We'll Always Have Paris

Paris is known for romantic settings, gourmet dining, and haute couture, but it’s the rich architectural tapestry that makes the City of Lights a perfect place for Rice School of Architecture Paris.

“Paris is such a rich urban lab,” says John Casbarian, professor and associate dean of Rice’s School of Architecture and one of the founders of the Paris program. “Its infrastructure has vestiges of architecture from the Roman encampment all the way to buildings of the 21st century. Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, modern: it’s all there.”

Study abroad has long been a valued component of architectural study, but for years, Rice students who chose that option did so independently and without credit. Increasingly, professors at the architecture school saw how such a program improved student experiences, and for almost three years, the school operated a joint program in Lugano, Switzerland, with the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

“The location was beautiful, but it was isolated and had no urban life,” Casbarian recalls. “When the program began to change, we decided to wipe the slate clean and start our own program. We settled on Paris as the ideal location.”

The Rice School of Architecture Paris (RSAP) was approved in spring 2002, and not missing a beat, Casbarian began looking for a location for the school and apartments for students. Kent Fitzsimons ’00, a Rice alum from Canada whose wife is French, joined the team as resident assistant director, and the program officially opened that fall. Each semester, 10 final-year bachelor’s or third-year master’s degree candidates attend RSAP, which is located close to the Bastille and Gare de Lyon.

Classes in the semester-long program include design studio, urban and architectural history and theory, documentary representation, and French language studies. Fitzsimons and Casbarian, who travels to Paris monthly, teach studio classes, and Rice faculty and local educators and practitioners contribute as well. History and theory courses consist of lectures by specialists on particular topics, such as postwar city buildings in France or the relationship between building technologies and cultural changes in early architectural modernism.

“Paris attracts architects and scholars from all over, so the faculty is international,” Fitzsimons says. “We have critics and lecturers from England, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, and, of course, the many regions of France.”

In addition to attending classes, students visit examples of urban design in the Paris region as well as works of modern architecture normally closed to the public or off the beaten path. Each semester also features a five-day trip to cities like Berlin, Rotterdam, or Basel, as well as weekend trips within France.

“We combine stays in great European cities with visits to significant architectural works,” Fitzsimons explains. “We always spend a day at the Priory of La Tourette near Lyon, a celebrated late work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, built as a Dominican university in the late 1950s.” Rounding out the experience are real-world projects with constituent groups, such as developers, city officials, and private clients.

The eclectic faculty and travel opportunities appeal to students. “My favorite part of the program was the video/photography class taught by Luciano Rigolini, who is a great character,” says Eric Ratkowski, who attended RSAP in spring 2005 and presented his master’s thesis last January. “A close second was the urban studies class, which took us to the suburbs and far off the tourist trail.”

Program organizers are careful not to schedule too much, providing opportunities for students to learn from the culture and follow personal interests. Many students take advantage of Paris’s music scene, film culture, and public swimming facilities, Fitzsimons notes. Other activities help immerse students in the culture. “Every few weeks, we have lunch clubs,” Fitzsimons says. “We eat as a group at typical bistros that serve affordable traditional food. This is an opportunity to introduce students to French culture through food and conversations.”

Students also find independent opportunities to learn about French culture. “I really enjoyed taking the train as a regular part of my routine,” Ratkowski says. “It was a novelty that might have gotten old had I stayed longer, but it was a great contrast to my previous residences in Detroit and Houston.”

Judging from the number of applicants—usually around 30 each semester—the program is a huge success. “We’ve had incredibly positive feedback,” Casbarian says. “The response from the students and their enthusiasm are testaments to the continued, ongoing interest in the program.”

Exposure to urban issues and different cultural experiences, he says, is important to the study of architecture. “The value is immeasurable,” Casbarian affirms. “Students who complete the program and return to Rice bring back greater insight, a broadened urban perspective, and international experience, that not only enrich their work but also are shared with their peers.”

—Dawn Dorsey