A recent ranking of architecture schools placed Washington University’s Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, fourth in the nation. The ranking of “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools” was published by Greenway Communications last week.

It takes a village to raise a child. Few students at Washington University are children, but we depend on resources like the Writing Center and Student Financial Services. Unfortunately, children of the poorer St. Louis school districts lack access to an adequate education.

Sukkot may be a holiday about Exodus, but this year, people are flooding the Washington University campus to take part in Sukkah City St. Louis. Architects, designers and students from around the country traveled to St. Louis this week to construct their winning designs in the Sukkah City St. Louis concept and design competition.

The Architecture School has joined the Greek community on campus with a new professional fraternity, Alpha Rho Chi (APX). A group of architecture sophomores decided to bring a chapter of APX, a national fraternity for architecture and the allied arts, to Washington University about a year ago.

Washington University is giving students at St. Louis public school Patrick Henry Downtown Academy reason to look forward to Mondays. Every week Washington University students visit the school and act as student-teachers.

As Americans do their best to weather the economic storm, architects throughout the country are finding themselves losing their footholds. Nationally, approximately 30 percent of architects are unemployed. According to statistics released by the American Institute of Architects for July 2008, architectural firms across the nation were employing a total of 224,000 people. By January 2009, that number had dropped to 206,000.

As sustainability efforts continue to influence campus culture, project uHome U City engages 13 Washington University architecture graduate students in designing five homes for the local Sutter Heights neighborhood.

Despite the fact that St. Louis may not be known for its architecture, our city plays host to a variety of well-known constructions. In fact, if you look around when walking on campus, you’ll be surprised at what you find.

When thinking about St. Louis, impressive architecture does not come to mind. Sure, the Arch is a widely recognized symbol of the Gateway to the West, but beyond that, the city isn’t noted for awe-inspiring structures.