Professor Brandon Ro is passionate about teaching and inspiring the next generation of design professionals. His experience in the profession informs the way he approaches architectural education by striking a balance between theory and practice. As the co-founder of a new professional Bachelor of Architecture degree program at Utah Valley University (UVU), his leadership has been instrumental in developing new curricula to meet NAAB accreditation requirements for nearly half of the core coursework. He has an array of experience teaching architectural design studios at all levels – ranging from design fundamentals to comprehensive design. Likewise, he has developed and taught courses in architectural history and theory, a course on culture and behavior in architecture, graphic communications, architectural rendering, construction documents and specifications, and 3D modeling (BIM). Under Professor Ro’s mentorship, multiple student design and research projects (80+) have been published, exhibited, presented at conferences, garnered industry recognition, received juried design awards, and been recognized by international and local news outlets. His commitment to excellence in teaching is demonstrated across 25 different courses and by a high level of satisfaction from over 420 student evaluations (4.7 out of 5) which is above both department and university averages (4.5).
Besides serving as a frequent guest critic and juror at different architecture schools around the country, Professor Ro has been invited to deliver a number of presentations, lectures, workshops, and seminars at institutions of higher learning as well as to groups of practitioners, clients, and the general public. Topics in these activities cover a range of areas including classical design principles, comparative sacred space, architectural history and theory, aesthetic experience, cultural studies, post-occupancy evaluation survey research, evidence-based design processes, and how to apply research in practice.
BROWSE TEACHING RELATED TOPICS
(syllabi, assignments, design briefs)
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION – TEACHING + RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Architectural design and theory emphasizing phenomenology
- Evidence-based design, performance-based design, pre/post-occupancy evaluation
- Architecture’s effect on human experience, perception, behavior
- Sustainable design and environmental systems integration
- Architectural history, historiography, and reception history
- Cultural, social, political, and religious influences on architectural diversity
- Architecture as text: comparison, interpretation, meaning
- Beauty and the aesthetics of place, space, and form
- Morphology of sacred architecture and urbanism
- Material culture of religion: architectural representations and embodiment of myth, rite, ritual
- Theories of sacred geometry, proportions, and composition in classical architecture and art
For a full list of teaching related accomplishments, courses taught, curriculum developed, and design critic activities, see Professor Ro’s full Curriculum Vitae at the link below:
Tetrad Architecture & Planning 