The Architectural Association School of Architecture in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures,

symposia ''Symposia'' is a genus of South American araneomorph spiders in the family Cybaeidae, and was first described by Eugène Simon in 1898. Species it contains six species in Venezuela and Colombia: *'' Symposia bifurca'' Roth, 1967 – Venezuel ...

and publications.

History

The Architectural Association was founded in 1847 as an alternative to the practice of training young men via

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

to established

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. Apprenticeships offered no guarantee of educational quality or professional standards, and the system was believed to be "rife with

vested interests Vested interest or Vested interests may refer to: * Vested interest (communication theory), a communication theory that seeks to explain how influences affect behavior * Vesting In law, vesting is the point in time when the rights and interest ...

and open to abuse, dishonesty and incompetence". Two articled pupils, Robert Kerr (1823–1904) and Charles Gray (1827/28–1881), proposed a systematic course of training provided by the students themselves. Following a merger with the Association of Architectural Draughtsmen, the first formal meeting under the name of the Architectural Association took place in May 1847 at Lyons Inn Hall,

. Kerr became the first president (1847–48). From 1859, the AA shared premises at 9

Conduit Street Conduit Street is a street in Mayfair, London. It connects Bond Street to Regent Street. History The street was first developed in the early 18th century on the Conduit Mead Estate, which the Corporation of London had owned since the 15th centu ...

with the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, later (1891) renting rooms in

Great Marlborough Street Great Marlborough Street is a thoroughfare in Soho, Central London. It runs east of Regent Street past Carnaby Street towards Noel Street. Originally part of the Millfield estate south of Tyburn Road (now Oxford Street), the street was named ...

. The AA School was formally established in 1890, and in 1901, it moved to the former

Royal Architectural Museum The Royal Architectural Museum was an English museum, established in London in 1851 to educate architects and workers on architectural art. It closed during World War I, and most of its collections are now held in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Hi ...

in Tufton Street, Westminster. In 1917, it moved to its current location in

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many disti ...

, central London, and has since acquired additional London premises in John Street, a property on Morwell Street behind Bedford Square, and a site at

Hooke Park Hooke Park is a 142 hectare woodland in Dorset, England located near the town of Beaminster and within the Dorset National Landscape area. The site is designated as ancient woodland and historically comprised a deer hunting estate. An educatio ...

in Dorset. Historically, students of the AA have been addressed by

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

and

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

in the 19th century, and, more recently, by

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + ...

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theory, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graduate School of ...

Denise Scott Brown Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Early life and education Born to Jewish parents Simon a ...

, and

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, , (born 18 December 1953) is a British architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985, which grew into a global architectural practice with offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago d ...

, an alumnus of the school.

Women at the AA

Women were first admitted as students to the AA School during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917, almost 20 years after the RIBA had admitted its first female member,

Ethel Charles Ethel Mary Charles (25 March 1871 – 8 April 1962) was a British architect, the first woman to be admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1898. Early life Ethel Charles, her sister Bessie Ada Charles (1869–1932) ...

, who, with her sister Bessie, had been refused entry to the AA school in 1893.Lynne Walker, "Golden Age or False Dawn? Women Architects in the Early 20th century"
''English-heritage.org''. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

Ruth Gollancz Ruth, Lady Gollancz (née Lowy; 1892–1973) was a British artist and wife of Sir Victor Gollancz. Life and work Ruth was the daughter of Ernest Daniel Lowy, a stockbroker. Ruth Gollancz studied art at the Slade School of Art from 1909 to 1912 un ...

Winifred Ryle Winifred Maddock (née Winifred Ryle, 3 February 1897 - 3 October 1987) was a British architect. She was one of the first women to attend the Architectural Association School of Architecture, and would go on to publish an article about ''Women as ...

, Irene Graves and

Gillian Harrison Edith Gillian Harrison (1898–1974), née Cooke, was a British architect. Early life and education After Roedean School, she trained at the Architectural Association School of Architecture from 1917 to 1922, where she was one of the first f ...

