Architectural education
- During the research, participants felt that education reinforced divisions and assumptions about architecture as autonomous creation, rather than a collaborative process.
- Some architects say their education was overly focused on concept design, with less attention to technical design issues, financial considerations or regulations. This varies between architecture schools – some were described as more ‘practically focused’.
- Architectural students are trained to communicate the ‘narrative’. This skill is vital for practising architects, however, the questions addressed in educational contexts can be very different to those asked in real-life situations. See the project report for further information.
- Education needs to encourage multi- disciplinary collaboration, and respect for the knowledge of different construction professions and trades. Suggestions from participants in our study include:
- Providing more practical experience for architecture students on building sites;
- Greater consideration of construction processes and technical design;
- Training in cost considerations and business skills;
- Opportunities that bring together students from different construction professions during education;
- Involvement of building contractors, engineers and clients in student reviews.
Architect
“In architectural education you work on your own a lot of the time, you do group projects now and again. But as soon as you enter the profession everything you do is collaborative. Even if you’re a single architect working on your own, you’ve still got to collaborate with engineers and planners and clients.”
Presenting in architectural education and practice
