The study of architecture incorporates learning from so many fields—engineering, design, art, technology, business, math, and science—that there’s something in it for everyone, the students of Milton’s Architecture Club have found.

“We try to give members an architectural experience that may build into the Architecture half course, which has doubled in size compared to last year,” said club co-head Sam Stayn ’24, referring to a popular Visual Arts elective. “I think the part of architecture that people find most attractive is blending all of the multidisciplinary aspects into design.”

The club, which also publishes The Arch—a publication about architecture news—meets regularly to participate in design challenges, talk about trends in the industry, and build models. They also collaborate with other clubs on fun activities, like a spaghetti building competition against the members of the Helix science club, Stayn said.

“What people like most is the hands-on experience,” he said. “We’d like to do more design challenges. Last year we had a fun and creative project to design the best tree, which was really fun.”

The members have had some real-world design experience as well, helping a faculty member with some ideas to outfit a mobile tiny home, Stayn said. Architecture is appealing because it affects so many aspects of life, he added.

“I think as people walk down the street, they don’t necessarily appreciate and realize the architecture that’s all around and what goes into building each and every thing that we pass by,” he said. “One minute you could be thinking about structural engineering and science and math, the next you could be talking about budget, and the next, you could be coming up with some conceptual, artistic idea.

“A lot of the architects I’m inspired by are the ones who use design to help their communities, especially Diébédo Francis Kéré, who is the first architect from Africa to win the Pritzker Prize, which is essentially the Nobel Prize for architecture,” Stayn continued. “He wanted to build schools for small communities in Africa that are sustainable and don’t require air conditioning but still remain cool. His design incorporates this really interesting mix of natural materials and he incorporates accessibility and sustainability in innovative ways.”

Stayn is hopeful that the club’s momentum keeps building and sparks a passion in other students, particularly as Milton’s campus undergoes some major building projects including the renovation of Wigglesworth Hall into a library and the opening of a reflection garden outside Apthorp Chapel.