( nee Cooke) were some of the first women to enter the AA, hitherto a solely male school. In the post

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

period, several women architects, writers, and journalists attended courses ("classes and sets") at the AA, including Su Brumwell (Susan Miller / Rogers), Eldred Evans, Margot Griffin, Zaha Hadid, Patti Hopkins, Samantha Hardingham, Sally Mackereth, Mya Anastasia Manakides, Janet Street-Porter, Carolyn Trevor, Susan Wheeler and Georgie Walton. The position of women at the AA was highlighted and investigated during a year-long programme of celebration in 2017, ''AAXX'', marking the centenary of the first women's entry to the school. A book, ''AA Women in Architecture 1917–2017'', edited by Elizabeth Darling and Lynne Walker, was published.

Curriculum

Courses are divided into two main areas: undergraduate programmes, leading to the AA Diploma (RIBA/ARB Part 2), and postgraduate programmes, which include specialised courses in Landscape Urbanism, Housing and Urbanism, Sustainable Environmental Design, Histories and Theories, Emergent Technologies, and Design Research Lab. Other programmes include Projective Cities, Design + Make, and Interprofessional studio. Since its foundation, the school has continued to draw its teaching staff from progressive international practices. Teaching staff are reappointed annually, allowing a continual renewal of the exploration of architectural graphics and polemical formalism.

Independent status

The school sits outside the state-funded university system and

UCAS The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS ) is a charity and private limited company based in Cheltenham, England, which provides educational support services. Formed on 27 July 1993 by the merger of the former university admis ...

application system. As an independent school, the AA does not participate in university rankings. The AA enrolls a higher proportion of students from overseas compared to other architecture schools in the UK.

Bookshop and publications

The AA Bookshop has a collection of architectural literature and is a platform for AA's own publications. AA Publications has a tradition of publishing architects, artists and theorists early in their careers, as well as occasionally publishing figures who have already gained renown in other fields of expertise, such as

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

. AA Publications produces the journal, ''AA Files'', and the AA Book, known as the ''Projects Review'', which annually documents the work undertaken by members of the school from Foundation to Graduate programmes. AA publications are designed and edited by the ''AA Print Studio'', originally established in 1971 as part of the Communications Unit directed by

Dennis Crompton Dennis Crompton (29 June 1935 – 20 January 2025) was an English architect, lecturer and writer on architectural subjects. He was a member of Archigram. He was known as the back-room fixer dealing with technology and looking after the archiv ...

Archigram Archigram was an avant-garde British architectural group whose unbuilt projects and media-savvy provocations "spawned the most influential architectural movement of the 1960's," according to Princeton Architectural Press study ''Archigram'' (19 ...

. The school formerly had its own independent radio station.

Controversies

The AA has a unique democratic structure where staff and students elect a director and a majority of the members of the governing board. In November 2017, the AA reportedly planned to make 16 staff redundant, including the whole of its publications and exhibitions departments. Shortly before, the AA had announced it was seeking a new director, to be appointed by March 2018, following the departure of Brett Steele announced in December 2016. The first female director of the AA was Eva Franch i Gilabert, appointed in 2018 (succeeding interim director Samantha Hardingham). Following votes of no confidence in her leadership, Franch was fired in July 2020 for "failure to develop and implement a strategy and maintain the confidence of the AA School Community, which were specific failures of performance against clear objectives outlined in the original contract of employment." Her dismissal came despite support from academics who wrote an open letter talking of "systemic biases" against women and of

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

, and accusing the AA of using "the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

for anti-democratic purposes". Architectural magazine ''

Dezeen ''Dezeen'' is an online architecture, interiors and design magazine based in London, with offices in Hoxton, as well as New York City and Shanghai. History ''Dezeen'' was launched in London by Marcus Fairs at the end of November 2006. Its New ...

'' reported that tutor and alumni views indicated that the failure to investigate allegations of bullying and sexism had damaged both the AA school and the architecture profession, leaving "a cloud over the school". The AA began seeking a successor to Franch in December 2021, shortlisting candidates in March 2022. In May 2022, the school announced Ingrid Schroder would be its new director from August 2022.

