Architecture School, Season 1
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Description
The six-part series from creators Michael Selditch and Stan Bertheaud follows a group of students at Tulane University’s prestigious School of Architecture as they submit competing designs for an affordable home in Katrina-battered New Orleans. The stakes are high: the winning model will be built during the course of the school year and put up for sale, enabling one fledgling architect to begin his or her career with a high-profile splash. Architecture School opens a window onto the art and science of architecture while telling a unique and uplifting story about the literal rebuilding of New Orleans. Filmed during the 2007-2008 school year, the series follows the construction of the third home in Tulane University’s URBANbuild program, which offers fourth-year architecture students the opportunity to design and build a low-cost single-family home over the course of the school year. Founded in 2005, URBANbuild is a partnership between Tulane’s School of Architecture and Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans (N.H.S.), a 32-year-old nonprofit agency that works to restore urban neighborhoods and offers assistance to first-time low and middle-income homebuyers. N.H.S. facilitates the sale of the URBANbuild home, and also provides the capital and land. Tulane provides the creativity, expertise and manpower, in the form of the students themselves. For the students, URBANbuild represents a chance to see their ideas realized at an unusually early stage of their professional careers, not to mention a way to contribute to a city still struggling nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina. For residents of New Orleans, URBANbuild offers a chance to own an exceptional new home, one built ideally with their needs in mind.
| Name | Description | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VideoThe Big Idea | In the debut episode, we meet the Tulane University architecture students who will be submitting designs for a low-income single family home which they will build during the school year. The diverse group includes Amarit, a funny, charismatic Chicago native; Chris, an affable Georgian who seems somewhat less than driven; Carter, a highly focused Kentuckian; and Adriana, whose aesthetic owes much to her upbringing in Trinidad. | 25:38 | $1.99 | View In iTunes |
| 2 | VideoThe Winner Is... | As the semester continues the students refine their schemes and create an impressive array of drawings, physical models and computer images to illustrate their designs. Byron encourages Amarit to push his concept further; meanwhile, Carter says "everyone's mentality into this should be 'I want to win'" and decides to stick with his audacious but potentially unrealizable prototype; Chris surprises Byron with a design that harkens back to a 1920s pioneer; and Adriana pursues her concept of an S-shaped building. | 25:37 | $1.99 | View In iTunes |
| 3 | VideoDiggin' a Hole | Week One of construction begins with a stretch of hard labor: old-fashioned, low-tech digging. Two new students, Ian and Alex, join the team, adding to the colorful and competitive cross-section of young builders. N.H.S. unexpectedly finds another enthusiastic buyer who falls madly in love with the house during a tour. But a murder across the street places that sale in jeopardy, and leaves the students shaken and concerned for their safety. | 25:37 | $1.99 | View In iTunes |
| 4 | VideoMardi Gras | Mardi Gras infuses its rich color and debauchery throughout the city for the entire month of February. Neighborhood crime continues to complicate Lauren Anderson's efforts to sell last year's house. The students call a community meeting, where neighbors are vocal about crime and the lack of security in the new house design. | 25:37 | $1.99 | View In iTunes |
| 5 | VideoBoys Against Girls | The S.I.P.s [Structurally Insulated Panels] arrive, and the construction can now forge ahead at high speed. But as construction plows ahead, there are setbacks. Byron arrives on site and demands that a major beam be taken down and rebuilt due to inadequate, unsafe construction. Tension arises between the boys and the girls and a new potential buyer, Caroline, a mother of four, is interested in the house. | 25:37 | $1.99 | View In iTunes |
| 6 | Video'S' Is for Sale | A pep talk from the project manager gives the students a bit of a lift. The next stage of construction begins. Adriana and Amarit don't see eye to eye on design issues as attention turns to the ever-contentious discussions of paint color and exterior siding. Custom windows and doors are next on the agenda, but money is running low. The sale of last year's home is completed. | 25:37 | $1.99 | View In iTunes |
| Total: 6 Episodes |
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Customer Reviews
Great!
I thought is was well written and very informative!
Exciting and Intellectual
This show is not simply a show about architecture. It incorporates a human element, a competitive element, and an artistic element all in one. You not only get to see some young intellectuals bring life to design but also get to see the struggles that are gripping the New Orleans community. Do you build form over function? Should and will New Orleans return to its original atmosphere? If you have ever taken any architecture class or just love design, this is a show for you. If you are interested in the progression of the rebuilding of New Orleans, this show is for you. If you like to be intellectually stimulated and want to see competition regarding something other than eating bugs, losing weight, or racing arounf the world, this show is for you.
Yay! something that matters : )
I thought it was really cool seeing how these college students related their academic studies to the real world. I also loved how they showed that some people in this poor, black neighborhood didn't like the project at all! (Twice!) The good thing about reality tv, when it's done well like this show, is that it shows a side of life that many viewers don't usually get to see. I thought it was fascinating how frank and open the people in the neighborhood are. It mixes academic, emotional, and artistic. It's great! Get it!
