Photo Gallery: Learning through travel

“Immersive experiences teach best,” says Adjunct Professor Honorata Pienkowska, who recently took a group of undergraduate students to Lisbon and Marrakesh.

In February, more than 100 students at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism travelled as part of the school’s Directed Studies Abroad program for undergraduates and the Option Studio for graduate students.

Guided by faculty and instructors, nine groups of students visited 10 countries: Albania, Belgium, Egypt, England, Italy, Portugal, Morocco, Peru, Spain, and the United States. Read about the itineraries here.

“These are outstanding learning opportunities for students,” says Director Anne Bordeleau.

“Faculty members and instructors have research and expertise in different areas of the world, and they generously contribute much time to offer thought-provoking windows into these various sites.”

Here’s a glimpse of the 2025 trips.

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Egypt (Cairo and Aswan)

Leader: Assistant Professor Menna Agha
Students: Master of Architecture

The visit focused on Nubian villages, land, and people. Students learned about the Nile, Nubian architectural history, dams and development, displacement and resettlement.

Genoa, Italy

Leader: Professor Federica Goffi
Students: Third-year BAS (Design)

Students explored Genoa’s squares, museums, and historic buildings, and visited major projects by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop and the Renzo Piano Foundation.

Spain (Madrid, Segovia, Toledo)

Leaders: Associate Professors Zachary Colbert and Johan Voordouw
Students:  Master of Architecture

The trip offered first-year Master of Architecture students a fieldwork experience that emphasized the essential processes of sketching and analyzing architecture and sites.

Lisbon, Portugal, and Marrakesh, Morocco

Leader: Adjunct Professor Honorata Pienkowska
Students: Third-year BAS (Design)

Students traced influences on cultural formation between North Africa and Iberian Europe, in the context of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity designations.

Peru

Leader: Assistant Professor Jake Chakasim
Students: Master of Architecture

The Global Indigenous Option Studio took students to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Cusco and Machu Picchu, where they learned from Indigenous knowledge holders.

Albania (Tirana, Durrës, Krujë, Gjirokastër, Thumanë)

Leader: Assistant Professor Suzanne Harris-Brandts
Students: Third-year BAS (Urbanism)

Students in the Global Perspectives Studio visited Albania to see the dramatic urban transformations underway and to learn about the country’s rich history.

London, England, and Brussels, Belgium

Leader: Professor Ozayr Saloojee
Students: Master of Architecture

The studio themes are the colonial footprint of museums and landscapes, looted artifacts, repatriation, cultural patrimony, reparations, extraction, and emancipatory spatial practice.

Rome, Italy

Leader: Adjunct Professor Lyette Fortin
Students: Third-year BAS (Conservation & Sustainability)

Students visited sites that offer profound insights into various architectural conservation philosophies developed over centuries, including three historically significant hospitals.

New Orleans, USA

Leader: Associate Professor Catherine Bonier
Students: Fourth-year BAS (Urbanism)

The trip focused on water, cities, and equity. Students visited Crescent Park, planted traditional medicine plants, visited the Land Memory Bank and Seed Exchange, learned about Lincoln Beach, and joined the Cleopatra parade.