Ball State University’s (BSU) College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) will launch its seventeenth bi-yearly international study tour open to students in all three academic departments: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning. The program, initiated over thirty years ago, called “Polyark”, has evolved over the years from shorter single residential base study abroad formats to its current form as a fifteen-week intense global study tour - now adding the term “World Tour”. Our course work is woven inextricably into the intense day-by-day itinerary visiting places, spaces, design professionals, buildings, gardens, and vernacular environments - urban, rural, and natural. With the world as our classroom and curious minds wrestling with sketchbooks, traditional drawing media, and a collective dedication for ‘design’ to actuate more sustainable environments - a rich learning environment unfolds. Daily observing, reacting, recording, reflecting, and design experimentation frame the learning mosaic of the World Tour4/Polyark18 (WT4/P18) study team.
Meet the team – 40 students; 2 faculty:
- One graduate student of Architecture
- Two graduate students of Landscape Architecture
- Thirty-seven upper-level undergraduate students of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, or Urban Planning
- Two faculty directors – one from the CAP Architecture program and one from the CAP Landscape Architecture program (40 students; 2 faculty).
The group is committed to a high standard of on-the-fly course work as we puddle-jump and mud-hop across more than 23 countries and 56 cities to a greater awareness of the world at large. Follow our progress by visiting the World Tour website.
I’d like to express my greatest thanks to my parents for their undying support and believing in my personal development; to WT4/P18 faculty for enabling this enriching experience; and to Ball State University, in general, for encouraging international design education. Thank you for making this incredible opportunity possible.
