Two OSU Architecture students, Bailey Austin and Molly Simmons, spent the Spring semester of 2006, participating in the FIPSE student exchange program in Merida, Mexico located on the Yucatan Peninsula. Based with the Universidad Altanoma de Yucatan, Bailey and Molly were part of a class of thirty students comprised of six students from Canada, seven from the United States, three from France, and fourteen students from Mexico.

During the semester the students worked on three design projects along with studies in Drawing, History of Mayan and Spanish Influenced Architecture, Architecture and Cities, and other technical courses.

“The design coursework was essentially design/build field work,” says Molly. “We were heavily involved in construction, and learned much about the Mayan culture through our various projects, one of which was the design and construction of a traditional Mayan kitchen. The pragmatic issues occupied almost all of our time and effort. I learned so much about the Mexican and Mayan cultures,”she added.