What makes a good architecture professor isn’t much different from a non-architecture professor.
Architecture is unique in that it’s poised between being an art and a science. Buildings need to stand up, and for that there are structures and with it engineering, loads and things that can be broken down to mathematical equations. But design is more akin to painting or sculpture and while you can teach someone how to paint, ultimately where they put that stroke is in the hands of the person holding the brush. Architectural education and the education of an architect has been an evolving phenomenon since the creation of the first architectural school. When you went to school is just as important as where you went to school because as a student, you are a product of the zeitgeist of that era.
The design studio makes architectural education unique. It strives to be Raphael’s School of Athens, a space of learning with a boundary-less interaction between student and teacher. It’s the space where the student designs and where most of an architectural education is spent. It’s where you learn how to do architecture and practice it through studio projects. Thus making the studio professor an integral part and influence to the education of an architect.
Some professors have lofty ideals in their approach of trying to identify and teach the aspects of architecture that have remained unchanged in an ever-changing field, but sometimes that can amount to hours of philosophical conjecture and very little instruction. Others seem to place more emphasis on map making than architecture, while others are all about making models. The beauty is there is not one correct way to teach architecture. As a student, the exposure to different methodologies and what you can take from each one helps you along your path to becoming an architect. Unfortunately, I don’t think Virginia Tech quite understands this because they assign one studio professor for the entire year, when it should be a different one every semester.
The major problem that I assume persists within higher academia is that some professors never learn how to teach. Some professors are not hired to teach, but to do research, it depends on their contract and the school. Architecture may be a different, but to become a professor in architecture (like other professors), classes on teaching aren’t required.
How, with no experience, can someone be expected to teach?
I think some people are inherently good at teaching, but what about those who aren’t? Do they try to mimic the style in which they were taught? And if they do, they could be mimicking a style which isn’t good. Also, practicing architecture in a firm for a number of years does not equate to being able to teach. When it comes to learning architecture, it’s important for a professor to inspire the students and to push their ideas further and to provide them with alternative avenues that they may explore. To challenge them and to take the bad ideas and provide you with ways to think about it differently. To critique thoughtfully and not just for pointing out the wrongness of what has been done. I don’t think it’s easy to be a professor in architecture, and each student will have their own opinion on who they think is best.
In the future, I would like to end up teaching architecture. I love teaching. Ideally, I’d like to become a licensed architect and work for a few years and if possible, practice and teach simultaneously.
Very interesting!!!