Architectural Association School of Architecture
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Architectural Association School of Architecture |
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Motto | Design with Beauty, Build in Truth | |
Established | 1847 | |
Director | Brett Steele | |
Location | London, United Kingdom | |
Homepage | http://www.aaschool.ac.uk |
The Architectural Association (also known as AA School of Architecture) is the oldest independent school of architecture in the United Kingdom. It was founded by two dissatisfied young architects (Robert Kerr, 19, and Charles Grey, 24) in 1847 to provide a self-directed, independent education at a time when there was no formal training available. Its students were addressed by many eminent figures, including John Ruskin and George Gilbert Scott.
The School was formally established in 1890. In 1901, it moved premises to the former Royal Architectural Museum. In 1920, it moved again, to its current premises in Bedford Square, central London (it has since acquired additional London premises in John Street and a site at Hooke Park in Dorset). After 150 years, the AA attracts students from more than fifty countries worldwide.
Courses are divided into two main areas - undergraduate programmes, leading to the AA Diploma, and postgraduate programmes, which include specialised courses in landscape urbanism, housing and urbanism, energy and the environment, histories and theories, design research lab, as well as day-release course in building conservation, garden conservation, and environmental access. Since its foundation, the School has continued to draw its teaching staff from progressive international practices, and they are reappointed annually, allowing a continual renewal of the exploration of architecture.
The school is notable as existing outside the state-funded university system (as does the University of Buckingham), with tuition fees comparable to that of a private school, though some bursaries are available on merit. Since non-EU students are charged higher fees to attend state universities, however, the AA is competitively priced by comparison, therefore it is noted as having a higher proportion of overseas students enrolled than do many other UK architecture schools.
It also exists outside the UCAS application system; even at undergraduate/first degree level direct application is the norm.
[edit] Former students
- Will Alsop
- David Chipperfield
- Peter Cook
- Kenneth Frampton
- Piers Gough
- Sir Nicholas Grimshaw
- Zaha Hadid (Pritzker Prize, 2004)
- Thomas Hardy
- Michael Hopkins
- Louisa Hutton
- Rem Koolhaas (Pritzker Prize, 2000)
- Denys Lasdun
- John Pawson
- Cedric Price
- Ole Scheeren
- Matthias Sauerbruch
- Richard Rogers
- Michael Ventris
- Robin Evans
- Ralph Tubbs
- Geoffrey Bawa
- Peter Salter
- John Frazer
- Cristiano Ceccato
- Mohsen Mostafavi
[edit] Former teachers
- Abalos&Herreros
- David Adjaye
- Wiel Arets
- Ben Van Berkel
- Reg Butler
- Robin Evans
- John Frazer
- Ranulph Glanville
- Leon Krier
- Daniel Libeskind
- Farshid Moussavi
- Alejandro Zaera Polo
- Cedric Price
- Kevin Rhowbotham
- Dennis Sharp
- Peter Smithson
- Bernard Tschumi
- Dalibor Vesely
- Elia Zenghelis
- Matthias Sauerbruch
- Louisa Hutton
- Donald Bates
- Raoul Bunschoten
- Peter Davidson
- Jeff Kipnis
- Mark Cousins
- Will Alsop
- Zaha Hadid
- Patrik Schumacher
- Alex Wall
- Stefano de Martino
- Rem Koolhaas
- David Racz
- Mohsen Mostafavi