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Cambridge's Ingrid Schroder is named the next director of the Architectural Association

2022-05-19T12:32:00-04:00

London’s Architectural Association (AA) has named a new leader in its search to replace ousted former director Eva Franch i Gilabert.

Dr. Ingrid Schroder is the new head of the AA beating out Berkeley CED professor emerita Jill Stoner, Clancy Moore director Andrew Clancy, and two other shortlisted candidates to helm the 175-year-old institution. Schroder will remain in her current role as director of the University of Cambridge’s M.Phil in Architecture and Urban Design (MAUD) program until officially stepping into the AA post in late August.

Schroder comes to the position with over 20 years of experience teaching at Cambridge. She held several titles (Supervisor, Lecturer, Studio Master, Professional Practice Coordinator, Academic Exchange Coordinator, and Research Group Coordinator) outside of the MAUD program, which she helped establish in 2012, and has spent time at several other academic institutions, including the ETH Zurich, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Royal College of Ar...

The AA announces five shortlisted candidates to replace ousted former director Eva Franch i Gilabert

2022-03-29T18:34:00-04:00

The search to replace ousted Architectural Association director Eva Franch i Gilabert has made some progress after the organization named its official list of shortlisted candidates on Monday.

The Architects’ Journal is reporting that five names are being taken into consideration by the AA, which has been without a leader since the sacking of Franch following a close series of no-confidence votes in July of 2020.

Among the names are current AA faculty like Mark Morris and joint candidates John Palmesino and Ann-Sofi Rönnskog; the University of Cambridge’s Ingrid Schroder, Clancy Moore director Andrew Clancy, and Berkeley CED’s Jill Stoner.

The candidates are now subject to a vote that will produce an “advisory” set to be presented to the AA’s steering committee before a final name is announced in May. The winner will step into the role at the onset of the next academic year and serve a five-year term.

Previously on Archinect: Architectural Association has fired Eva Franch i Gilaber...

July 2020 saw leadership troubles at the AA, exposed corruption with PPP stimulus monies, highlighted struggles for new architecture graduates and Revit blowback

2020-12-24T13:15:00-05:00

By the start of July most of the world was more than three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, far surpassing the original hopes that we would have had it contained enough to return back to schools and workplaces. New architecture graduates were a couple of months into a job search at a time when most firms couldn't even think of hiring new staff. Summer travels plans were abandoned or drastically altered in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, while many were throwing caution to the wind to regain their freedom. Little did we all know, we were still in the infancy of the pandemic. In the world of architecture, these were the stories that dominated the month of July...

Wa-Di Housing, a tribal transit-oriented development. Looking north towards Colorado Peak (left) and Tetilla Peak (right). Photo Credit: AOS Architects

This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land—COVID-19’s Impact on Indian Country

For July 4th this year we opted to publish an op-ed by Joseph Kunkel, a citizen o...

Architectural Association has fired Eva Franch i Gilabert

2020-07-13T13:28:00-04:00

The Architectural Association (AA) in London has announced that it has terminated the employment of its Director Eva Franch i Gilabert due to Gilabert's "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."

Previously on Archinect: "AA leadership row is getting messy."Image courtesy of the Architectural Association.

The dismissal comes after weeks of speculation over Franch's future due to a recent "no confidence" vote that has taken place within the AA community in opposition to Franch's five year plan for the school. In addition, allegations of workplace hostility have been made against Gilabert.

Previously on Archinect:"The Architectural Association in London faces leadership crisis." Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Kaihsu Tai.

Last week, a pair of open letters were published online that commented on the leade...

AA leadership row is getting messy

2020-07-08T14:24:00-04:00

In the week since news broke over the leadership crisis taking place at the Architectural Association in London over the direction of the school under Eva Franch i Gilabert, dueling open letters have been circulated within the architecture community commenting on the episode.

"A power-grab fueled by less-than-progressive emotions"

First, a letter began to circulate early this week offering support for Gilabert from elite members of the global architectural community.

