The Last Architect-2004

THE LAST ARCHITECT by Graeme Bristol, MAIBC, MRAIC Centre for Architecture & Human Rights 231/2 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 THAILAND mobile phone (Bangkok): 089-1617283 glbristol@gmail.com www.architecture-humanrights.org

1. INTRODUCTION In 1997 Stuart Brand asked the assembled architects at the AIA convention a simple but provocative question: „Has the last architect been born?‟ This certainly wasn‟t the first time the profession received such a wake-up call and it‟s not likely the last. In 1968, the noted civil rights activist, Whitney Young Jr., pointed out to an earlier generation of American architects at that year‟s AIA convention that they were completely irrelevant to the cause of civil rights.

While Young was unequivocal in his low assessment of the value of the profession to society at large, Brand‟s question raises more. What did he mean by this? The implication is that the profession needs to change to meet not only present challenges to its legislated monopoly but to meet future demands from society along with expanded challenges from others offering building project services.

Brand‟s focus for this audience was directed towards the profession and the growing challenges to its monopoly over the design of the built environment. As Richard Hobbs, FAIA, summarized Brand‟s assessment: “Architects will become extinct as others meet clients' needs, he warned, unless we change our fundamental understanding of who we are and rediscover the manifest value of our skills, education, and training.” (Hobbs: 2002) This echoes an old concern at the beginning of the 19 th century as the role of architects in the design of the built environment was challenged by competition from "engineers, surveyors, cabinetmakers and even house agents" (Saint, 1983:60) Like that 19th century fear of competition that gave rise to the RIBA and the subsequent registration process of professionals, this version of the demise of architecture comes in the midst of rapid social change that is, arguably even more profound than the Industrial Revolution. However, even with monopolistic legislation in place in most jurisdictions, these assaults on the traditional turf of the architect proceed apace and, as Brand implies, will grow unless we are prepared to rethink what it is we are doing.

Brand saw a number of forces influencing the potential for change in the profession including the proliferation of design skills outside the traditional profession, the expectation of fewer new buildings being built (more true in the G7 nations than the developing nations), and the acceleration of high-tech applications. From the standpoint of the marketplace, if the architectural firm focuses too much of its interest on the aesthetic aspects of architecture we will have “the „official future‟ . . .with flaky building, dwindling business, and dwindling respect” (Hobbs, 1998) In the architecture schools, however, as in the profession, there is still an overwhelming emphasis on the formal aspects of architecture.

Graeme Bristol

THE LAST ARCHITECT

For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 "Schools instead have been concentrating on the formal aspects of architecture, on history and theory, apparently in the belief that it is diminished skill in form-making which is largely responsible for the difficulties architects face in their practice. (Gutman, 1987:24) In other words, Brand points out that the profession, unless it wakes up to this changing reality, will become obsolete. Meanwhile Gutman points out that the schools are continuing to train future architects in the very skills that, according to Brand, will render architecture obsolete by the time they get out of school.

Clearly, if they are right in their assessments, some rethinking of the profession must be done.

In doing so the curriculum of architecture schools must face the same scrutiny and willingness to change.

It is that rethinking that interests me here. I have talked elsewhere about changes the profession might make (Bristol, 1999, 2000). I am concerned in this paper about effects on an architecture curriculum. How will we prepare students better to address those challenges in the future, as unpredictable as they are?

In order to answer that question we have to have some idea of how we can redefine the profession. These efforts to find a redefinition of the profession have been going on for some time. It is a fact that has been readily acknowledged by a number of architectural bodies, most particularly the AIA over the last 15 years, beginning with its Vision 2000 commissioned poll back in the late 1980s and continuing on the AIA website under the leadership of Richard Hobbs. However, if all we do is look inwardly at our institutional response to shifting trends in society, then we haven‟t really expanded outside our own interests. As such we would not be moving much beyond the stance that Robert Venturi took in his 1965 manifesto, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture: "The architect's ever diminishing power and his growing ineffectualness in shaping the whole environment can perhaps be reversed, ironically, by narrowing his concerns and concentrating on his own job. Perhaps then relationships and power will take care of themselves." (Venturi, 1966:20) What, then, was Venturi thinking „his own job‟ was? Of the Vitruvian trinity – firmness, commodity and delight – it would be delight; the other two being taken up by other professions such as engineering or programming. It would appear that the profession and the architecture schools, notwithstanding some notable exceptions, have followed Venturi‟s advice and focused their energies on formalism, often to the exclusion of other relevant disciplines and typically to the exclusion of the community at large.

