Building Community A New Future for Architecture Education and Practice : a Special Report

This report examines the problems and possibilities of architecture education as it has evolved in the United States and proposes a new framework for renewing architecture education and practice. In order to assess the need for reform in architecture education, students and alumni from 15 representative campuses were surveyed as to whether they would attend their School of Architecture again. Survey questions also dealt with preparation of graduates for their profession, salary expectations, reasons for entering the architecture profession, feelings about the profession, and the School of Architecture's reputation on the university campus. A model of architecture education based on seven separate but interlocking priorities was proposed: (1) an enriched mission; (2) a more inclusive institutional context based on the principle of diversity with dignity; (3) a goal of standards without standardization; (4) an architecture curriculum that is better integrated with knowledge both within and outside the architecture discipline; (5) establishment of a supportive climate for learning; (6) a more unified profession based on partnership between schools and the profession; and (7) preparation of architects for lives of civic engagement. (Contains reference notes for each chapter.) (CK)