In the fall of 2005 six Mexican architecture students from Merida, Mexico City, and San Luis Potisi joined the Fifth Year Urban Studio (ARCH 5116) led by Professors Jeff Williams, David Hanser, and Taka Okuda for a special exchange program sponsored by FIPSE. The purpose of the exchange program is to introduce students from Mexico, Canada, and the United States to the practice of architecture in each country and to also facilitate an understanding of the cultural and architectural issues faced by each country. The semester was structured to accommodate two major projects; a masterplanning exercise in OKC focused on a mixed use development on the Oklahoma River, and a large-scale mixed-use project in Portland, Oregon. The class visited both sites and met with city officials to understand the urban issues in each city.

In OKC, students met with members of the Oklahoma River Trust and local architect Jim Hasenbeck (MARCH ‘82). In Portland, students met with officials from the Portland Office of Sustainability and worked with a local “client”, Ron Paul, to better understand the local issues. This project entailed housing, retail, and a year round market.

Each project emphasized team-work and focused on the special issues that come with working in urban environments. The five-day field trip to Portland was especially valuable in that it exposed students to a city that has a highly developed urban transportation system and a strong public policy on sustainable issues to guide its development.

Jerry Conduff (BARCH ‘90) from BOORA Architects helped coordinated the field trip.

The six Mexican students accompanied the faculty in visits to Dallas and Arkansas to help expose them to the architecture of the region.