If the architectural air becomes so rarefied; if architectural theory becomes so exclusionary; if architecture itself fails to relate to the broader needs of the community, then it is, and should be doomed.

When we begin to talk about community needs, and further, when we begin to extrapolate changing or growing needs into the future we are in tenuous territory. Predicting the future is amusingly inaccurate. Beyond that, anything we project from perceived trends is going to be based entirely on subjective expectations based on a personal intellectual history. We see what we want to see. With those caveats in mind, though, some prognostication is necessary. We cannot maintain the status quo. We need to understand a social context in which the future of architectural education fits. From there, it might be possible to extrapolate a curriculum that educates students to meet their professional responsibilities in that context.

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 What can we expect?

2. SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it’s raging It’ll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin’ (Bob Dylan, 1964) In the blizzard of statistics available to us there are a few important facts that should make architects and planners sit up and take notice: 

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Urbanization of the planet now stands at about 50% of the population, with North American, Europe and Latin American at about 75% and Africa and Asia at about 40%. In the next 25 years it is estimated that African and Asian countries will reach over 50% urbanized population. (UNCHS, 2003) A second and related fact is that one-sixth of the planet‟s population currently lives in slums. It is estimated that if nothing is done that population will double in the next 25 years. (UNCHS, 2003) There is a growing gap between the rich and the poor. Twenty-percent of the world‟s population consumes 85% of its goods and resources. “There are still 1.2 billion people living in abject poverty on less than $1 a day – 65 percent of them in Asia and 25 percent in Africa, where most live on less than 60 cents a day.” (Rischard, 2002:89-90) Over the next 25 years the population is expected to increase from 6 to 8 billion with 95% being born in the developing world.

These three facts and the projections from them will have a profound effect on our cities, particularly in Asia and Africa. The first two facts, rapid urbanization, mainly by the poor, and the doubling of slums to accommodate this population growth means that our cities will be designed, in effect, by the poor unless we prepare architects and planners to meet the challenges of poverty and human habitat in a way that they have not as yet. The third fact is far more fundamental since it has a pervasive effect on:   

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Sustainability – the ability of a society to reduce the degradation of the environment Security – widening gaps between rich and poor can lead to political and social unrest, as well as rising crime.

Health – note the rising incidence of tuberculosis and the pervasive effects of AIDS on the economic development of many nations in Africa and the effect it has on education with a growing shortage of teachers as a result of AIDS1 and the loss of students who must leave school to care for ailing parents.

Development – where there is political/social instability, a degraded environment, a workforce that is depleted from ill health and poorly trained from lack of education,

Stephen Lewis reported that in 2001 alone, one million children lost their teachers to AIDS. See http://www.g6bpeoplessummit.org , Stephen Lewis „Keynote Address‟, People‟s Summit, 21 June 02, Calgary Alberta.

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 there is not likely to be much investment or any development. Clearly this affects architecture.

In addition to these overwhelming facts there are a number of other related issues that will contribute to social change and will affect the way we define architecture. These can be defined as problems that we must address, trends we must recognize or opportunities we must seize.

J.F. Rischard, vice-president of the World Bank, pointed to 20 global problems that we must tackle: 

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Sharing our planet o Global warming o Biodiversity and ecosystem losses o Fisheries depletion o Deforestation o Water deficits o Maritime safety & pollution Sharing our humanity o The fight against poverty o Peacekeeping, conflict prevention, combating terrorism o Education for all o Global infectious diseases o Digital divide (access to information/communications technology o Natural disaster prevention/mitigation Sharing our rule-book o Reinventing taxation o Biotechnology rules o Global finance architecture o Illegal drugs o Trade, investment, and competition rules o Intellectual property rights o E-commerce rules o International labour and migration rules (Rischard, 2002:66)

One has only to pick up a daily newspaper to see the validity of this list. I want to look at some of the above issues in a slightly different way – as social trends that will affect the way we practice architecture.

I see a number of areas in which this can happen. Among these are: 1. Social – participation in decisions about the built environment, changes in the nature of organizations 2. Political – including rights, citizenship, governance 3. Economic – global economy 4. Environment – sustainable resource use, land use policies 5. Knowledge – information technology, education.

Very briefly I should describe what I mean by these points.

1. Social change 1. Participation – Since the mid-sixties individuals and communities have been expanding their demands for more involvement in the development affecting them.