Gallery

Notable alumni

Will Alsop William Allen Alsop (12 December 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British architect and Professor of Architecture at University for the Creative Arts's Canterbury School of Architecture. He was responsible for several distinctive and controversial ...

(

Stirling Prize The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The ...

, 2000) * Stanley Amis (1924–2021) * Ron Arad *

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, (23 July 191927 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. Often referred to as the leader of the Tropical Modernist movement, he was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoff ...

* Elisabeth Benjamin *

Ben van Berkel Ben van Berkel (born January 25, 1957) is a Dutch architect. He is the founder and principal architect of the architectural practice UNStudio. With his studio he designed, among others, the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, the Moebius House in the ...

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. Bier is the first female director to collectively receive an Academy Award (Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Foreign Film), a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award ...

* Christopher Bowerbank *

Margaret Justin Blanco White Margaret Justin Blanco White Order of the British Empire, OBE ARIBA (11 December 1911 – 1 November 2001) was an English architect, who lived and worked in Scotland. Early life and education Margaret Justin Blanco White was born at 30 Pembrok ...

Peter Blundell Jones Peter Blundell Jones (4 January 1949 – 19 August 2016) was a British architect and architectural historian. He trained as an architect at the Architectural Association School, and held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and Lon ...

* Habib Fida Ali (architect) 1935-2017 (

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially me ...

, 2017) *

Neave Brown Neave Brown (22 May 19299 January 2018) was an American-born British architect and artist. He specialized in modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abs ...

(RIBA

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

2018) *

John Dixon Butler John Dixon Butler (December 1860 – 27 October 1920) was a British architect who, for 25 years, was the surveyor for the Metropolitan Police Service, Metropolitan Police in London. He was the fifth architect to hold the post since its inceptio ...

* Elizabeth Chesterton *

(

, 2007) * Nigel Coates * Sir Peter Cook *

Edward Cullinan Edward Horder Cullinan HonFRIAS (17 July 1931 – 11 November 2019) was an English architect. Life Born in central London to Joy, an artist mother, and Edward, a doctor, Cullinan was educated at Ampleforth College, Queens' College, Cambridg ...

* Minnette De Silva *

Carmen Dillon Carmen Dillon (25 October 190812 April 2000) was an English film art director and production designer who won an Oscar for the Olivier version of ''Hamlet'' (1948). Life Dillon was born in Hendon to Irish-born Joseph Thomas Dillon and his wife ...

Jeremy Dixon Sir David Jeremy Dixon (born 31 May 1939) is a British architect and was a principal of the London practice Dixon Jones until its closure in 2020. Career Following school days at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Dixon was trained at the ...

* Sir Philip Dowson *

Jane Drew Dame Jane Drew (24 March 1911 – 27 July 1996) was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the Architectural Association School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Moder ...

* Frank Duffy * Eldred Evans * Robin Evans *

Kathryn Findlay Kathryn Findlay (26 January 1953 – 10 January 2014) was a Scottish architect. Early life and education Findlay was born in Forfar in Scotland, the daughter of a sheep farmer, and studied fine arts at the Edinburgh College of Art. She moved to ...

Mark Fisher Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Golds ...

Kenneth Frampton Kenneth Brian Frampton (born 20 November 1930) is a British architect, critic and historian. He is regarded as one of the world's leading historians of modernist architecture and contemporary architecture. He is an Emeritus Professor of Archit ...

* John Frazer *

Tony Fretton Tony Fretton (born 17 January 1945) is a British architect known for his residential and public gallery buildings, as well as other British and international design work. He graduated from the Architectural Association (AA) and worked for vario ...

Stephen Gardiner Stephen Gardiner (27 July 1483 – 12 November 1555) was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I. Early life Gardiner was born in Bury St Ed ...

