The Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China are among several sites that students from Ball State's College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) are seeing firsthand as they participate in the college's 14th global study tour.
Accompanied by two CAP faculty members, 21 students are in the midst of the 15-week study, which is taking them to architecture and urban planning projects in France, China, Egypt, Great Britain, Holland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, India, Switzerland, Austria, Lithuania and Russia.
Joseph Bilello, dean of the CAP, said the global tour will enrich the students' education by giving them a greater appreciation for architecture throughout the world.
"Students get to see the infinite imagination of people around the world," Bilello said. "They get to see the density and diversity of life outside Indiana, and the incredible splendor of the built and natural environment that can only cause you to be more humble and committed to preserving what we have."
The global study tour, called PolyArk, was initiated in the 1960s for the first graduating class of Ball State's CAP, said Rod Underwood, one of the faculty members who is accompanying the students overseas. He said the first PolyArk tour was stationed primarily in London, with excursions throughout the British Isles.
This year's tour is Ball State's first since Spring 2000, he said. The tours will continue to be hosted as Ball State students and faculty continue to express interest in future semesters.
Underwood, who has participated in three of Ball State's other PolyArk tours, said the students who are participating this spring were selected among a pool of applicants who were in their third and fourth years of the CAP's professional programs.
Throughout their 15 weeks overseas, the students are taking full course loads, he said. In addition to participating in design seminars during their breakfasts, they attend building technology lectures at several of the architecture sites they visit.
"It's among the richest experiences a college student can have," Bilello said.
The students are currently documenting their studies in sketchbooks and journals and will submit their essays and designs to the CAP after they complete their tour in April, he said. They will also be able to post their studies to Ball State's CAP PolyArk Web site, located at www.bsu.edu/worldtour/polyark14.
Bilello said he is glad many students are taking advantage of the opportunity to travel overseas this year and is confident they will benefit from seeing the landscapes and architecture that distinguish one place from another.
"They need to see what the rest of the world is doing," Bilello said. "The travel and immersion provides them experience upon which they can draw throughout a professional lifetime."
Underwood said he has learned something new on every PolyArk global study tour he has participated in and hopes the students also return this year with a greater appreciation for the art and culture that make every country a rich element of the modern world.
"Our intention is to give the students a cross sectional view of the planet," Underwood said. "In doing so, we will give them a better understanding of the world we live in as part of a global culture."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