While this is also a political issue about democracy and the responsibilities of

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 citizenship, here I want to emphasize that it is also psychosocial issue of autonomy. In part this is about the exercise of control over one‟s environment and as such about empowerment and the way that communities define themselves.

Implications for architecture: Urban development in the West has become virtually impossible without evidence of the participation of affected communities. Further, as Stiglitz points out, “broadly participatory processes (such as „voice‟, openness, and transparency) promote truly successful long-term development.” (Stiglitz, 2002:164) Participation emphasizes process over outcomes (product). As a result conflicts can arise between the requirements of that process and the formal intentions of the architect. Architects, in other words, have been trained to emphasize the product over the process, effectively marginalizing the profession.

2. Organization – there is a move from hierarchies to networks. As such the pyramid of hierarchical organizations is getting flatter. Information moves too slowly (if at all) through to the top of hierarchical organizations and the response to rapidly changing circumstances is equally slow. “In those flatter, more network-like organizations, people won‟t be merely information transmitters – they will be empowered assets, acting independently.” (Rischard, 2002:43) An example of the inefficiencies of hierarchies would be the centrally planned economies of the former Soviet Union.

Implications for architecture: In the same way that the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill structured the firm to match the organizational structure of its corporate clients in the 40s and 50s, architectural firms now will need to meet the next generation of clients with more flexibility in the composition and purpose of set out to assess problems and address them.

This also has implications on city planning. It must become more dynamic and responsive to the multiplicity of needs from a wide variety of actors. “[I]n most cases it would be a waste of resources to put forward a masterplan. This is certainly the case where rapid urbanization s taking place . . .The days of the „Masterplan‟ hanging on the wall behind the desk of the proud Mayor or Governor must be numbered.” (Rowland, 1996:78) The city can no more be centrally planned than an economy. Both the marketplace and the city are too dynamic, layered and nuanced for that.

2. Political change 1. Human Rights – since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the understanding and the observance of human rights has been expanding steadily to the point that it now sets (and externalizes) the standard for the behaviour of states towards their citizens.

Implications for architecture: The Fair Housing Act passed in the US in 1988 legislated that the design of housing could not exclude the handicapped. To design a building that prevented access by the handicapped was equivalent to an infringement of their human rights in much the same way as it would be to say that a black or Asian person could not have access because of their natures. Where architects fail in their design to accommodate these requirements they are not only professionally negligent then, they are abnegating rights.

Secondly, the UN Right to Development calls for “free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom” (UNHCHR, 1986: Article 2.3). Since architects and planners are directly involved in „development‟ they have a responsibility to devise processes that allow for that

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 meaningful participation and fair distribution. This will require much greater attention to distributive justice and/or protection of the poor in society.

2. Citizenship – here I am emphasizing the relationship between the responsibilities of citizenship and those of architecture. Our professional duties begin with the support of the basic principles of a free society. It is in that context that the profession acts.

(Bristol, 2002a) In addition, particularly in relation to globalization, architects are often working in other countries. As such, their sense of citizenship must extend beyond the country of their birth. Citizenship is no longer confined to borders, nor are its responsibilities.

3. Governance – as indicated above, hierarchies tend to move too slowly to respond to quickly changing circumstances. However, the nation state is still a necessary structure for governance. The extent of its authority is tempered by global standards such as human rights but also by what Rischard calls „global issues networks‟ – horizontal organizations that are centred on issues. These ad hoc networks composed of the private sector, civil society organizations and multilateral organizations put pressure on the more traditional vertical organizations of governance. They also “impose on the political systems of nation-states an accountability framework that is currently lacking” (Rischard, 2002:183) Implications for architecture: architectural institutions must take their place in these horizontal „global issues networks‟. This implies a much broader network than the traditional architectural network constricted to those related directly to the construction industry. When a „problem-solving‟ (design) team is composed of architects and engineers, the solution to the problem is very likely to be built form.

The context of the problem is predetermined by the team composition. This can no longer hold, particularly in increasingly dynamic circumstances.

3. Economic change Rischard points out four basic features of the new economy:  It is bent on speed – so you have to be agile. Bill Gates calls it „velocity‟.  It flows across national boundaries – so you must be plugged in and good at networking internationally  It is highly knowledge-intensive – so you must be good at constantly learning. If you stand still, you fall back.  It is hypercompetitive – so you must be 100-percent reliable, or business will shift to someone else. (Rischard, 2002:30) Implications for architecture: to develop agility will require architects to think beyond formalism and top-down thinking. Reliability is achieved through high standards and principles. Standards are often externally imposed through trade agreements such as the WTO or through organizations such as ISO2. The ongoing GATS 3 negotiations will have a profound effect on the practice of architecture and on the international application of standards.

