This summer, College of Design graduate students traded classrooms for temples, gardens, and bustling city streets in Japan. The May term study abroad program offered more than travel – it opened a global lens on architecture, culture, and community, leaving students inspired to carry these lessons into their future design careers.
This summer, a group of architecture graduate students from the University of Minnesota College of Design embarked on a three-week journey through Japan. From the quiet beauty of Kyoto’s temples to the fast pace of Tokyo’s vibrant streets, the program offered more than travel – it was a deep exploration of how design connects people, place, and community. Led by associate professor of Architecture Lisa Hsieh and instructor Emily Stover, students visited a wide range of Japanese cities, including Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Osaka, Sapporo, and Tokyo.
“This experience has had a lasting impact by broadening [our students’] perspectives, deepening their learning, and inspiring their future work,” said Prasad Boradkar, Dean of the College of Design.
Student reflections revealed just how transformative the experience was. Andrew Mark Larson (M.Arch, on leave) recalled visiting the Ise Jingu temples in the rain, where he felt “a sense of hiddenness and mystery and intensity.” He was struck by the Japanese approach in which “interior and exterior are layers of continuity.” Ashley Peuler (M.Arch) admired how public life flourishes in Japanese cities, with shared kitchens, baths, and transit shaping community, while gardens and temples offered a peaceful counterbalance. “I hope to create that same sense of communal rest in my future design work,” she said.
For Sasha Newton (M.Arch), the simplicity and craftsmanship of traditional architecture left a deep impression: “Simple, with attention to each joint, each material.” At Ryōan-ji Temple, she found stillness that sparked new ideas for playful indoor-outdoor designs. Nangnee Xiong (BDA ‘24, M.Arch) reflected on the practicality and convenience of Japan’s urban life: “I truly felt like Japan was designed for its people, and I want to do the same [in the United States].” A visit to the Hill of the Buddha, where vast landscapes contrasted with compact city life, also had a meaningful impact.
For Jennifer Yoos, Head of the Department of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design, these lessons underscore the importance of travel in design education. “It’s one thing to study principles in a classroom, but to be fully immersed in another culture gives students a new lens through which to view their own work. That kind of learning stays with them forever.”
This opportunity was made possible through the generosity of alumnus Burt Visnick (M.Arch ’85), co-founder of Visnick & Caulfield Associates, whose support has opened doors for countless students to study abroad. Through the Burton S. and Long X. Visnick Endowed Asian Travel Fund, he honors the impact international study had on his own career and ensures that today’s students can experience the same.
From standing in quiet temple gardens to navigating bustling train stations, the students carried home more than memories – they returned with new ways of seeing and designing that will shape their professional lives for years to come.
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