The Department of Architecture and Urban Design (AUD) at UCLA is now widely recognized as among the most progressive in the nation—one could even say the most progressive—combining a preeminent faculty with an interest in the computer as a creative tool and its critical impact on contemporary culture. Each year, 420 applicants from around the world compete to earn one of 45-50 slots in UCLA’s Master of Architecture I program. The department vies with Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Princeton for top students. Upon graduation, alumni work for the world’s most innovative architects, among them Frank Gehry, faculty member Thom Mayne, and Zaha Hadid—all of whom are Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureates, the highest honor in the field.
The department has a rich history. In 1964, the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning (GSAUP) was established at UCLA, comprising two programs: architecture and urban design; and urban planning.
In 1968, Harvey S. Perloff was appointed dean of GSAUP. Perloff had been a United States representative to a Committee of Nine established by the Alliance for Progress under President Kennedy in the 1960s. Later known as “the dean of American urban planners,” Perloff wrote 17 books on the subject and in 1983, he was awarded the first distinguished service citation for planning education from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
At UCLA, Perloff developed a vision of a new relationship between physical planning and urban planning and the role that this hybrid discipline could play in the future of cities. To implement these ideas, he formed the Urban Innovations Group that served for years as a clinical training arm primarily for architectural students. |  | During the 1970s and 1980s, architect Charles Moore was a professor and, at one time, chair of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design. A founding partner of the Los Angeles firm Moore, Ruble, Yudell Architects & Planners, he received the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1991. Along with Perloff, Moore was key to the success of the Urban Innovations Group. This practice wing in the school created new opportunities for students and faculty to become actively engaged in real projects.
The M.Arch. I program was begun in 1970, led by Tim Vreeland, the first chair of architecture and urban design. In 1974, Vreeland organized an historic conference, “The Whites and the Grays,” which has come to symbolize the beginning of the post-modern movement in architecture. The Whites were five New York architects—Richard Meier, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Charles Gwathmey and John Hejduk—who shared an interest in the work of Le Corbusier. The Grays—Charles Moore, Richard Weinstein and Jaquelin Robertson—with an interest in history, aligned themselves against the international style. In a desire to be also recognized, the Silvers were formed from the UCLA architecture faculty by Cesar Pelli and Craig Hodgetts, whose work focused on high technology.
In 1985, Richard Weinstein became dean of GSAUP. As director of Mayor John Lindsay’s Office of Lower Manhattan Planning and Development in New York City, Weinstein played a major role in the creation of incentive zoning, urban design guidelines and historic preservation. During his tenure as dean, he established the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies with a $5 million gift from Ralph and Goldy Lewis; the S. Charles Lee Chair; the Charles Moore Endowment for the Study of Place; and the Harvey S. Perloff Chair. Weinstein initiated the transformation of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design by recruiting Thom Mayne, Sylvia Lavin, Craig Hodgetts, Mark Mack and Dana Cuff to the faculty. |
