36
What happens to architecture graduates
It might therefore be tempting to think
To understand this inevitable idealism and
after years of dedicated study?
In his
that the university should be adapted to fit
how it is related to academic education,
article I Will Learn You Architecture! in
the requirements of the field. Although De
we will first zoom out to a discussion on
Volume, Reinier de Graaf describes the gap
Graaf continues by saying he did not want
universities in general. As it becomes more
1
between academic education and practice.
his education to be any different, he would
important for universities to show their
A ‘complete shock’ is what he calls the
have wanted it to be ‘candid about the status
economic value as well, different voices have
transition from his academic education
of what was being taught [and] that some
come up to emphasize what the university
to his first day in the office. He felt both
notion of context would have been provided.’
actually is for.5 In his book If You’re So
over- and under-qualified, as ‘technical
He continues: ‘I would have developed more
Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?, Chris Lorenz
knowledge fell way short of what it needed
entrepreneurial and fewer artistic interests . .
observes the economization of Dutch higher
to be... and nobody was interested in the
. and I would have recognized Le Corbusier
education and research, thoroughly ruining
elevated philosophical considerations I
and Mies for what they actually are:
the autonomy of universities and their
had developed during my studies’, thereby
history.’ Dismissing these idealistic aspects
ability to select students and staff according
underlining the frequently mentioned
of architectural education, De Graaf seems to
to their own criteria.6 Market processes are
statement that there is a difference between
draw a rather plain conclusion. Remarkably
now hindering the actual goal of Dutch
what students have learned during their
enough he contradicts himself in the very
universities:
time at university, and what they need to
next paragraph, stating that ‘productive
scientific education and research.
know when working in practice.
idealism’ is something architects inevitably
2
4
need.
to
provide
autonomous
Stefan Collini, a professor at Cambridge
Confronted with a sheer lack of interest in
University who has long been studying
his ideas, De Graaf acknowledges the ‘utter
the developments of universities, also
uselessness’ of the architect and the need to
observes
obey the requirements of economic interests. This powerlessness made some of his fellow students decide to start their career by teaching at university. To De Graaf, however, this is a strange recycling of experience. He wonders ‘what somebody barely having had a taste of the real world could possibly have to teach, apart from what they themselves had been taught a few years prior’. In that 3
sense, an ‘educational bubble’ is created, avoiding the tough reality of the capitalist world after graduation.
Confronted with a sheer lack of interest in his ideas, De Graaf acknowledges the ‘utter uselessness’ of the architect and the need to obey the requirements of economic interests.
this
increasing
importance
of universities to show their economic contribution.7 According to him, one of the most important aspects of a university is that ‘it offers postsecondary education, where “education” means more than only professional training’.8 Economic value is becoming the decisive factor in what will be topics for research. For some disciplines this means academic education is becoming less autonomous and more dependent on economic interests, while others, especially humanities, are even jeopardized in their