Saul A. Mintz Global Research Studios

The Tulane University School of Architecture received a $2 million gift to establish the Saul A. Mintz Global Research Studios in 2019. The gift from Jean Strauss Mintz, a 1955 graduate of Newcomb College, is in memory of her husband Saul Mintz, a native New Orleanian who graduated from the Tulane School of Architecture in 1953. More about the donation and Saul Mintz can be read here.

The Rajasthan Cities: Jaipur (A Saul A. Mintz Global Research Studiooffers an innovative approach to address the main challenges of the city, with a long term and multidisciplinary approach. Behind the pink sandstone facades of the medieval city, Jaipur confronts an urgent crisis: the rapidly diminishing supply of drinking water. A growing city with a population of 3.65 million inhabitants, Jaipur is expected to reach 5 million in 2030. The loss of ecological territory to unplanned growth and the increasing encroachment on the fragile environment of this desert city has undermined the already scarce water sources. The research question for this project is essentially an exploration of urban and architectural strategies that might enable Jaipur to be sustained. In exploring urban growth strategies, the work will be developed at multiple scales, from that of the building to that of the public landscape. The multidisciplinary approach will include disciplinary perspectives from sociology, economics, environmental ecology, engineering, and governmental policy, with considerations about water as the overarching framework. Lead Instructor: Iñaki Alday, Dean and Richard Koch Chair in Architecture

View the Fall 2019 Final Review pinup boards here.

The Addis Ababa River Project (A Saul A. Mintz Global Research Studio) is an international and multidisciplinary research project based in one of the most evolving and important megacities affected by climate change in Africa: the capital city of Ethiopia,  Addis Ababa. The main objective of the research project is to design a holistic urban resilience strategy for Addis Ababa and its 50km of river tributaries that weave through the city. Megacities such as New York, Lagos, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Mumbai all face similar water-related issues exacerbated by climate change where traditional solutions have not been enough. Further research would apply this project's comprehensive process to other urban sites to elucidate water-based strategies to solve water-based problems. Work developed by the studio will be exhibited in the U.S. and Ethiopia. Lead Instructor: Rubén García Rubio, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urbanism