Notre Dame Architecture

The sisters in Rome can’t wait for the arkies arriving this fall. They’re ready to show you the wonders of Ostia Antica. Andiamo!

Joyce Owens B.Arch ‘84 has been elected American Institute of Architects (AIA) National President-Elect 2027, becoming only the second Notre Dame graduate to lead the AIA, following Bill Bates B.Arch ’75 in 2019 (pictured together above).

Owens is the founding principal of Architecture Joyce Owens | Studio AJO, a Florida-based architecture and interiors firm she established in 2007. She is internationally recognized for award-winning, climate-sensitive work, particularly resilient coastal and island homes, resorts, and commercial projects. Before founding her U.S. practice, she was co-founding partner of Azman Owens Architects in London, where her clients included Boris Johnson, Alexander McQueen, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Her ascent to one of the profession’s highest national offices reflects the enduring impact of a School of Architecture education that prepares graduates to shape the built environment and lead the discipline for decades to come.

This year’s final review project for third-year students on the Rome campus involved designing a villa in Mandela, a town not far from Tivoli, in the Lazio region. Students either designed a spa and event hall or proposed an alternative use for the site. They drew inspiration from the places they visited in Italy during the 2025–2026 academic year including villas in Rome and its environs like Villa Aldobrandini, Villa Falconieri, and Villa Medici.

The final reviews were followed by an end-of-year exhibition, during which the students’ achievements were celebrated and the Nellie Wynn Kervick Award was presented to the student who most distinguished themselves in the art of freehand drawing. This year, the award was presented to Nolan Waters. Congratulations, Nolan! The exhibition was also an opportunity to bid farewell to the students who spent a semester (March/MADU students) or an academic year (third-year undergraduates) in Rome before returning to South Bend, where they will continue their studies.

The city of Würzburg, in the southern part of Germany, is well known for its baroque character, still visible in its urban fabric. Among its most excellent landmarks is the world-famous Residenz, designed by Balthasar Neumann, whose grand staircase is adorned by a sweeping fresco by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his sons.

An area of about 4 hectares in the northern part of the town remains underdeveloped. The site neighbors the imposing church of Johannes in Haug, completed in 1691 by the Italian architect Antonio Pertini, with two towers rising 75 meters. Its several buildings vary in use, some standing vacant, with little cohesion between them. For this reason, the city of Würzburg plans to launch a design competition in late 2026 to realize the full potential of this valuable piece of land.

During the fall semester the Rome graduate studio collaborated to design a robust urban fabric closely reflecting the character of its surrounding context: building heights, visual axes, materials, a contemporary traffic concept, and the broader urban environment. During the second semester each student selected one building to develop at the scales of 1:100 and 1:500, producing floor plans, sections, facades, and details attentive to local architectural character.

Soaring to new heights in this next chapter…

After many late nights in Walsh Family Hall, the class of 2026 finished presenting their thesis projects last week. From monasteries to mixed-income residencies, this year’s projects reflect the breadth of impact architecture can have on our lives.

Celebrate with us at the 2026 Graduating Student Award Ceremony on May 15 at 3:30 pm, in person and online. Find more commencement details on the School of Architecture website.

Philippe Villeneuve accepted the Henry Hope Reed Award this past weekend in Chicago at the 2026 Richard H. Driehaus Prize Ceremony. Internationally recognized for his visionary leadership in the restoration of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, Villeneuve mobilized hundreds of architects, engineers, designers, and craftspeople across the country to aid in the restoration effort. The collaboration enabled the cathedral’s restoration at an unprecedented pace while maintaining fidelity to its historic fabric. Villeneuve addressed the paradox at the heart of restoration work in his remarks:

“Understanding a monument of which we are not the author in order to be able to transmit it without error to those who succeed us is the very nature of our profession as Chief Architect of Historic Monuments. It is new in terms of the history of architecture. However, it has evolved according to experiences, problems encountered, pathologies, programs, and according to the evolution of techniques, but also, and of course, errors…What is the place of the restoration in the history of the monument? At Notre-Dame, we are restoring the restaurateur.”

As Notre-Dame enters its next century, Villeneuve’s work ensures that what is passed down is not merely a building, but a standard.