to its needs. It has traditionally re- cruited all its staff, except secretarial, clerical, and specialists, from the architecture. schools of
To meet this demand these schools have pass- ed out many people who, although of excellent potential in more precisely defined occupations related to build- ing, were not suitable for an executive position for a position as "leader
of the team".
Schools of architecture are not de- signed to produce the instant labour needed by the profession, but the ar- chitects of the future. The two-year master's degree course, for students selected from the three-year basic foundation course already mentioned, will provide these people.
This new degree structure, besides giving the required academic ele- ment of the professional qualification, will also provide for a fair degree of specialization among the graduates, which the complex structure of the profession and the nature of the work with which it deals, now demands.
The old idea of the qualified archi- tect as an "all-rounder" is no longer valid; he cannot afford to be given the declasse subriquet of trades-master-of-none".
State of change
"Jack-of-all-
This preamble is necessary to set the background against which modern methods of architectural education are being developed. It should be emphasised that this is only part of the background and that education is very much in a state of change and experimentation, as it endeavours to anticipate the function of the archi- tect of the future. It is only the fu-
ture that can be looked to, since the material of today does not emerge as a product for another seven years at least!
The essence of architecture is its oneness, a co-ordinated combination of many parts in a whole, and so must be the education of the archi- tect. However for ease of considera- tion only, his education
may be divided into four broad areas of ac- tivity: Environmental Design; Practice, Management and Economics; Build- ing Technology: and Environmental Science.
Difficulties always arise in the use of terms, since each is subject to in- dividual interpretation which leads to misunderstanding. The tendency is to use new terms just to be "modern", but in architecture certain connota- tions have developed which bring some into disrepute.
Environmental Design, sometimes referred to as just Design, is concern- ed with the study of man and his en- vironment and from this comes an un- derstanding of his needs in buildings and spaces.
It is concerned with the evaluation of these needs and their reduction initially to understandable working statements, presented graphic- ally or in writing or in both, and
It is con- sometimes called the brief. cerned with examining alternative ways of answering the brief and of finally developing one into a project.
This study encompasses not only the localised situation of the individu- al building, but the grouping of buildings into the forms which are normally called towns and cities.
Practice, Management and Eco- nomics. covers the machinery by which the so-called "business" side of the profession is dealt with and in- cludes law as appertaining to the ar- chitect himself, to building and town planning and to contracts. It covers the theory and techniques of manage- ment as applied to the running of the architect's own establishment and to the running of the clients commis- sions. It covers the study of the economic climate which surrounds the building industry as a whole and individual buildings in particular, and introduces the would-be architect to the techniques of such subjects as cost-planning and cost control.
The field covered by the general title of Building Technology covers the theory and practical aspects of all the technical
which processes by buildings materialise, giving an under- standing of the properties of materi- als, their use in structures and how materials are combined or assembled to form elements of buildings, and of the means by which services are pro- vided in buildings.
The study of the subject Environ- mental Science seeks to establish data and criteria for the setting of optimum conditions for man's environment. It provides the basis on which the pro- cess of architectural analysis and syn- thesis is founded and the basis on which the service requirements are provided. It embraces the study of the physiology of man; of climate, particularly the microclimate of pre- cise locations, and its influence on cri- teria for the environmental comfort of man; and of the conditions for good seeing, hearing and breathing.
All cannot be accomplished in schools of architecture that would desire. For example the ability to give practical experience is beyond their means, except to a very limited extent. Despite five years of academic work, the student touches or deals but once with many of the experi- ences with which the practising archi- tect is constantly confronted.
Teaching course
one
Without wishing to belabour the point: How many times is the student expected to have done a drainage plan? If he does it once, that is rea- sonable. If he does it five times (once a year) how much further on is his education? Is he five times better at it and what has had to be sacrificed for it
an experience with network an- alysis or an acoustic study?
The teaching course (in Hong Kong, which is typical) covers 28 weeks of the year, at seven periods per day and
four on Saturdays. This gives 1,092 hours in the academic year, or 5,460 hours in five years.
some
Included in this are examinations, and the preparation for them but ex- cluded are the vacations, of which the four summer ones are expected to be spent in
profitable activity. Also excluded are the many addition- al hours the student puts in during term extending his nominal seven- hour day often to ten or more hours. If, for example, a student spends, say, 10,000 hours on his architectural edu- cation, this only means one hundred experiences of 100 hours each or 200 experiences of 50 hours each, or 50 of 200 (15 days work?).
This may sound to the unitiated, as providing plenty of time, but if one takes the lecture course alone in a subject such as Structures, the stu- dent may have 200 hours of instruc- tion in it in five years not counting practical work; he may have 200 hours in History of Architecture and Town Planning, 200 hours in Materi- als and Constructional Techniques; 150 hours in Building Services; 150 hours in Environmental Technology and 160 in Practice, Management and Economics; 100 hours in the Theory and Practice of Town Planning and possibly another 100 hours in other subjects; something like 1,300 hours. or 13 per cent of his time in formal teaching periods all of which has
to be supplemented by general study, reading, workshop and laboratory periods.
Six years?
The course in architecture, looked at in this way, may not be too mean- ingful, but at least it helps highlight one of the major problems which the schools and their students face in reaching a sufficiently high standard of education, to be a sound base for a professional career.
be This problem of time may countered in a number of ways. The most obvious is to extend the period of education to say six years, which suggests the student should do more, rather than the same only more slow- ly. This brings us into the realm of human capacities, and the danger in- herent in putting the proverbial “quart into a pint pot”.
an
Today it is accepted that, apart from the rare exceptional case, the modern architect cannot hope to be expert in all the subjects with which he has to deal. This view has given rise to the introduction of a greater degree of optional speci- alisms available to the student.
Whether or not this is going to be the best answer remains to be seen. Probably it will not, because archi- tectural education must be responsive to change in an ever-changing world. The role of the architect in five years time could well be substantially al- tered so too could the pattern of education.
Far East BUILDER, June 1968.
18