Ranulph Glanville Ranulph Glanville (13 June 1946 – 20 December 2014) was an Anglo-Irish cybernetician and design theorist. He was a founding vice-president of the International Academy for Systems and Cybernetic Sciences (2006–2009) and president of the Ame ...

Marco Goldschmied Marco Lorenzo Sinnott Goldschmied (28 March 1944 – 7 July 2022) was a British architect best known as co-founder and managing director of Richard Rogers Partnership. He was latterly involved with running the Marco Goldschmied Foundation and ...

Hansjörg Göritz Hansjörg Göritz (English: Hansjoerg Goeritz; born 5 June 1959) is a German-American architect, professor, author and designer associated with pure and minimalist architecture that emphasizes place, space, light and material. For his early works ...

(

Kunstpreis Berlin The ''Berliner Kunstpreis'' (Berlin Art Prize), officially Großer Berliner Kunstpreis, is a prize for the arts by the City of Berlin. It was first awarded in 1948 in several fields of art. Since 1971, it has been awarded by the Academy of Art ...

Baukunst, 1996;

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome, Italy. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History 19th century In 1893, a group of American architect ...

Affiliated Fellow, 2013) *

Piers Gough Piers Gough (born 24 April 1946) is an English architect in the practice CZWG. His younger brothers are the composer Orlando Gough and Jamie Gough, the University of Sheffield's senior lecturer in Town and Regional Planning. Early life and c ...

Johnny Grey Johnny Grey (born 1951) is a British interior designer, author and educator, known for his work in kitchen design. Early life and education Grey studied architecture at the Architectural Association from 1970 to 1976 (AA Dip Arch), with tut ...

* Sir Nicholas Grimshaw *

(

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...

, 2004;

, 2010, 2011) * Timothy Han *

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

* Frank Harmon *

Fergus Henderson Fergus Henderson (born 31 July 1963) is an English chef who founded the restaurant St. John on St John Street in London. He is often noted for his use of offal and other neglected cuts of meat as a consequence of his philosophy of nose to ta ...

Manuel Herz Manuel Herz is an architect with his own practice in Basel, Switzerland and Cologne, Germany. Education He was educated at the RWTH Aachen in Germany and at the Architectural Association in London. He has received numerous prizes and awards, ...

* Jonathan Hill *

Steven Holl Steven Holl (born December 9, 1947) is a New York–based American architect and watercolorist. His work includes the 2022 Rubenstein Commons at the Institute for Advanced Study; the 2020 Campus expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston inc ...

* Michael Hopkins *

Patty Hopkins Patricia Ann Hopkins, Lady Hopkins, (née Wainwright; born 1942) is an English architect and joint winner, along with her husband Sir Michael Hopkins (architect), Michael Hopkins, of the 1994 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. Early life Hop ...

* Bill Howell (1922-1974) *

Gillian Howell Gillian Margaret "Jill" Howell (née Sarson, 1927–2000), was a British architect. Early life She was born Gillian Margaret Sarson, on 3 November 1927 in Multan, in the western Punjab, British India, the daughter of Colonel Edward Vipan Sarson, c ...

(1927–2000) * Dorothy Hughes *

Maxwell Hutchinson John Maxwell Hutchinson (born 3 December 1948) is an English architect, broadcaster, and Anglican deacon. He is a former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Early life and education Hutchinson was born in Grantham, L ...

* Louisa Hutton * A. R. Hye *

Mazharul Islam Muzharul Islam (25 December 1923 – 15 July 2012) was a List of Bangladeshi architects, Bangladeshi architect, urban planner, educator and activist. He is considered as the Grand Master of regional modernism in South Asia. Islam is the pioneer ...

* Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe * Edward Jones *

Robert Furneaux Jordan John Robert Furneaux Jordan ARIBA (10 April 1905 Birmingham – 14 May 1978 Burcombe, Wiltshire) was an English architect, architectural critic and novelist. He worked as an architect from 1928 to 1961, after which he became an academic, broadcast ...

