THE LAST WORD
The last WORD
Set up to fail? Amid concern graduates lack the skills needed to practice, Judi Farren Bradley argues that fledgling architects are largely moulded by the practices they encounter early in the careers’
Architects entering today’s profession will have completed a minimum of five years of higher education, together with a further two years professional, practical experience. Is it really feasible then that these graduates could emerge from this period of training ill equipped for practice, as some areas of the profession have recently laid claim?
A
Judi Farren Bradley Judith is an architect and has been involved in architectural education for over 20 years. She is principal lecturer in the School of Surveying and Planning and also principal lecturer and course director in the School of Architecture and Landscape at Kingston University London. She has also worked on a variety of research projects and has published in the area of professionalism, architectural education and sustainability.
rchitectural education follows detailed criteria, approved by the profession, based on standards agreed across 27 European
member states and remains predominantly taught and assessed by architects. Schools passionately defend the use of practitioners as studio tutors, ignoring the exhortations of university HR departments. So is this the best of times, or the worst of times? As professional studies advisors, we gain an
insight into the relationship between graduates and their employers. The PEDRs completed by students and verified by their office mentors, give detailed descriptions of project types, tasks undertaken, hours worked and feedback. Although it is fair to say that the completion of these documents is not an activity universally welcomed, by either students or practices, the end results provide clear evidence of the extraordinary range of architectural practice. This is not simply an issue of form, type, size of practice or project, but an almost infinite variety of approach, focus and ethos. Of course standards of graduates and indeed practice will vary. Phrases demanding ‘ more attention to detail‘ or ‘better understanding of cost
and time’ may echo from the pages, but equally plaudits recognising ‘a significant contribution’ and ‘good eye for detail’ are not uncommon. Considerable research has been undertaken as to
how professionals operate in the current highly pressured and litigious commercial environment. We underestimate the amount of tacit knowledge we rely on as we undertake what may seem to us to be everyday tasks. We refine knowledge and modes of practice to the specific needs of clients and context and like all professions, we are often unable to effectively communicate exactly what we are doing or even why. Yet the majority of our graduates are remarkably adept at negotiating the steep learning curve. There may well be frustrations and
disagreements between education and practice. But it is neither possible nor appropriate for education to produce the perfect match for each and every current practice environment. The aim is to equip graduates with sufficient understanding, knowledge and skill to allow them to operate as responsive and reflective participants in whichever area of practice they find themselves. The Part 2 graduates of 2012 entered first year in 2006, when 50 percent of the population were destined for university, boom and bust had been abolished and a potentially stable future of public, private and global projects beckoned. The only guarantee now is that there are no guarantees, and the real question is whether any of us will be suitably equipped for future practice. So in such hard times we all need to have realistic but no less great expectations of what we can offer.
ArchitectNews.co.uk | Architects Choice | 47
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