New Academic Graduate Studio for U of I Architecture Students Formed in Collaboration with UWM and Design Firm Kahler Slater
Kahler Slater, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning have announced the formation of The Kahler Slater Studio, a new academic graduate studio offered to students at both universities. The studio will begin courses in fall 2022 with Kahler Slater staff serving as adjunct professors.
The collective brings the three entities together to increase the collaboration between academia and practice. Students from the universities will work in partnership with Kahler Slater’s design team in their Chicago and Milwaukee offices. The immersive experience was designed to support the enrollment growth in architecture programs at both universities as well as build upon the longstanding relationship UWM and the U of I have with Kahler Slater.
The syllabus is structured to offer hands-on, interdisciplinary opportunities for students to work on projects focusing on corporate, hospitality, residential, healthcare, cultural, sports, recreation, and higher education. Students in the 2022 fall semester will begin with a project located in Chicago, following with a 2023 project based in Milwaukee.
“The Illinois School of Architecture is thrilled to see this studio come to fruition,” states Francisco Rodriguez, FAIA, Director, Illinois School of Architecture. “The school and our Alumni Advisory Board have been working to grow new opportunities for our students to collaborate with practitioners. The Kahler Slater Studio supports this goal and expands our growth in Chicago and the Midwest, while creating a strong collaboration with UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning. It allows our students to explore a new paradigm of cross-studio work.”