4. Environmental change How each of us takes responsibility for the commons will be one of the great challenges for humankind in the 21st century. This relates to our ability to make political decisions (2.3 above) as well as our personal responsibility as citizens.

For further information on International Organizations for Standardization see http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/ISOOnline.openerpage 3 See in particular, http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/architecture_e/architecture_e.htm 2

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 Implications for architecture: since architects are among the few responsible for decisions regarding the use of resources in the built environment, it is critical that we understand the implications of our choices in terms of the life cycle costs of materials, their embodied energy and chemical composition, the environmental costs and benefits of urban planning policies (e.g., zoning regulations, suburbanization, transportation policies), and the implications on public health of design decisions (e.g. Legionnaire‟s disease, sick building syndrome).

5. Educational Change These social transformations have an effect on the content and delivery of education.

There are a number of broad issues that should concern us in the development of education in general and architectural education in particular.

Economic  The monopoly that universities have over standards and the delivery of degrees is eroding (OECD, 2003). This will further weaken the economic viability of universities and force them further into a competitive marketplace both from the private sector (e.g. Cisco Systems among many other corporations is offering distance education in IT to 157,000 students in 6,800 „networking communities‟ in some 130 countries [Rischard, 2002:49]) and from other countries. “[I]n Australia, New Zealand and the United States, educational services are respectively the third, the fourth and the fifth largest export service.” (Oosterlinck, 2002)  The current GATS negotiations will further affect the competitive power of the state university. It will also commodify education making it less accessible to those with limited funds.  Quite aside from GATS, educational institutions are easily crossing borders by offering distance education online.

Social  Access to education (or the lack of it) is intimately related to the struggle out of poverty. (Rischard, 2002:102). As such education is one of the fundamental tools of economic justice and social stability  GATS will affect the standards and quality of education. In some places it may serve to raise those standards. In many places it may do the reverse. Even the term „university‟ loses its meaning when more than 2,000 corporate „universities‟ exist in the US alone (Oosterlinck, 2002)  GATS will also further promote English as the dominant language of education, thus eroding local languages and cultures.  GATS will erode the concept of education as a human right. Its commodification promotes access to those with enough money to enter that marketplace.

Fundamentally, universities are going to have to deal with competition, driven by technology and trade liberalization. In facing that competition, universities must avoid the „race to the bottom‟ by protecting a high level of standards. This is particularly true in professional education where the social implications of lowered standards are most pronounced (e.g. the accounting firm Arthur Andersen and the Enron scandal – lapses in standards by professionals can have catastrophic effects) 3. A PROPOSED PROGRAM Keeping in mind the overriding goal of circumventing Brand‟s prediction for the truncated future of the profession, how, then, does one respond to these forces in developing an architecture program that would prepare graduates for a more engaged future?

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 In addition to the basic accreditation standards set by such organizations as the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB) in the US4, there are a number of issues that such a program must address:         

   

Urbanization and poverty; the growth of slums – a critical issue in African and Asian cities, affecting the shape of cities, the development process, security, rights, and freedoms Participation in development – development as a democratic process supporting autonomy; equitable development Flattened/horizontal organizational structures (networks) – interdisciplinary with an emphasis on defining problems first Human rights – including the access to education; the democratization of knowledge Social responsibility and with that, a clear understanding of the nature of citizenship Responsive to regional issues - ARCASIA, the regional architectural association for Asia has made a proposal for a new architecture school that is more responsive to regional needs. The program is a response to that need.

Responsive to community issues/needs – as a form of advocacy International standards – in order to assure reliability but also to allow graduates the freedom of movement (trade in services) Competition – as education becomes more commodified, as institutions compete for increasingly limited funding, the university must define clearly what it is offering the public, and in particular how that service is different from others in the marketplace.

Further, the university must expand its „market‟ by expanding its borders through communications technology.

Practice – the architecture school is in an ideal position to lead the profession in its redefinition, but only if there is a clear and supportive connection between them. This applies as well to the construction industry as a whole.

Sustainability – to better understand the implications of sustainability beyond the „greening‟ of buildings and the conservation of energy; environmental responsibility Linkage – to improve the links and partnerships between all parties in the development process – communities, CBOs/NGOs, private sector, government, professionals, and educational institutions.

