Back to School: Architectural Education – the Information and the Argument

In the last decade or so architectural schools have become truly international in their intake, as students select from courses worldwide. This creates a bewildering choice for schoolleavers and undergraduates shopping for a degree. A situation that has been exasperated in the UK by the professional institutions devalidating some of the most prestigious architectural schools.

Reputation is no longer enough to go by. Different institutions produce very different types of architects, whether it be an emphasis on building techniques, digital techniques, business or pure design.

This is to be a touchstone publication for anyone involved in architectural education, whether they be an entrenched academic or student. It provides four interviews with the most influential educators/heads of schools ­ Peter Cook & Christine Hawley; Elia Zenghelis & Eleni Gigantes; Anthony Vidler & Mark Wigley; and Leon van Schaik & Tom Heneghan – and short self–biographies of eleven further prominent figures, including Paul Virilio, Dalibor Vesely, Beatriz Colomina, Brett Steele and Kevin Rhowbotham, as well as with educators from countries of recent change, such as China, Russia and South Africa. The back section is dedicated to a listing of architectural schools and institutions.

Editorial (Helen Castle).

Introduction (Michael Chadwick).

Peter Cook & Christine Hawley.

Anthony Vidler & Mark Wigley.

Eleni Gigantes & Elia Zenghelis.

Leon van Schaik & Tom Heneghan .

Paul Virillo (Charles Bessard).

Beatriz Colomina.

Peter Lynch.

Neil Spiller.

Dalibor Vesely.

Brett Steele.

Michael Chadwick.

Kevin Rhowbotham.

Jonathan Hill.

Yung Ho Chang.

Iain Low, Lindsay Bremner, David Dewar.

Vladislav & Liudmila Kirpichev.

Architectural Institutions Listings.

Contributor Biographies.

Interior Eye Scenes from a Mall (Craig Kellogg).

Practice Profile 5+1 Architects (Valentina Croci).

Home Run 70 78 Rue Leblanc, Paris (Bruce Stewart).

Building Profile Museo Picasso Malaga (Jeremy Melvin).

Engineering Exegesis Paul Klee Museum (André Chaszar).

Site Lines Architourist: Fiat Lux (David Heathcote and Sue Barr).

Book Reviews.

Michael Chadwick is both an academic and a practising architect. He is teaching from September 2003 at the Universities of East London, Greenwich and Nottingham. He is also consulting on the foundation of an architectural school in Moscow, Russia. He is a senior technical co–ordinator at Sheppard Robson Architects, a major London firm, where he mentors recently graduated architectural students.