Brief Introduction
Merged by the former Civil Engineering Department of Tongji University, the Architecture Department of St. John's University, the Architecture Department of Zhijiang University, the Architecture Department of Hangzhou Art Academy, etc., the Architecture Department of Tongji University came into being, and it was the outcome of the national restructure of colleges and departments in 1952. After 1986, this Department was restructured again and became the College of Architecture and Urban Planning composed of Architecture Department, Urban Planning Department, Landscape Department and Art Design Department (the present Design and Originality College). Throughout half a century, the Architecture Department has been advocating rationality and pragmaticism, destroying the old and establishing the new, and in the gradual progress of modern architecture, it has adhered to the principle of calm observation, independent thinking, and drawing upon the strengths from other schools of learning, which formed the unique academic character and tradition of Tongji architecture.
The Architecture Department has two undergraduate specialties, namely, Architecture and Historic Architecture Conservation, and it has authorized Program for Master & Doctor Degree in three specialties, i.e. architectural history and theory, architectural design and theory, and architectural technology and science. It belongs to Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline as well as National Primary Key Discipline, and can enroll postdoctoral researchers and recruit Cheung Kong Scholars. The Architecture Department has a national undergraduate teaching group, 2 national characteristic specialty, 3 national level excellent course and 5 Shanghai municipal level courses.
Every year the Department enrolls about 120 undergraduates majoring in architecture (including Interior design) and 25 in historic architecture conservation, and the overseas students are about 10% of the total. It enrolls about 120~130 master students and 25~30 doctoral students.
For 50 years, Tongji has a consistent guideline for ideas and objectives in architectural education, i.e. regarding the rational spirit of modern architecture as soul, inheriting the academic characters of integration and assimilation, featuring in the focus and blend of both modern technology and regional culture, and basing upon the following and exchange of international academic frontiers. Its mainly aim is to bring up future engineers with solid learning, broad vision, high comprehensive quality, who are strong in innovation, and also compound senior talents with various professional compatibility. It is hoped that some of them will become leaders in certain disciplines and frontier explorers.
With efforts made by several generations, the Tongji education in architecture now shows its unique system and character of relying on national status and incorporating international situation to serve the society, besides, it keeps on its forward development. For the policy of teaching and research, the Architecture Department has persistently following 3 points:
1. The academic style of integration, and the human environment of pluralism and diversity;
2. The disciplinary attitude of rationality and pragmaticism, and the innovative spirit of pioneering;
3. The academic visual field to overlook the world, and the education orientation to look into the future.
1. The Sino-foreign joint teaching mode
In recent years, the mode of collaborative design instruction with well-known architecture colleges and departments home & abroad has been broadened from master students to undergraduates in Architecture Department. Presently the cooperation form of interaction of teachers and students, and transfer of courses and credits both at home and abroad has been adopted, which is another step forward in the internationalization of architecture teaching. In master education, the mode of collaborative education of double-degree has been practiced and this mode is being promoted to the doctoral education.
2. Teaching resources outside class
For a long lime, there have been increasing lectures and forums given by well-known architects, specialists, scholars home and abroad. In recent years, such activities are held, in average, over three times a week, which is a great supplement to the connotation and extension of the teaching program and they serve as an eye opener for students, and that in turn helps them to achieve higher attainments.
3. Trans-department teaching platform
Since 2003, based on the newly revised teaching program for junior students of the Architecture department, the college has reconfigured relevant series courses of various departments to form a big elementary teaching platform for giving trans-department courses as well as an interactive teaching system.
4. Teaching service facilities
With years of unremitting investment and efforts, the new teaching building, library, drawing file archives building, laboratory and their supporting facilities, etc. are among the best of China.
Most of the teachers of the Architecture department come from various well-known architectural colleges and departments home and abroad. Presently, there are 117 permanent teachers among whom 76 are professors or associate professors, 66 have doctorate degree, 1 has the title of national teaching celebrity in higher education, and 2 have the title of Shanghai municipal teaching celebrity in higher education. There are also 1 CAE member, 1 CAS member, 1 foreign academician of the French Academy of Architectural Sciences, and 3 Hon. FAIA. Among the engaged doctoral supervisors, 3 are Chinese architectural prospecting and design masters or CAE members. The international architectural masters as I.M.Pei, Charles Correa, Tadao Ando, and Richard Rogers are the honorary professors of the Architecture Department.
All the Department heads since 1986
1986-1988 Chair Dai Fudong Associate Chair Lu Jiwei, Zhao Xiuheng
1988-1995 Chair Lu Jiwei Associate Chair Zhao Xiuheng, Zhu Moulong, Zheng Shiling（1990-1992）
1995-1999 Chair Zhao Xiuheng Associate Chair Mo Tianwei, Chang Qing, Shi Yongliang
1999-2003 Chair Mo Tianwei Associate Chair Chang Qing, Wu Changfu, Shi Yongliang
2003-2009 Chair Chang Qing Associate Chair Huang Yiru, Cai Yongjie
2009- Chair Chang Qing Associate Chair Cai Yongjie, Zhang Jianlong