Gerhard Kallmann Gerhard Michael Kallmann (February 13, 1915 – June 19, 2012) was a German-born American architect and academic. Together with Michael McKinnell, Kallman is best known as the lead designer of Boston City Hall, which was constructed in 1968 b ...

Shiu-Kay Kan Shiu-Kay Kan (Hong Kong, 1949) is a British architect, industrial designer, and lighting designer. After making a successful start as an architect in the 1980s he turned his attention to designing lights. He has sold his design to some clients ...

Ram Karmi Ram Karmi (; 1931 – 11 April 2013) was an Israeli architect. He was head of the Tel Aviv-based Ram Karmi Architects company, and is known for his Brutalist style. Biography Ram Karmi was born in Jerusalem. His father was architect Dov Karmi. Ka ...

(

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, 2002) * Ada Karmi-Melamede (

, 2007) *

(

, 2000) *

Denys Lasdun Sir Denys Louis Lasdun, CH, CBE, RA (8 September 1914, Kensington, London – 11 January 2001, Fulham, London) was an eminent English architect, the son of Nathan Lasdun (1879–1920) and Julie (''née'' Abrahams; 1884–1963). Probably his b ...

* Judith Ledeboer *

Steffen Lehmann Steffen Lehmann (born 19 June 1963) is a German-born architect and urban designer. Biography Lehmann held the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Urban Development for Asia and the Pacific from 2008 to 2010. He now advises UNESCO ex-officio. He was th ...

Amanda Levete Amanda Jane Levete (born 1955) is a British architect and the principal of AL_A. While she worked as a partner at Future Systems, the company was awarded the 1999 Stirling Prize for their work on the Lord's Media Centre. She has also received s ...

* C.J. Lim * Edward Prentice Mawson *

Ann MacEwen Ann MacEwen née Radford also known as Ann Maitland (15 August 1918 – 20 August 2008) was a British architect and town planner - known for championing National Parks and resisting the car's domination of planning in the UK. Life MacEwen was born ...

Sally Mackereth Sally Jane Mackereth (born 10 February 1966) is a British architect practising in London. After graduating from the Architectural Association in 1995, Mackereth co-founded Wells Mackereth before creating Studio Mackereth in 2013, which the ''Teleg ...

James MacLaren James Maclaren (March 19, 1818 – February 10, 1892) was an early settler and entrepreneur in western Quebec. Maclaren was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1818. He came to Richmond in Upper Canada with his family in 1822. The family then settl ...

Bruce Martin Bruce Philip Martin (born 25 April 1980) is a New Zealand international cricketer who played Test cricket for the national team. At domestic level he played for the Northern Districts and Auckland in the State Championship and Northland in t ...

Mary Medd Mary Beaumont Medd (née Crowley, 4 August 1907 - 6 June 2005) was a British architect, known for public buildings including schools. Medd was the first architect to be employed by Hertfordshire county council. Early life and education Medd ...

* Achim Menges *

Edna Mosley Edna Mosley (20 December 1899 – 19 February 1954) was one of the first female professional architects in Britain, and was known for her designs for modern, labour-saving interiors, often aimed specifically at women. Career Mosley was born in 18 ...

Mohsen Mostafavi Mohsen Mostafavi (born 1954 in Isfahan) is an Iranian-American architect and educator. Mostafavi is currently the Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. From 2008 through 2019, Mostafavi served ...

Alan E. Munby Alan Edward Munby Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA (16 January 1870 – 19 January 1938) was a British schoolmaster, architect, author, and lecturer, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Early life Munby was born in P ...

Herbert Muschamp Herbert Mitchell Muschamp (November 28, 1947 – October 2, 2007) was an American architecture critic. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Muschamp described his childhood home life as follows: "The living room was a secret. A forbidden zone. ...

Frei Otto Frei Paul Otto (; 31 May 1925 – 9 March 2015) was a German architect and structural engineer noted for his use of lightweight structures, in particular tensile and membrane structures, including the roof of the Olympic Stadium in Munich for t ...

