Computing has changed the way we think, feel, and operate in the modern world. This has profound implications for the way we conceive, perceive and interact within built environments. Parametric and generative design methods, digital visualization techniques, and digital fabrication processes have altered the ways by which architecture is designed and constructed. At the same time, a wide range of mobile, embedded and networked media, communications and information systems present new opportunities to shape the experience of the built environment and the choices we make there. Moving beyond screen-based simulations and interactive media, media-architecture hybrids incorporate both the virtual and material dimensions of everyday life. As sites of practice for the media arts and architecture converge, new avenues for research and experimentation arise that require an expanded knowledge base. Recognizing this challenge, the departments of Architecture and Media Study at the University at Buffalo offer a dual-degree program in Media Arts and Architecture, one of the only such programs in the country.

Working with distinguished faculty in the departments of Architecture and Media Study, students conduct research and creative explorations across a variety of areas, including (but not limited to) responsive architecture, networked performance, physical computing, parametric and generative design, digital fabrication, mobile and locative media, media geography, pervasive gaming, cultural data analytics and ambient informatics. With a focus on providing a critical context for experimental practice, this program provides the advanced skills necessary to engage contemporary confluences of the media arts and architecture.