The letter, signed by at least 187 high-profile academics, designers, and architects who sit outside the AA community, is accessible here and explains that "every new administration, particularly those very few who have only recently come to be led by women or people of color, deserves patience and support as the inevitable realignments unfold. This need is made all the more urgent during a pandemic and a time of reckoning with social inequity." The text goes on to cite sexism and the stresses of the pandemic as pote...

The Architectural Association in London faces leadership crisis

2020-07-02T15:21:00-04:00

The Architectural Association (AA) in London finds itself in crisis this week as students, staff, and leadership express a lack of support for a proposed strategic plan crafted for the institution’s future by AA Director Eva Franch i Gilabert.

Further, as The Architect’s Journal reports, 52% of the nearly 900 people surveyed at the AA indicated that they did not have confidence in Gilabert’s leadership moving forward. The same poll found over 80% disagreement within the “school community” over the 2020-25 strategic plan Gilabert has crafted for the institution. The nature of the disagreements over the plan are unclear, though The Architect’s Journal shared an anonymous letter it received last year detailing concerns that the school “will favor ‘theory’ over ‘design,’ to the detriment of both, as well as some types of architectural thinking over others” under Gilabert’s leadership.

In a welcome address published in late 2019, Gilabert espoused a vision of openness coupled with resp...

'The question is not how we can educate architects but how can we make world citizens'

2019-04-23T17:16:00-04:00

“Yeah,” she says “the first woman director, I know, I know. But if we keep talking about it, this will never become natural [...] Gilabert is visible and audible in a way that previous directors of this chaotic little architecture school with an outsized global influence have not generally been. Mostly quiet men, they have managed the school through a repeat loop of terminal-looking financial, academic and intellectual crises, yet it has somehow survived.

After taking on the position as the new director of the Architectural Association in London back in March 2018 the exuberant and relentless architect, educator, and director recently shared her plans in an interview with the Financial Times.

Traditionally the AA School has been rooted in radical design as it continues to foster discourse and critical thinking towards the evolving pedagogy of architecture. The school's long list of notable alumni only adds to its rich history and direction as an institution. With Eva Franch i Gilabert leading the charge her tidal wave of ideas, opinions, and stimulating thoughts towards what the future of architectural education will look like is quite inspiring. A fan of bureaucracy and procedures she has dedicated much attention to creating a study of understanding the "internal business practices of architectural practices." Eccentric in her thoughts yet precise in her execution Gilabert does not shy from blending her disciplinary interests of ar...

Storefront of Art and Architecture in New York launches call for new Director

2018-04-11T16:18:00-04:00

Back in March, the Architectural Association in London announced Eva Franch i Gilabert would become the school's new Director after a competitive international search. Franch, who is the first woman to be elected director of the AA, is coming from the Storefront for Art & Architecture in New York, where she has served as Chief Curator and Executive Director for the past eight years.

Charles Renfro, President of Storefront's Board of Directors, said "Eva brought a level of energy and rigor to Storefront's programming that was unprecedented. While we are sad to see her go, we are thrilled that Storefront has been so instrumental in her nomination to head one of the most important architectural institutions in the world. We wish her the best of luck."

Franch will continue to head the independent art and architecture organization until June 2018. Today, the space has begun the search, launching a call for their new director. The process will be carried out by an internal search committe...

Eva Franch i Gilabert has been announced as the new Director of the Architectural Association

2018-03-05T14:16:00-05:00

After winning 67% of the vote by the AA School Community (comprised by students, academic and admin staff, and members of Council), Eva Franch i Gilabert has been selected to be the new Director of the Architectural Association in London. Final contractual negotiations still need to be made and a formal announcement of the appointment will come later this month.

Franch, who beat out two other short-listed candidates for the title, comes from the Storefront for Art & Architecture in New York, where she served as Chief Curator and Executive Director. She has taught at Columbia University GSAPP, the IUAV University of Venice, SUNY Buffalo, and Rice University School of Architecture. She has been running her own solo practice, Office of Architectural Affairs, since 2004 and has represented the U.S. at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

The AA has been without permanent leadership since the departure of their former director Brett Steele in 2016. Since, the school has undergone a period ...