Nicolai Ouroussoff Nicolai Ouroussoff () is a writer and educator who was an architecture critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times''. Biography Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a family from Russia, he received a bachelor's degree in Russia ...

Neri Oxman Neri Oxman (; born February 6, 1976) is an American-Israeli designer and former professor known for art that combines design, biology, computing, and materials engineering. She coined the phrase "material ecology" to define her work. Oxman wa ...

John Pawson John Ward Pawson , (born 1949, Halifax, England) is a British autodidact designer whose work is known for its minimalist aesthetic. Biography Pawson was born and brought up in Halifax, Yorkshire, the youngest of five children. Coming from a w ...

* John Penn * Marian Pepler * Philip Powell *

Janet Street-Porter Janet Vera Street-Porter (''née'' Bull; born 27 December 1946) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and media personality. She began her career in 1969 as a fashion writer and columnist at the ''Daily Mail'' and was appointed fashion ...

Cedric Price Cedric Price FRIBA (11 September 1934 – 10 August 2003) was an English architect and influential teacher and writer on architecture. Early life and education The son of the architect A.G. Price, who worked with Harry Weedon, Price was b ...

* Keith Raywood *

Raj Rewal Raj Rewal (born 24 November 1934) is an Indian architect. Education Rewal lived in Delhi and Shimla from 1934 to 1951. He attended Harcourt Butler higher secondary school. From 1951 and 1954, he attended the Delhi School of Architecture in Ne ...

(

, 2007;

, 2006, 2009) * Diana Rowntree *

* Elisabeth Sakellariou * Peter Salter * Matthias Sauerbruch *

Ole Scheeren Ole Scheeren (born 6 January 1971) is a German architect, urbanist and principal of Büro Ole Scheeren Group, Büro Ole Scheeren with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Berlin and Bangkok and was a visiting professor at the University of Hon ...

Elisabeth Scott Elisabeth Whitworth Scott (20 September 1898 – 19 June 1972) was a British architect who designed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, England. This was the first important public building in Britain to be designed by a ...

Nasrine Seraji Professor Nasrine Seraji-Bozorgzad AA Dipl FRIBA, is an Iranian-born French-British architect. She is a 2011 recipient of the Knight of the Legion of Honour, an Officier of l'Ordre national du Mérite and l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Early ...

Dennis Sharp Dennis Sharp (30 November 1933 – 6 May 2010) was a British architect, professor, curator, historian, author and editor. His obituary in ''The Guardian'' stated that he 'was well-known as an architectural historian, teacher and active defender o ...

Cliff Tan Cliff Tan Anlong (born 13 January 1988) is a Singaporean architect, author and feng shui expert. In 2016, he founded Dear Modern, a design firm based in London. Tan's independent project to revamp Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit map caught the ...

William Tatton Brown William Eden Tatton Brown (13 October 1910 - 2 February 1997) was an English architect. From 1959, he was the first chief architect to the UK's Ministry of Health, taking charge of large-scale hospital building until the mid-1970s. Early caree ...

Quinlan Terry John Quinlan Terry CBE (born 24 July 1937) is a British architect. He was educated at Bryanston School and the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He was a pupil of architect Raymond Erith, with whom he formed the partnership ...

John F. C. Turner John Francis Charlewood Turner (9 July 1927 – 3 September 2023) was a British architect and theorist known for his work on informal self-help housing and neighbourhood building in Peru, the United States, and the United Kingdom. His work on h ...

Jaqueline Tyrwhitt Mary Jaqueline Tyrwhitt (25 May 1905 – 21 February 1983) was a British town planner, journalist, editor and educator. She was at the centre of the transnational network of theoreticians and practitioners who shaped the post-war Modern Movement ...

Michael Ventris Michael George Francis Ventris, (; 12 July 1922 – 6 September 1956) was an English architect, classics, classicist and philology, philologist who deciphered Linear B, the ancient Mycenaean Greek script. A student of languages, Ventris had ...

Eyal Weizman Eyal Weizman MBE FBA (; born 1970) is a British Israeli architect. He is the director of the research agency Forensic Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London where he is Professor of Spatial and Visual Cultures and a founding director ...

