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 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 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 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 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, 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, Winifred Ryle, Irene Graves and Gillian Harrison ( 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 of

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'' 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 * 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 * 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 * Elizabeth Chesterton *

(

, 2007) * Nigel Coates * Sir Peter Cook * Edward Cullinan * Minnette De Silva * Carmen Dillon * Jeremy Dixon * 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 *

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 * John Frazer * Tony Fretton *

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 * Marco Goldschmied * Ruth Gollancz * Hansjörg Göritz ( Kunstpreis Berlin 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 *

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 * Gillian Harrison * Fergus Henderson * Manuel Herz * Jonathan Hill * Steven Holl * 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 (1927–2000) * Dorothy Hughes * Maxwell Hutchinson * Louisa Hutton * A. R. Hye * Mazharul Islam * Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe * Edward Jones * Robert Furneaux Jordan * Gerhard Kallmann * Shiu-Kay Kan * Ram Karmi (

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 * 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 * C.J. Lim * Edward Prentice Mawson * Ann MacEwen * Sally Mackereth * James MacLaren * Bruce Martin *

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 * Mohsen Mostafavi * Alan E. Munby * Herbert Muschamp * Frei Otto *

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 Penn * Marian Pepler * Philip Powell * Janet Street-Porter *

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 *

(

, 2007;

, 2006, 2009) * Diana Rowntree * Winifred Ryle * Elisabeth Sakellariou * Peter Salter * Matthias Sauerbruch * Ole Scheeren * Elisabeth Scott *

* Nasrine Seraji * Dennis Sharp * Cliff Tan * William Tatton Brown * Quinlan Terry * John F. C. Turner * Jaqueline Tyrwhitt *

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 *

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

Former directors

* Howard Robertson (1929–35) *Alvin Boyarsky (1971–90) * Alan Balfour (1991–95) * Mohsen Mostafavi (1995–2004) *Brett Steele (2005–2017) *Samantha Hardingham (interim, 2017–18) * Eva Franch i Gilabert (2018–2020)

Notable current and former teachers

* Abalos & Herreros *

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 *

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 *

* Tatiana Bilbao * Alison Brooks * Reg Butler * 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 *

* Earl Flansburgh * John Frazer * Ranulph Glanville * Mike Gold * James Gowan *

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 * Robert Furneaux Jordan * Jeff Kipnis *

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 * Mohsen Mostafavi * Farshid Moussavi * Gordon Pask * Alberto Pérez-Gómez *

* 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 * Makoto Saito * Peter Salter * Matthias Sauerbruch * Patrik Schumacher * Nasrine Seraji * Dennis Sharp * Bahram Shirdel * Peter Smithson * Summerson, John * John F. C. Turner *

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 *

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 *

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

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External links

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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