To better respond to the implications of globalization, particularly as it concerns the maintenance of standards, the erosion of cultures, and common cause.

Clearly, accomplishing this while also meeting the current national and international accreditation requirements will be a difficult proposition. However, there are some precedents that point the way.

3.1

PRECEDENT

The idea of developing an architecture program with a focus on community development is hardly a new one. Beginning in the early 60s with the formation by architecture students of ARCH in Harlem and with the Pratt Institute5 and a more formalized relationship between an educational institution and local communities, there is a long-standing tradition throughout the world of educational institutions, their students and faculty taking responsibility for applying their knowledge and expertise to basic needs in communities. This work has taken a number of forms in different countries.

Arif Hasan (Department of Architecture and Planning at the Dawood College, Karachi)

See the NAAB accreditation requirements at http://www.naab.org/usr_doc/Guide_to_SPC_with_addendum.pdf (pp 6-11). There are 37 areas of skill and knowledge that an accredited architecture school must deliver in its curriculum.

5 See http://www.picced.org/lowres/index.html 4

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 In 1989 Arif Hasan, the head of the architecture school at Dawood College in Karachi, set up the Urban Resources Centre to “collect all available material on Karachi and update it through newspaper clipping and analysis. After a few months of its setting up, the URC became an independent registered organization and its governing body expanded to include urban planning related professionals, representatives of NGOs and community organizations from low and lower income areas, and activists from the Orangi Pilot Project-Research & Training Institute (OPP-RTI). The direction of the Centre also changed. The new members felt that Karachi‟s official development plans ignored the larger socio-economic reality of the city and as such were unworkable and environmentally disastrous. They further felt that workable alternatives were required and these were possible only with the involvement of informed communities and interest groups.” (http://urckarachi.org/URC%20Vision.htm) Because it was initially set up in the architecture school and continues to be closely associated with it, the URC gains strength from the use of students in the collection and analysis of data. They are also used in the development of alternative proposals for design.

Community Design Centres Of the CDCs in the United States, about 2/3rds of them are affiliated with universities. They are a valuable teaching tool. The new edition of Time Saver Standards for urban Design gives a good background to the development and purpose of CDCs and their value to architectural education6 The Rural Studio In 1993, with Dennis Ruth, the late Sam Mockbee started the Rural Studio out of the Auburn University architecture school in Alabama. Their mission statement points out: The mission of the Rural Studio is to enable each participating student to cross the threshold of misconceived opinions to create/design/build and to allow students to put their educational values to work as citizens of a community. (see http://www.ruralstudio.com/mission.htm) There are three programs that take 2nd year, 5th year and outside graduate students to Hale County Alabama to work with communities there for a semester.

The second-year program: fifteen to twenty second-year Auburn University architecture students move to Hale County for one semester and design/build the charity homes. They have thus far completed seven homes.

The Thesis program: Fifteen to nineteen Auburn University thesis architecture students move to Hale County for their fifth year. They form teams to plan, design and build community projects.

The Outreach Program: non Auburn University graduate students from around the world come to the Rural Studio to work on a joint project and individual community outreach projects in their own discipline.

There are many more examples around the world of architects and architecture schools becoming more relevant and responsible to the communities around them. The proposal that follows builds on these examples.

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http://www.communitydesign.org/rex/support_docs/CommunityDesign%20An%20Alternative%20Prac tice.pdf)

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 3.2

PROGRAM OUTLINE

In addition to the basic goals outlined above, and in order to reinforce them, the program must also promote a number of   

Theory must be combined with practice at regular intervals A continuum of education from children to paraprofessionals to graduate architects to continuing education for practicing professionals All participants should alternate between teaching and learning.

The following chart presents an outline of the proposed programs and their relationships to each other. Following that is a description of each of the elements.

Vertically the chart is divided into three parts – Education, Practice, and Participants in Development. One of the objectives of the program is to develop appropriate interconnections between each of these three areas. The first two – Education and Practice – are activities in which the 5 participants are involved in some way.

Theory – is comprised of the undergraduate (Bachelor of Environmental Studies) and graduate (Master of Architecture) programs. There are three points in the program where these theoretical activities cross over into field work/training – at the end of first year, with the community project; between the two programs with the „work program‟; and, finally, the office practice internship in the graduate program.

