Architecture Institute China

How to produce good architects?

A serious hurdle on the road to better Chinese cities is the lack of good designers. This itself can be attributed to the lack in good design education. In the post-Olympic era architecture school must move away from producing drafters and begin producing designers of which large quantities will be needed across the country. We cannot depend on the handful of ‘sea turtles’ turned star architects to save the Chinese city. Instead we should investigate how to create an educational structure and curriculum that can produce designers who are able to respond to two unique features: the fast-changing urban landscape of and the fast changing needs of China’s urbanites. The fact is the educational process is very slow compared to the transformations of China. To comply with future needs today, diversity should be nurtured and no architectural ideology or no fixed design method should be pre-imposed. What then should be on offer instead? Or, what is the X-factor of a modern architecture school?

To find out, we’ve analyzed the composition of 16 renowned but radically different design institutes. Three aspects seem to most affect the quality of a design school:

1. Organization and Curriculum:
Schools tend to teach architecture either as an art form (design driven), a discipline (technology-driven) or a field (research driven).
2. Environment: The building typology, the urban setting, size, population, languages offered and online presence.
3. Community: Links with the professional community and industry, relations with other faculties, other design institutes, number of exchange students, profile of teachers and professors.

The X-factor of a design school is to Mix and Connect.
We have designed a new school system, accommodated by a new (intentionally introvert) architecture. The school as a satellite that aims to adapt to local conditions, but operates within a network of institutes that exchange and build on each others experiences. Our objectives can be described by three design concepts:

MINICAMPUS: Design studios are created throughout the buildings’ flexible framework. Residences and commercial uses are integrated into the campus to produce a slowly developing, dense, porous low rise structure of maximum exchange.
MALL: Offer a variety of courses; the student shops around, mix and matches courses according to his personal skills and future ambitions.
MOTHER SHIP: In a global market understanding local conditions is crucial. The design institute must become a node in the knowledge network.

The research reconfirms one of our profession’s long-standing premises; that spatial conditions impact on social interaction. Secondly, that rather than building a platform where existing ideas can be taught, it is more sustainable to create an environment that encourages students to develop and exchange new ideas.