page_title: Florida International University School of Architecture
section_title: Walk on Water
hierarchical_section_title: Florida International University School of Architecture / School traditions / Walk on Water
caption_attribution_description: English: Annual Walk on Water project at Florida International University
context_page_description: The FIU School of Architecture is the architecture school at Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. It is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and is a school within the College of Architecture and the Arts. The school was founded in the 1980s.
  The FIU School of Architecture is composed of three closely aligned departments: Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design. Jointly headed by the three department chairs, the School of Architecture provides a rich and diverse platform for interdisciplinary activities at the curricular and research levels. Students in any of the SOA disciplines are taught together in a single design stream for the first two years of their curricula, and then come back together for integrated design charrettes and studios as advanced students. Under the aegis of the School of Architecture, faculty in the three design disciplines apply for grants together, collaborate on the writing of books, and undertake design research through studios and external charrettes involving graduate students.
context_section_description: The Walk on Water competition is a race that all architecture students in the school must complete to graduate. Students compete in their Methods and Materials class in their sophomore year. The race has been hosted annually since 1989 by Professor Jaime Canavés. Students need to cross the 175-foot wide lake in front of the Green Library, the university's main library, using some type of walking device, hence the "walking on water". Students must walk across to win and pass the class. Over the years, the event has become a school and university-wide tradition, and considered a rite of passage within the School of Architecture. On average, 85% students manage to make it across the lake.
  Since 1989, over 1,500 FIU architecture alumni have competed in Walk on Water. The winner receives a $500 prize and an A on the project. The oldest person to cross the lake was 67 years old in 2009. The youngest was 9 years old who walked in place for his mother in 1998. The slowest time to cross the lake has been over 15 minutes.
  Recent Walk on Water records
caption: The 2008 Walk on Water race held annually is a tradition of FIU SoA alumni and students.
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