Undergraduate program – a number of undergraduate programs would require students graduating with a B.A., B.Sc. to take a qualifying year in order to be accepted in the graduate program. Those graduating from a program that amounts to „pre-architecture‟

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 (a Bachelor of Environmental Science or similar) would qualify to enter the Master‟s program without the qualifying year. Ideally the „pre-architecture‟ program should have a number of components that prepare the student for the professional degree program, particularly the two points at which theory crosses over into practice, the „community project‟ during the break between first and second year, and the „kids and architecture‟ program during the break between 3rd and 4th year.

Community Project – In the break between first and second year students are to build a project on which they have collectively worked during the second semester of 1st year. The project must have some lasting value to the city/selected community and it must be small enough and simple enough to be built by the students under supervision. The choice of project will necessarily involve consultation with the city and host community.

Kids and Architecture – this gives students entering 4th year an opportunity to teach what they have learned in the previous three years. There would be three distinct elements to this program: architecture in the schools, the „Arts Umbrella‟, and outreach.  Architecture in the schools – this would involve coordination with the high school curriculum. The typical approach to this concept is something like „careers day‟ where a representative working professional describes his/her job to students. This program would involve bringing in an architecture professor/practitioner to selected classes in mathematics (e.g., structural calculations), civics (e.g., the urban development process), physics (e.g., materials), and art (e.g., formal aspects of architecture).  Arts Umbrella – a weekend/afterschool program for children between the ages of 8 and 16 modelled after the Arts Umbrella program7 in Vancouver Canada. For a fee, students would learn about the basics of architecture and urban planning through exercises in workshops. The Architectural Institute of British Columbia has developed a sample book of exercises for children in schools (Arnston, 1997). This would be taught by volunteer students, faculty and volunteer practitioners.  Outreach - A weekend/afterschool program for children in the slums where the built environment of their own community is used as a starting point. This would be taught over the school break by students about to enter 4 th year.

An example of this program is described in more detail elsewhere (Bristol, 2002b). In most cases this would involve students in some level of community development if only to carve out a place in the community where the program can be done. For the sake of expediency this could be done in the same community as the „Work Program‟ described below.

Graduate Program – This is the professional degree program ending in an M. Arch degree that would meet all of the requirements to be recognized by existing accreditation bodies. Without describing the entire curriculum, there are a few key features that should be outlined – the „work program‟, the 2nd/3rd semester studio, the „field study‟ and „office practice‟.

When candidates have qualified for entry by either an acceptable undergraduate degree in a related field or by successfully completing their qualifying year, they first must enter the „Work Program‟ before starting their first semester in September.

Work Program – Under the supervision of students in their 3 rd semester of the Master‟s Program, entering students would work from April to August on construction projects in selected communities. Entering students not only gain valuable experience in 7

See http://www.smmo.com/arts_umbrella/content.html

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 construction but also, in working with members of the community, a much better understanding of the resources they have to offer.

2nd/3rd Semester Studio – The Community Workshop studio joins students with communities in identifying projects within the community. Often these are infrastructure projects improving pathways, water supply, fire safety, and so on, but they can just as easily extend to, for example, the development of a community health clinic, a daycare centre, or a recycling centre. Through a series of participatory exercises in the community the projects are identified and then designed. The implementation of these projects would depend on funding sources; however, the final report from the studio will outline the projects that the incoming students in the „work program‟ would undertake. The report is finished in April and a 3rd semester course would be in the supervision of the construction by the incoming students.

Field Study – Ideally this would be an exchange program between students in the region. For students of this program, though, they would take the experience from their Community Workshop studio to another country and work with students there on a joint project.

Office Practice – This would be a two-semester program that would place students with one of the listed „participants in development‟. They would be under the supervision of a practicing architect. During this 2 semester practicum, students would also be doing background research on their thesis.

Practice – while still in the arena of education, this area of the program is focused more on training for individuals in the field. These are also activities that form the bridge between students and the real world („participants‟) Continuing Education – in many jurisdictions now, such programs are a mandatory part of continued registration. Along with the construction industry providing technical courses, legal courses and so on, the school can provide courses and seminars at the leading edge of research. The Community Design Centre can also provide training programs centred on issues of community development and participatory practices.

Paraprofessionals – This program would be a further development of the Barefoot Architecture program (UNESCO, 1983).

Community based organizations – this is a forum in which educators and field workers have the opportunity to exchange notes. The macro and the micro scale come together here. In other words, the CBOs keep the theory grounded and the university provides a broader context for the ongoing work in the field.