Clive Wilkinson Clive Wilkinson (born 1954, Cape Town, South Africa) is an architect and interior designer. Acknowledged as a pioneer in workplace design by thIIDA Wilkinson is perhaps best known for designing the interior of one of the buildings in the Googlepl ...

* Nicholas Williams * John Winter * John Worthington *

Roger Zogolovitch Roger Zogolovitch FRSA (born 1947) is a British architect and independent developer based in London. History Zogolovitch studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA) in London (1965-1971), and served as president to t ...

Former directors

* Howard Robertson (1929–35) *Alvin Boyarsky (1971–90) * Alan Balfour (1991–95) *

(1995–2004) *Brett Steele (2005–2017) *Samantha Hardingham (interim, 2017–18) * Eva Franch i Gilabert (2018–2020)

Notable current and former teachers

Abalos & Herreros Abalos & Herreros is an architectural firm founded by Inaki Abalos (b. 1956) and Juan Herreros (b. 1958) in Madrid, Spain. The founders were involved in the last throes of La Movida Madrileña and later produced a 1997 monograph called ''Areas of I ...

Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh (; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transfor ...

Charles Jencks Charles Alexander Jencks (June 21, 1939 – October 13, 2019) was an American cultural theorist, landscape designer, architectural historian, and co-founder of the Maggie's Cancer Care Centres. He published over thirty books and became famous i ...

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

Wiel Arets Wiel Arets (, born ) is a Dutch architect, architectural theory, architectural theorist, urbanist, industrial designer and the former Dean (education), dean of the college of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, in the ...

Tatiana Bilbao Tatiana Bilbao Spamer (born 1972) is a Mexican architect whose works often merged geometry with nature. Her practice focuses on sustainable design, museum design and social housing. She founded Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO in 2004 and has completed pr ...

Alison Brooks Alison Brooks, (born 29 December 1962) is a Canadian-British architect. She is the founder and creative director of Alison Brooks Architects, based in London. Her awards include the RIBA Stirling Prize, Manser Medal, Stephen Lawrence Prize, an ...

Reg Butler Reginald Cotterell Butler (28 April 1913 – 23 October 1981) was an English sculptor. He was born at Bridgefoot House, Buntingford, Hertfordshire to Frederick William Butler (1880–1937) and Edith (1880–1969), daughter of blacks ...

* Nigel Coates * Mark Cousins *

Keith Critchlow Keith Barry Critchlow (16 March 1933 – 8 April 2020) was a British artist, lecturer, author, Sacred geometry, sacred geometer, professor of architecture, and a co-founder of the Temenos Academy in the UK. Biography Critchlow was educated at ...

* Robin Evans * David Greene * Terry Farrell *

Jane Hughes Fawcett Jane Fawcett MBE (née Hughes; 4 March 1921 – 21 May 2016) was a British codebreaker, singer, and heritage preservationist. She recently became known for her role in decoding a message, which led to the sinking of the German battleship ...

Earl Flansburgh Earl Robert Flansburgh (April 28, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was an American architect known for his modernist style and extensive work in the Boston area. Early life and education Flansburgh grew up in Ithaca, New York. His father, Earl Alva ...

* John Frazer *

Mike Gold Michael Gold (April 12, 1893 – May 14, 1967) was the pen-name of Jewish-American writer Itzhok Isaak Granich. A lifelong communist, Gold was a novelist, journalist, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, playwright, and literary critic. His se ...

James Gowan James Gowan (18 October 1923 – 12 June 2015) was a Scottish-born architect known for his post-modernist designs of the "engineering style" which influenced a generation of British architects. Life Gowan was born in Pollokshields, Glasgow in ...

Charles Hutton Charles Hutton FRS FRSE LLD (14 August 1737 – 27 January 1823) was an English mathematician and surveyor. He was professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich from 1773 to 1807. He is remembered for his calculation of th ...

