Mission & Vision

Sutton Hall ceiling mosaic
MISSION & VISION

The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture has a long and historic legacy in providing next-generation leadership for design and planning education. Always aware of our role as stewards of the built environment, we meld principle and practice to foster innovation while remaining always grounded in serving our communities.
 
Our disciplines play a key role in addressing complex local, regional, national, and global issues while advancing a better quality of life for all of society's members. A diverse learning environment that welcomes a variety of perspectives and backgrounds is crucial to addressing these collective concerns.
 
Located in Austin, Texas, one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. – and one that is widely recognized for its creative community and entrepreneurial spirit – School of Architecture students are uniquely positioned to gain first-hand experience with a rapidly growing and changing built environment. As part of one of the world’s leading public research universities with over 170 fields of study, students and faculty have access to a dynamic range of expertise available on the UT Austin campus. While we engage with our campus and community, we also extend our influence globally through studios and seminars that develop projects in Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia, and through an extensive network of alumni leaders worldwide.

AT A GLANCE, UTSOA IS:

  • A diverse and vibrant community with a broad range of expertise and interest in the built environment.
  • Shaped by award-winning faculty experienced in both academic and professional realms.
  • Grounded in the Austin region and the state of Texas, with international reach and consequence.
  • Committed to interdisciplinary teaching and research, both within the School of Architecture and across the university.
  • Addressing important societal issues facing the built environment including urbanization, energy and resource consumption, transportation, healthy living, and resilient and sustainable futures.
  • Instagram Post
    Even in an increasingly digital profession, hands-on fabrication remains a cornerstone of design education.<br>
    @utsoa

    Even in an increasingly digital profession, hands-on fabrication remains a cornerstone of design education.

  • Instagram Post
    Summer stillness at UTSOA ☁️
    @utsoa

    Summer stillness at UTSOA ☁️

  • Instagram Post
    Have you seen Goldsmith Hall's Living Wall lately? It’s thriving. 🌿<br><br>Designed to attract native fauna and test the boundaries of green wall systems, the Living Wall is a research project years in the making—part art, part architecture, part ecology.<br>
    @utsoa

    Have you seen Goldsmith Hall's Living Wall lately? It’s thriving. 🌿

    Designed to attract native fauna and test the boundaries of green wall systems, the Living Wall is a research project years in the making—part art, part architecture, part ecology.

  • Instagram Post
    What happens when local decision-makers and academic subject-matter experts come together to tackle some of Texas’ most urgent planning and design challenges?<br>
    @utsoa

    What happens when local decision-makers and academic subject-matter experts come together to tackle some of Texas’ most urgent planning and design challenges?

  • Instagram Post
    Kicked off the first of three orientation sessions this summer with an incredible group of new students. Welcome to UTSOA!
    @utsoa

    Kicked off the first of three orientation sessions this summer with an incredible group of new students. Welcome to UTSOA!

  • Instagram Post
    An outstanding leader, architect, teacher, and a radiant positive force in our field, it’s no surprise that Professor Elizabeth Danze has been named one of the 2025 #Texas10 by @texasexes.<br>
    @utsoa

    An outstanding leader, architect, teacher, and a radiant positive force in our field, it’s no surprise that Professor Elizabeth Danze has been named one of the 2025 #Texas10 by @texasexes.

  • Instagram Post
    Reimagining the Post-Industrial: AI and Material Assemblage<br>
    @utsoa

    Reimagining the Post-Industrial: AI and Material Assemblage

  • Instagram Post
    The 3rd Île-de-France Architecture and Landscape Biennial (@bapidf) invited Associate Professors Nerea Feliz (@feliz_nerea) and Clay Odom (@studiomodo) to lead their students in exploring how vernacular strategies from warmer climates—such as the southern U.S.—might inform climate-adaptive design ap
    @utsoa

    The 3rd Île-de-France Architecture and Landscape Biennial (@bapidf) invited Associate Professors Nerea Feliz (@feliz_nerea) and Clay Odom (@studiomodo) to lead their students in exploring how vernacular strategies from warmer climates—such as the southern U.S.—might inform climate-adaptive design ap

  • Instagram Post
    Plant Potential ATX South 🌱 <br>
    @utsoa

    Plant Potential ATX South 🌱