DAAP

Entrance to the newest addition to DAAP. Daapspace.daap.uc.edu

The College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, or DAAP has a history based in the McMicken School of Design, started in 1869 as the first department of what would later be called the University of Cincinnati.

During its early years, the school focused on design as it applies to industry. However, as Cincinnati’s art community grew, the practical education of the McMicken School was not creative or artistic enough to satisfy students and educators looking to study the fine arts. In 1884, the McMicken School of Design was transferred to the Cincinnati Art Museum Association to form the Cincinnati Art Academy.

The University of Cincinnati would wait more than forty years to rebuild an arts program. This gap caused a mental shift in the general public, who began to associate arts in their city with Eden Park and the Cincinnati Art Museum Association’s functions.[1] When UC did start a new arts program in 1925 it was under the name School of Applied Arts and integrated with Herman Schneider’s cooperative education program. In applied arts, students could not only study design, but also experience the application of design in a work environment.

The school faltered, as did the university, through the Great Depression and World War II. However, 1946 brought new leadership and a new name for the school. Ernest Pickering, who had worked with Herman Schneider, became the Dean of the College of Applied Arts. He would be the first dean to run the Applied Arts College separate from the College of Engineering and Commerce. While the idea of applied arts remained imbedded in the College’s identity, the move away from the engineering college was an early shift towards a more artistic curriculum. The post-war years brought expansion to the college’s student body as well as its programs.

The Alms building in winter, 2009. Sean Bender.

Also in 1948, land that was formerly part of Burnet Woods became available for the University. This enabled the Applied Arts College to finally plan a facility that would house most of its students in the same structure. The design for the College’s first building, the Alms Memorial Building, was quickly completed and in five more years the DAA building would join it.[2] These buildings were fundamental in uniting faculty and students who had previously been spread across the campus.

1960 brought yet another name change to the Applied Arts College, as it would now be referred to as the College of Design, Architecture and Art, or DAA. This was the first of many changes in this decade and the next.

The third building added to the complex, after the DAA addition, was the Wolfson Center for Environmental Design.

The Wolfson Center for Environmental Study, 1976. DAAP Library Media Collection

As part of the changes in the 1960s and 1970s, a new dean was appointed for DAA. Harold Rice oversaw the construction of Wolfson, the college’s transition to the standardized quarter calendar, and the introduction of the Planning Department.

His successor, Dean Bert Berenson encouraged the faculty, and believed in increasing the College’s reputation. Dean Berenson reorganized the college into the schools that exist today. The Schools of Design, Art, Architecture and Interior Design, and Planning were given equal rights and responsibilities, which helped create independence from the College. The creation of a School of Architecture and Interior Design initially created controversy, as many believed that architecture would overshadow interior design. However, the interiors program flourished and is now the highest rated interior design program in the nation.

After Berenson retired in 1982, Jay Chatterjee became DAAP’s dean and started campaigns to improve community relations, faculty life, and campus architecture. He was the guiding force in deciding to bring signature architects to design the overhaul of UC’s campus. The master plan by George Hargreaves integrated buildings by Michael Graves, Bernard Tschumi, Henry Cobb, and others into a unique system of landscapes.[3] The university has profited from the works of these architects, as enrollment has risen and the University of Cincinnati has been named one of the most beautiful campuses nationally and internationally.[4] DAAP’s own addition was the first of the new designs to be built.

Aerial plan of the Aronoff addition, 1995. Study the Works of Peter Eisenman? Why?!

The Aronoff Center for Design and Art was designed by Peter Eisenman and led the way for other signature architects to work at UC. The building received much critical acclaim for not only the design, but also for the forward thinking, computer-aided construction methods.

Despite several setbacks, innovation and forward-thinking deans have truly defined DAAP’s history. This legacy continues today, accounting for the school’s programs consistently ranking among the top in the nation and the world.

[1] Damschroder, 26.

[2] Hargreaves Associates, University of Cincinnati Master Plan (1995).

[3] Hargreaves Associates, University of Cincinnati Master Plan (1995).

[4] John Bach, Forbes Magazine Lists University of Cincinnati among World's Most Beautiful Campuses (2010).