Woo to serve as Dean of the college. The college is housed in several buildings around campus including Building 7, designed by modernist architect Carl Maston, and the IDC (Interim Design Center), a design studio building at the east end of the campus. Current plans are for a new Architecture Building adjacent to the IDC (Interim Design Center).

Admissions

Rankings

Academic programs and departments

Architecture

The Department of Architecture is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Two programs are accredited by the

National Architectural Accrediting Board The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), established in 1940, is the oldest accrediting agency for architectural education in the United States. The NAAB accredits professional degrees in architecture offered by institutions with U.S. ...

. The undergraduate program was ranked 16th nationally in the 2014 edition of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools" published by the journal ''DesignIntelligence'' and was in the top 20 in the 2011 survey. In 2009, the program was named one of three schools in the nation that excel in

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

by Arch Ed 2009 published by

Architect Magazine ''Architect Magazine'' is the successor to ''Architecture'', one of a series of periodicals published from before World War I by the American Institute of Architects. Overview This is the sixth iteration of a magazine about the field associate ...

. The program has been " impacted" since its inception over 40 years ago, with many more students applying than can be accommodated. In 2002 the department admitted 15 percent of undergraduate applicants making it the 5th most selective Bachelor of Architecture program in the country. By 2007 the department's acceptance rate was down to 9 percent, or 225 out of 2,551 applicants, of which 100 enrolled. Due to the design studio based structure of the program, the student to faculty ratio is a relatively low 17 to 1.Cal Poly Pomona Student to Faculty Ratio, Falls 2005-2008
/ref> Prior to graduation students are required to complete a 500-hour internship under NCARB. Notable and influential 20th-century architects that have taught at the department include

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

, Raphael Soriano Craig Ellwood,

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities po ...

, James Pulliam and Ray Kappe, who together with Bernard Zimmerman founded the program in 1968. After a falling out with university administrators, a group went on to form the

Southern California Institute of Architecture Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles, California. SCI-Arc was founded in 1972 when it was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde. It consists o ...

(SCI-Arc) in 1972. Past faculty include: Aaron Betsky, Michele Saee, Michael Folonis, Hsin Ming Fung, and Margaret Griffin.

Architecture Undergraduate Admissions

Undergraduate demographics

Student - faculty ratio

Architecture Rankings

According to the 2018 Design Intelligence rankings: *Top 25 Undergraduate Programs in the United States: No. 12 Nationally *Top 10 Interior Design Program in the United States: No. 8 Nationally *Top Ten Program in Project Planning & Management in the United States: No. 7 Nationally *Top Ten Program in Construction methods and Materials in the United States: No. 6 Nationally *Top Ten Program in Practice Management in the United States: No. 5 Nationally *Top Ten Program in Sustainable Design Practices & Principles in the United States: No. 10 Nationally *Top Ten Program in Healthy Environments in the United States: No. 8 Nationally *Top Ten Program in Engineering Fundamentals in the United States: No. 5 Nationally

Art

The Art Department offers two majors: A B.F.A in Visual Communication Design, leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, a B.A. in Art History, leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree. The Art Department also offers three minors, a minor in Visual Communication Design, a minor in Studio Arts, and a minor in Art History.

Landscape Architecture

The Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture (BSLA) is a general professional degree, nationally accredited by the

American Society of Landscape Architects The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship. ...

. The undergraduate and graduate program both ranked 10th nationally by ''DesignIntelligence'' 2014. The department's students won 5 out of 20 awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects student competition in 2008, more awards than Harvard and University of Pennsylvania. Longtime faculty member

Takeo Uesugi was a Japanese-American landscape architect who designed acclaimed Japanese garden installations. He was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and Kyoto University. Works Born in Osaka, Uesugi's prominent works include: * Th ...

designed the George and Takaye Aratani Japanese Garden adjacent to the CLA building on campus. In 2005, the college awarded

Jack Dangermond Jack Dangermond (born 1945) is an American billionaire businessman and environmental scientist, who in 1969 co-founded, with Laura Dangermond, the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a privately held geographic information systems ...

, a department graduate and

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...

richest persons in America, an honorary degree. Due to the design studio based structure of the program, the student to faculty ratio is a relatively low 16 to 1.

Urban and Regional Planning

The Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning is designed for students interested in working with the critical issues of social, environmental, and physical change in cities and regions. Student to faculty ratio is 24 to 1. In 2008, the program was ranked 21st in the nation for Best Urban & Regional Planning graduate program amongst all private and public schools, according to Planetizen, an online publication for the urban planning, design and development community and 2nd best for programs without a Ph.D.

Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies

Located on within the Cal Poly Pomona University campus, the Center researches and demonstrates a wide array of regenerative strategies including low-energy architecture, energy production technology, water treatment, organic agriculture, ecological restoration and sustainable community development. Up to 20 students can choose to reside in one of two dormitories on site. The center offers a Minor in Regenerative Studies and a Master of Science degree in Regenerative Studies. The center became the first

carbon neutral Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removal, removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon diox ...

facility in the

system.

