As the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture(opens in new window) (SOA) works to shift conventional assumptions about what architecture is and what an architect does to ideas that are more inclusive and equitable, it partners with the University Libraries to ensure content is increasingly reflective of diverse communities.

New additions to the architecture collection in Hunt Library include titles such as "Rethinking Global Modernism: Architectural Historiography and the Postcolonial(opens in new window)" and "Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America.(opens in new window)" The arrival of the books is a sign of important changes happening in the SoA.

The School of Architecture is reviewing its mission, values, and programs and developing an actionable vision that can address some of the significant challenges facing architecture and the built environment in the 21st century. This strategic planning process, called Pedagogies 2020(opens in new window), contains three interrelated pedagogies, including Race and Inclusion, Fundamentals, and Design Research.

The Race and Inclusion pedagogy seeks to address the role architecture can play in creating more equitable, inclusive and just communities at every scale in the school, at CMU, in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, the region and the world.

"Being a global university and working in a field that must address every person of every identity and class, we need to do better at making our field more accessible," said Kai Gutschow(opens in new window), associate professor of architecture and associate head of design ethics. "Our curriculum must be more jargon-free, our pedagogy must be open to different kinds of learners, and our courses should be teaching a greater variety of material."

University Libraries' Jill Chisnell(opens in new window) supports this effort in her position as the art, architecture and design librarian. In this role, she is working to help identify books about architects from underrepresented groups and resources to address diversity and increase empathy in the practice of architecture.

"Urban planning, urban design, environmental design — these are all areas that require architects to be able to work within diverse communities. The school does a lot of programming and outreach to prepare their students to go into the profession and work in the public," Chisnell said.

The SoA Race and Inclusion Research Guide(opens in new window) is a starting place for architectural research and scholarly curiosity of social, political and economic disparities within communities and the built environment. Chisnell developed the research guide, shared it with faculty, and added it to the University Libraries' website.

"Now, the Race and Inclusion Research Guide serves as a model for the art and design collections too. This practice has changed how I buy books in all of my areas," Chisnell said.

Chisnell is always seeking to make the new architecture and urban planning resources accessible online, which was especially important when faculty and students need to work remotely.

"eBooks and full texts that people can access in their homes are more important than ever," Chisnell said. "Because there are a lot of titles that aren't available as eBooks, it can be challenging to find electronic alternatives or an e-copy of a book that we already have in print and making sure those are available to more than one single user."

Chisnell worked closely with Gutschow last year on a semester-long research project for his lecture course, "Modern Architecture & Theory," in which each student would pick a non-Western sector of the world and identify three buildings to study that were not part of the usual list of great buildings in the Euro-American canon featured for so long in textbooks and courses.

This material can be hard to find on the internet, so students had to go to the library to get printed books and journals. But it was the pandemic, and some students were taking the course from their home countries. Chisnell helped students understand how to do the research, get access to library materials, and purchased books CMU did not own. The most prominent of these was the out-of-print 10-volume "World Architecture: 1900-2000: A Critical Mosaic(opens in new window)," a survey of 20th-century architecture with one volume for each major region, each identifying 100 important and less well-known buildings.

"Thanks to Jill making these resources accessible, the students did great work on some wonderful but relatively un-heralded buildings, many by women, indigenous people or architects of color," said Gutschow. "I will repeat the assignment this year, and hope that all students can get in the library and find even more great sources."