Future Holds New Home, New Master’s for CUNY’s School of Architecture

Traditionally, in the architectural profession, earning a Master’s of Architecture has been the crucial key to “gaining entry into the upper echelons of the design spectrum,” says prominent New York City architect George Ranalli.

That New York City will soon have its very first M. Arch. program at a public institution particularly pleases Ranalli because he is also Dean of the CUNY School of Architecture at City College. (There is one other public M. Arch program in the state, at SUNY Buffalo.)

School of Architecture model

With the final approval of the State Board of Regents accomplished and the search for a director of graduate studies well under way, the official announcement of applications for a CUNY Master’s of Architecture degree program is now being planned. The inaugural class will consist of between 20 and 25 students. Word of mouth has already spread the news, and Ranalli says more than 120 letters of inquiry have already been received concerning entry into the three-year course of study. A fast-track Master’s for students who earned bachelor’s degrees in architecture will also be offered by the School.

Also causing pleasurable anticipation among the School’s faculty and students is the prospect of moving into a handsome new home. Though its current campus home, Shepard Hall, is appropriately grand and architecturally distinguished, the facilities within are outdated and in need of major upgrading.

At the request of CUNY’s Office of Facilities, Planning and Management, the Board of Trustees approved a feasibility study by the distinguished firm of Raphael Vinoly Architects, P.C. The firm was asked to weigh the option of renovating the then mostly vacant former CCNY Library building. Vinoly recommended that the School of Architecture move into the former Library, also known as the “Y” Building, a few blocks south of Shepard Hall, near the intersection of 135th Street and Convent Avenue. Late in 1999, the Trustees approved the proposal and a budget of nearly $30 million for the complete facade rehabilitation and interior renovation of the “Y” Building, which will contain a total of about 115,000 sq. ft. of space.

Notable among the features of the School’s new home are an open central atrium that looks down on an exhibition space on the first floor of nearly 7,000 sq. ft. The second floor will be devoted entirely to design studios/workshops, space for critiques, and a student lounge. The building, it is now hoped, will be ready for occupancy in 2005.