Special programs

- VDL House - The college maintains the house of renowned modernist architect

, whose wife left the house to the college to continue his legacy. The house serves as a laboratory for the study of historic preservation and sustainable design and has been used to host college guests and design studio presentations. There are student led tours of the house every Saturday from 11am to 3pm. For more information visit the neutra-vdl.org website *Office for International Studies - The college encourages students to participate in study abroad programs through the CSU International Programs in Italy, Denmark and Canada. In addition the college maintains direct exchange programs in architecture with the

École Spéciale d'Architecture The École spéciale d'architecture (ÉSA; formerly École centrale d'architecture) is a private school for architecture at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France. The diploma from the École spéciale d'architecture (DESA), recognized by the St ...

in Paris France, the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

in Australia,

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a public research university located in Fukuoka, Japan, on the island of Kyushu. Founded in 1911 as the fourth Imperial University in Japan, it has been recognised as a leading institution of higher education and resear ...

in Japan, the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; , ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, a university in Athens, Greece. It is named in honor of its benefactors Nikolaos Stournaris, Eleni Tosi ...

in Greece,

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

in Glasgow Scotland, Hochschule Biberach in Germany, and the

National Taiwan University of Science and Technology The National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (abbreviated as NTUST or TaiwanTech) is a public university located in Taipei, Taiwan. TaiwanTech was established in 1974 as the National Taiwan Institute of Technology (), the first and ...

Tamkang University Tamkang University (TKU; ) is a private university in Tamsui District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It was founded in 1950 as a junior college of English. Today it is a comprehensive university with 11 colleges that serves nearly 25,000 students ...

and Chaoyang University of Technology in Taiwan. An average of 60 to 80 students participate each year in the various programs. Under existing agreements, a number of foreign students also study each year at the College. *Resource Center - A resource library containing 25,000 books, periodicals, technical reports and a special collection of documents from the architectural offices of

, Craig Ellwood, Raphael Soriano, Garrett Eckbo and Donald Wexler. *W. Keith and Janet Kellogg Art Gallery - Located in building 35A, the gallery hosts contemporary art exhibits for the campus and greater Los Angeles community. The building was designed by architecture instructor James Pulliam and its sculpture garden and entry gates were designed by Italian

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

Ettore Sottsass Ettore Sottsass (; 14 September 1917 – 31 December 2007) was an Italian architect and product designer. He was known for his designs of furniture, jewelry, glass, lighting, homeware and office supplies. He also worked on numerous buildings an ...

. *Neutra Medal for Professional Excellence - An annual award given in recognition of an individual's contribution to the environmental design profession. Past recipients include

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable works include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), Kansai International Airport in Osaka (1994), the Whitney ...

, Harwell Hamilton Harris (1982),

Kisho Kurokawa (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement. Biography Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...

(1988), Herman Hertzberger,

Konrad Wachsmann Konrad Wachsmann (May 16, 1901 in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany – November 25, 1980 in Los Angeles, California) was a German Jewish modernist architect. He is notable for his contribution to the mass production of building components. Originall ...

(1980),

Ralph Rapson Ralph Rapson (September 13, 1914 – March 29, 2008) was Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Minnesota for 30 years. He was an interdisciplinary designer, one of the world's oldest practicing architects at his death at ag ...

(1984), Bruce Schneider-Wessling (1985),

Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer, and teacher. Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist ...

(1986), Ian McHarg (1992),

Moshe Safdie Moshe Safdie (; born July 14, 1938) is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. He is well known for incorporating principles of socially responsible design throughout his six-decade career. His projects include cultural, ed ...

(1993), Jaime Lerner (1994), Albert Frey (1996),

Glenn Murcutt Glenn Marcus Murcutt (born 25 July 1936) is an Australian architect and winner of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Glenn ...

(1998), Samuel Mockbee, Francis Dean, Raymond Kappe,

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

(1999),

Rafael Viñoly Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (1 June 1944 – 2 March 2023) was an Uruguayan-born architect based in New York. He was the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Ma ...

(2000), Jones and Jones (2007),

(2011),

Tadao Ando is a self-taught Japanese autodidact architect known for his unique integration of architecture and landscape. Architectural historian Francesco Dal Co described his work as an example of " critical regionalism". Ando received the prestigious ...

(2012),

Michael Rotondi Michael Rotondi (born June 26, 1949) is an American architect and educator. He has been a member of two international practices (Morphosis from 1976-1991, and RoTo Architects 1991–present, which he founded). He attended the Southern Californi ...

(2014), Enrique Norten (2015). and

Carme Pinós Carme Pinós Desplat (born 1954) is a Spanish architect. Biography Pinós graduated Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB) in Barcelona in 1979 and returned to the school in 1981 to study Urbanism. From 1982 on she form ...

(2016). *Schrage House - In 2011, the college was pledged the Schrage House designed by renowned

Mid-Century Modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

architect Raphael Soriano in the 1950s. The $3 million

bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

includes funding for the future maintenance of the home. *The Dale Prize - "The Dale Prize recognizes planning excellence, creates dialogue between scholars and practitioners, and enriches the education of planning students. Scholar and practitioner awardees demonstrate excellence in a common topic that is selected each year. Awardees spend two days on the campus, meeting with students and participating in a colloquium. The Dale Prize is made possible by an endowment provided by June Dale, wife of the late William R. Dale (Bill Dale)." *Link Magazine - A twice a year publication showcasing the accomplishments of students, faculty and alumni in the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Art and Urban Planning.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cal Poly Pomona College Of Environmental Design California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Landscape architecture schools Architecture schools in California Educational institutions established in 1971