Community Design Centre – This is a combination of the Pratt Institute‟s Center for Community and Environmental Development8 and the Urban Resources Centre of Karachi noted above. Unlike a traditional architectural firm, the CDC‟s focus is on issues surrounding poverty and urban development. As such its client base would be organizations and communities that have no other access to professional design advice. Along with ongoing design work, the CDC provides  continuity for studio projects that move beyond the semester  employment opportunities for some students in their office practicum  an area for testing research and providing case studies for new research.

Participants – Along with educational institutions, there are a number of other people that are involved in the process of development. Commonly this is divided into the public sector, private sector and civic sector. I have simply subdivided these sectors.

Each participant has something to offer in the education of future professionals and 8

For more information on PICCED, see http://www.picced.org/NewDesign/index.html)

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 each can benefit from the services of the educational institution. The connections between all of these elements would be far more extensive than can be shown on the above diagram. The role of each participant is: Government/multilateral organizations – policy and standards relating to the profession, to education and to all other aspects of development. These participants can bring their experience to the educational process and the school can also provide training and further education.

Non-governmental organizations – linking community needs and policy Community – often viewed as the objects of development, but must considered as equal participants in the development process. They act as teachers in the education process.

Profession – part of the private sector but with a special responsibility towards the public and towards education.

Private Sector – The marketplace. The community and the profession are both part of this sector. The construction industry, for example, can also provide training for continuing professional education as well as to students.

Education – The architecture school has a duty both to society and to the profession.

Its research activities are directed towards improved understanding of community needs and towards a vision of the future of the profession.

SETTING STANDARDS That accreditation and standards are necessary for such a program hardly needs an argument, if only for the sake of the mobility of graduates. As an international program the student body would be taken not only from Asia but from Western countries. If joint programs or exchange programs were to be developed with similar programs such at CENDEP at Oxford Brookes9 or DPU at the Bartlett10 equivalent standards would be necessary. If students are to enter any registration process, they must have an accreditable degree. There are difficulties, however, in attaining it partly as a result of jurisdictional issues and partly because of the uncertain conclusions to GATS. In the meantime, though, the program, at a minimum, must meet the criteria set out by the RIBA11 and/or by the NAAB (see endnote 4). In addition, though, to those basic requirements assessed by a visiting Board, there will be other methods of maintaining not only standards with other schools of architecture but also maintaining the school‟s relevance to the communities it serves. How can the risks associated with the erosion of standards be minimized? I see a number of methods:     

Faculty exchanges Virtual studios with joint grading Student exchanges/field study External examiners International Board of Directors that monitors the results of each semester. This Board would be composed of members of each of the „Participants in Development‟ outlined in the diagram.

FACULTY In addition to a regular full-time faculty, it is important that we have participation from representatives of those people working in the field. Here in Bangkok, with several UN offices, a regional office of the World Bank, and a number of national and international See http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/arch/cendep/! for more information about the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice 10 See http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/ for further information about the Development Planning Unit 11 See http://www.riba.org/fileLibrary/pdf/CriteriaforValidation1.pdf for the RIBA criteria.

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 NGOs, there is an abundance of resources. The difficulty in tapping these resources is the commitment of time. Most practitioners/field workers are unable to commit 16 to 18 weeks to a course. In order to better accommodate their schedules and make use of this wealth, I would see, where necessary, packaging courses into 4 week blocks that would, together, amount to a full semester course. The course would be coordinated by a full-time faculty member but taught by as many as 3 different people, whether practitioners or academics. This format would apply as well to the offering of continuing education for professionals and allow for practitioners to enrol in a part time Master‟s program.

4.

