New urbanists in New England hopeful for Hartford architecture program

New urbanists in New England are hoping the University of Hartford will seize the opportunity to turn its fledgling architecture program into a much-needed center for urban design with a new urbanist bent. “That’s something I’ve been advocating to the president, Walter Harrison,” said Harold Roth, a New Haven architect who serves on a University of Hartford advisory committee. The private university, chartered in 1957 and located in Hartford, West Hartford, and Bloomfield, is searching for someone to chair its architecture program. Some individuals associated with New Urbanism have expressed interest in the position. The program could help Connecticut cities. The university, which has 7,245 students, operates an undergraduate architectural program and has received conditional approval from the National Architectural Accreditation Board to start a master’s program this fall. If the university acts on Roth’s suggestion, it would become the only school in New England giving a master’s in urban design with a new urbanist thrust. Yale School of Architecture in New Haven lacks an urban design program, Roth noted. Connecticut-based architect Patrick Pinnell said university architecture programs that pursue a new urbanist approach are rare. “We are looking for the strongest candidate,” said former chair Dan Davis. A background in New Urbanism “is not the exclusive requirement,” he said. “We hope to have someone on board by the end of July.”