"Archiculture" & The Future of Architecture Education

datadyne007

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"I hope that if you choose to go to architecture school, you can understand the creative process and accept the transformation that your mind and body and psyche are about to go through because there is nothing absolute about this."

This documentary just came out and gives a good, but brief look into the lives of modern architecture students for those that aren't familiar with architecture education. It explains the studio system, critiques ("crits"), the unrestrained optimism of architecture students, starchitecture, and various other topics.

The intent of this documentary is really to explore and question if the method of architecture education in the US is actually preparing students for the real world. Many say no, as studio often comes with no real world restrictions. I was frequently told to ignore where mechanical equipment would go in the buildings I designed, but there was a studio at WIT where we did in fact have to lay out HVAC and provide adequate chases and such for which I am grateful. Ideally, I believe there should be a balance that many schools are still trying to find. Architecture school needs to be about finding that design sense and letting your creativity and exploration run wild, but also under some restraint (nothing crazy like budgets), possibly later in the process. I also feel that part of the NCARB IDP requirements for licensure should include working at or with a MEP and/or structural firm to fully understand how buildings work. I'd say the requirement should be around 300 hours. This would better prepare architects for handling real-world design.

I'm curious how other people feel about architecture education and the direction it's going. Do you think this is the right way to do it? Do you feel students are properly prepared for the real world after graduating? How would you improve it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62r3UPrOS9k
 

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