CONCLUSION

Simply from statistics of the UN, the World Bank and others, we know that cities will form an increasingly important part of the future of humankind. The World Bank points out that cities will be the “key frontier in the fight against poverty in the 21st century.” (World Bank, 2003) And, indeed, poverty will be one of the key issues of cities. If the profession of architecture is to regain some relevance and overcome Stuart Brand‟s dire assessment, then it will have to respond to these global facts. If it does that, the future professional must know more about development than the formal properties of urban design. Schools, then, must focus more on process than they currently do. This is not to say that we should abandon formal issues altogether. Richard Hatch, some years ago, said: “This is no time to escape into beauty, to ally architecture to what Herbert Marcuse once called „the holiday function of art.‟ Ten years ago we were told that this generation would have to build as much as all earlier generations in America combined. Daily statistics reminded us of the housing deficit, the spreading deterioration of cities, the environmental cost of suburban sprawl. But little was done; the need remains.” (Hatch, 1984:3) I disagree that beauty is an escape. It is essential. But as a profession and as educational institutions we have been blissfully ignoring those grim statistics and becoming ever more “preoccupied with formalism, hedonism, graphism and elitism” (Hatch, 1984:3). That must change. To do so it must begin with the schools and the education of the next generation of professionals. The school must have an engaged curriculum that reflects, as Freire said, „the aspirations of the people.‟ (Freire, 1972:68) Yes, those aspirations can be about beauty, but more often they are simpler dreams about a decent home. Within the next 25 years there will be 2 billion people with that simple dream. The architecture profession does not need to abdicate its responsibilities, as Venturi seems to advise, by simply „doing our job‟. We can do something about it if we choose. We can be responsible and we can be relevant. To do so we have to change the way we educate young aspiring professionals.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ARNSTON, Carole. Architecture for Kids. Vancouver: Architectural Institute of British Columbia, 1997.

BRISTOL. Graeme. “Expanding Thai Architects' Roles”, presentation to the Association of Siamese Architects. Bangkok, Thailand (1999) BRISTOL, Graeme. “The Architect's Responsibility: Beyond the City Limits” paper presented to the annual convention of the Association of Siamese Architects. Bangkok, Thailand, 2000. Available online at http://www.arch.kmutt.ac.th/researches.htm BRISTOL, Graeme. “The Citizen Architect”, presented to the annual convention of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, April 2002(a).

Available online at http://www.arch.kmutt.ac.th/researches.htm

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For the Silpakorn Architectural Discourse, 3 rd Mini Symposium, 18-19 MAR 04 BRISTOL, Graeme. “The Girls‟ Home, Bangkok Thailand: Developing Thoughts on Democracy.” Pp 348-362 in Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 23:3, November 2002(b), Available online at http://www.arch.kmutt.ac.th/researches.htm FREIRE, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1972 GUTMAN, Robert. "Education and the World of Practice." pp. 24 - 25, Journal of Architectural Education, 40:2, 1987.

HATCH, Richard. “Introduction”, pp 3-10 in HATCH, Richard (ed.), The Scope of Social Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Ltd., 1984.

HOBBS, Richard. “Of Architecture and the Stork”. In AIArchitect, March 1998 (from http://www.e-architect.com/pia/hobbs/march98.asp - no longer posted) HOBBS, Richard. “Observations on our Decade of Redefinition” in AIArchitect, January 2002 (http://www.richardwhobbs.com/images/AIArchitectMarketplaceResearch01.htm) ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD). “Summary”, OECD project on the Future of universities, Experts meeting, 24-25 June 2003, OECD Headquarters, Paris. Available online at http://www.simulconf.com/oecd_japan/documents/Summary_of_experts_meeting.pdf OOSTERLINCK, Prof. A. “Trade in Educational Services: A European University Perspective.”, Washington, 23 May 2002. Available online at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/36/41/2750520.pdf RISCHARD, J. F. High Noon: Twenty Global Issues, Twenty Years to Solve Them. New York: Basic Books, 2002.

ROWLAND, Jon. “Being a Partner: educating for planning practice.” Pp 77-86 in HAMDI, Nabeel (ed.), Educating For Real: The Training of Professionals for Development Practice.” London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1996.

SAINT, Andrew. The Image of the Architect. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983.

STIGLITZ, Joseph. “Participation and Development: Perspectives from the Comprehensive Development Paradigm” pp 163-182 in Review of Development Economics, 6:2, 2002. Available online at http://www.worldbank.org/participation/extdocs/stiglitz.pdf VENTURI, Robert. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1966.

UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTS. “Slum Dwellers to Double by 2030: Millennium Development Goal Could Fall Short” in The Challenge of Slums, 2003. available online at http://www.unchs.org/mediacentre/presskits.asp UNESCO. Training of 'Barefoot' Architects. Report of a Working Group, Workshop held in Bangkok, 30 MAY - 04 JUN, 1983. Bangkok: UNESCO, 1983 UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. “Declaration on the Right to Development.” Available online at http://unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/74/htm WORLD BANK. “Cities: The New Frontier” posted on website: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20150219~menuPK :34457~pagePK:34370~piPK:42768~theSitePK:4607,00.html (accessed 14 JAN 04)

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