Architectural Design

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

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The design studio

Architectural education

As the complexity and cultural prominence of

architectural projects increased, so did the recognition

and status of the architect. As the training of architects

became more formal, design studio culture was

transformed from a professional to an educational

context.

Early architectural education

In the 19th century some architects wished to achieve the

respectability of professional status. In the UK, in 1831, a

Royal Charter awarded the title of architect to professionals,

and membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects

began. Such privilege also brought responsibility and so

more structure and formality was introduced into

architectural training. Learning as an apprentice within a

professional environment inevitably fostered a mentoring or

‘master/pupil’ relationship and this was often translated in a

very literal way as higher education began to develop.

In 1847 the Architectural Association became the first

institution in the UK to offer a structured programme of

instruction. As more schools were established, the previous

system of apprenticeships or articled pupillage declined, until

by the 1920s most trainee architects received formal training

at an institution of higher education.

After the First World War, revolutionary times called for

a revolution in architecture and the Bauhaus art school

exemplified this approach (see pages 12–13). The founding

manifesto and programme for the school under its first

director, Walter Gropius, stated that art cannot be taught

but that craft and manual skill could be. Students would

once again learn by doing. Value and status were restored to

those undertaking this less ‘academic’ approach. They would

reach back to the idea of apprenticeships and focus on the

experience of making in the school’s workshops, under the

supervision of the skilled studio masters.

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/

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