* Louisa Hutton *

Jeff Kipnis Jeffrey Kipnis (born 1951, Georgia) is an American architectural critic, theorist, designer, film-maker, curator, and educator. Education, honors, and career Although neither educated nor trained as an architect, Kipnis first came to prominence in ...

Leon Krier Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Arthur Korn Arthur Korn (20 May 1870 – 21 December/22 December 1945) was a German physicist, mathematician and inventor. He was involved in the development of the fax machine, specifically the transmission of photographs or telephotography, known as the ...

Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...

* Achim Menges *

Farshid Moussavi Farshid Moussavi (born 1965) is an Iranian-born British architect, educator, and author. She is the founder of Farshid Moussavi Architecture (FMA) and a Professor in Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Desig ...

Gordon Pask Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask (28 June 1928 – 29 March 1996) was a British cybernetician, inventor and polymath who made multiple contributions to cybernetics, educational psychology, educational technology, applied epistemology, chemical comp ...

Alberto Pérez-Gómez Alberto Pérez-Gómez (born 24 December 1949) is an architectural historian and theorist known for taking a phenomenological approach to architecture. He lives in Montreal. Biography Born December 24, 1949, in Mexico City he graduated as an en ...

* Philippe Rahm *

Jasia Reichardt Jasia Reichardt (born Janina Chaykin; 13 November 1933) is a British art critic, curator, art gallery director, teacher and prolific writer, specialist in the emergence of computer art. In 1968 she was curator of the landmark ''Cybernetic Serendi ...

* Ian Ritchie *

Nathalie Rozencwajg Nathalie Rozencwajg (born October 1975) is a RIBA and RICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for those working in the Built Environment, Construction, Land, Property and Real Estate. The RICS w ...

* Makoto Saito * Peter Salter * Matthias Sauerbruch *

Patrik Schumacher Patrik Schumacher (born 1961, Bonn, Germany) is a German architect and architectural theorist. He is the principal architect of Zaha Hadid Architects. His works includes The Opus Tower in Dubai, the Morpheus Hotel in Macau, and the Beijing Da ...

Bahram Shirdel Bahram Shirdel is an Iranian architect internationally known as one of the most influential architects dealing with the interdisciplinary field of architecture and science as well as Fold/Folding Architecture. Jeffrey Kipnis, Greg Lynn, Peter Eis ...

Peter Smithson Alison Margaret Smithson (22 June 1928 – 14 August 1993) and Peter Denham Smithson (18 September 1923 – 3 March 2003) were English architects who together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalis ...

* Summerson, John *

Bernard Tschumi Bernard Tschumi (born 25 January 1944 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an architect, writer, and educator, commonly associated with deconstructivism. Son of the well-known Swiss architect Jean Tschumi and a French mother, Tschumi is a dual French ...

* Leon van Schaik *

Dalibor Vesely Dalibor Vesely (19 June 1934 – 31 March 2015) was a Czech-born architectural historian and theorist who was influential through his teaching and writing in promoting the role of hermeneutics and phenomenology as part of the discourse of ...

Ken Yeang Ken Yeang (6 October 1948) is an architect, ecologist, planner and author from Malaysia, best known for his ecological architecture and ecomasterplans that have a distinctive green aesthetic. He pioneered an ecology-based architecture (since ...

Alejandro Zaera-Polo Alejandro Zaera Polo is a Spanish architect, theorist and founder of Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture (AZPML). He was formerly dean of the Princeton University School of Architecture and of the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. ...

Elia Zenghelis Elia Zenghelis (Born 1937, Athens, Greece) is a Greek architect and teacher. He studied architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London, completing his studies in 1961. From 1961 to 1971 he worked for architects Dougla ...

References

* * * * * *

External links

*
Bedford PressAA Publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Architectural Association School of Architecture

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest private school of architecture in the UK. The AA hosts exhibitions, lectures, academic conference, symposia and publications. Histo ...

Universities and colleges established in 1847 Education in the London Borough of Camden Professional education in London 1847 establishments in England Private schools in London Architecture schools in the United Kingdom