where was it announced? Did they send out an email or is it on the web somewhere?

They had a meeting today with the staff and students. It's also in this weeks AJ.

interesting............the plot thickens.......

i heard Winy Maas and David Chipperfield were also on the shortlist?

Nope.... guess they didn't make it. Mind you, they had over 40 applications.

I met Brett Steele recently on a visit to the AA for a DRL interview. We had a good chat. He seemed like a busy guy, but we had a lot to talk about. Our interview was very informal, and he looked at my portfolio. We were there for about an hour.

I definately liked his demeanor, and from what I have read on the web, he seems pretty "plugged in."

I wonder what it would mean to the DRL program if he became chair?

i met brett also in november. he gave me a very impressive drl program book for 04-05[much of which is on the drl website]. if you read the redefining education piece on the archinect features page, particularly bretts [you have to go to the aa refer for this] and kipnis, both focus on the need for a strenghtening of underlying core program in their vision for pedegogy at the AA particularly if the undergrad/diploma unit system it to continue. also some more than annual contracts for faculty as the grad school instructors presently have for more continuity in programs. steele has been very sucessfull at building the DRL program, finding resources[$$] building collaborative partners etc [a program working relationship with hadids office for example]. skills the reflect that he has the abilities to lead[and manage] that school at all levels. i must say though, when i look at his program brief which is very articulate [and had to be to get OU accrediation], i seems to be more structured as a bartlett with its workshop modules.

i have seen jeremy lecture once; only on his house which i felt is a bit contrived and has too many isms in the mix. kari taught in chicago a few years ago and was highly respected. the dual chair role is interesting.

steele knows the AA. the aa pumps our many archs in the undergrad/dip programs that graduate however dont meet the standards of Part I/II. something thats a hot topic with arb/riba.

i think he is they guy that can raise the standards yet keep the independence the school is know for.

as far as the drl, although his is director, it does have many fish in the pan in terms of its momentum. i am certain brett will keep an eye on it but it is too big of an animal to keep control on.

exactly what does the 'with' in "Farshid Moussavi with Kari Jormakka" mean?

as an outsider, how come the AA charges more than any other school for education in the UK yet has financial problems? Is it becuase it's not part of any larger institution? My friend who studied there told me that 90% of students are foreign, how come?

as i understand it there was some talk at one time the chair is a single person role or multi-headed; collaborating yet seperately focusing on finances/pedegogy etc. i am going to guess thats how they submitted their qualification-as a 2 headed chair.

and the AA wants to be indendent; in the discourse document....

"There were three defining aspects of the AA, Jeremy Melvin said: being in London, being a school of architecture and being independent (‘free from the shackles of nation-statehood’). The nature of an institution changed depending on its host community. In the case of the AA, London could be both the subject and the object of the curriculum, as a microcosm of the world, embodying its weaknesses and strengths. This work could then be used to inform international responses. Paradoxically, the School could only be genuinely international if it took an informed, intellectual approach to its local roots.

Mark Cousins suggested that a distinction might be made between the international and the globalised.

Mark Cousins said that the AA was committed to raising funds for students, but that differential fee rates for home and overseas students were discriminatory. If you went to a university and studied social science, there would be a stress on difference between cultures. At the AA, however, there is a recognition of strands of sameness from radically different cultures.

yes, its true. lots o foriegners. big fees. little bursaries/scholarships [although they say 15% of the students get some form of scholarship]

Barbaric – most architectural schools in the UK are attached to universities and have never charged fees to UK students, like UK state schooling. Since the introduction of top-up fees in the last few years, I believe they do charge a small amount to UK students but charge high fees to non-UK or EEC students. The AA has always charged the same fee to all its students and it has no other income.

As far as Farshid/Kari goes, I think she intends to do 1/2 days per week and he will be full time. as he's completely unknown to me, I wondered if anyone knew what he was like as a person, rather than his pedagogic predelictions.

Farshid Mossavi as chairwoman now that would be amazing, considering how singleminded she is. Brett Steele would probably be a good choice too.

If I had to choose I'd go with Brett Steele. Of the three, er, four candidates, he can safely say he knows the most about the school. That's something that should not be underestimated.

Farshid did teach at the AA for more than seven to eight years...I guess she would also know the school quiet well.

True Brett Steele knows a lot about the school but so does Farshid Moussavi, as she's taught there too. She's probably well aware of the school's culture and politics. But you're right Brett Steele would probably make a good chairman, he used to get along with Mohsen so i guess that could be seen as some kind of continuity in a way.

hello: you beat me to the post.....

Ive never studied there, so I can only comment as an outside admirer of the school. It just seems to me that a school that produced Zaha, Rem, Van Berkel, The Smithsons, Archigram where people like Tschumi, Liebeskind, FOA etc formed their ideas isnt necessarily a school about continuity....but maybe thats just the illusion you get from the outside. also, Im kinda ignorant about the other two candidates. It just seems like a cool idea if the AA has Farshid as a chairwoman, she runs a good practise and Ive heard she ran a good studio at Harvard recently.

By 'continuity' i meant that Brett Steele would probably strive to keep the school financially stable and make sure it maintains its independant status. The guy's got a track record for turning a relatively unknown graduate program into a highly regarded one, which i think gave the AA a whole new dimension. That's the kind of skills and driving force that would probably benefit the school as a whole. (just a personal opinion, i know some people in diploma school would disagree with that). Regardless of who gets the chairmanship i still believe that he or she will maintain the diversity, the wide range of approaches and various trends that make the AA such a special place.

doberman, Im sensing that youre a student of this candidate. Is this the graduate course thats doing all these robots or is it the one that did that big curvy wall? I saw some of that stuff when I was in London at the end of year exhibition last year, I really liked the wall, that was cool. wasnt too sure about the robots

the thing is, Im thinking of applying to the school. I was going to do it this year but the whole "no chairman" thing made me a bit cautious. Ive already got an undergrad degree but have been trying to figure out if I should do a grad degree or do the diploma course. Some people have told me that the real action at the AA happens in the diploma level. Also, I know I'd definately apply if Farshid was head, also this Brett sounds good too....Id have to think again if this other candidate gets it. I havent heard of him before. Is he well known and respected in England?

Hey, thanks hello, that was my "big curvy wall". I was in the EmTech programme not the DRL (Brett Steele's programme). DRL is quite a diverse programme but it seems to be the machines that catch the most attention, both good and bad.

I'm not sure how I feel about the short list. It's short, that's for sure. It seems odd to have had over 40 canidates and then only have a selection of 3. I would want to know more about exactly the farshid/kari thing would work technically. There was a lot of talk about the dual chairman or vice-chairman option when I was there and I'm not yet convinced it is a good idea. The argrument went that the job was too much for one person so we should preadk it up into a "creative" or "vision" position and a "financial" position. That seems really strange to me. It gives you one person who determines the vision of the school but with control of the funds to support this vision and another person who has the funds but not the vision in how to use them. I forsee lots of problems with this set up. Having said that, I have no idea how farshid and kari have proposed to split up the work.

As far as brett goes as an option, I'm also not so sure. He seems quite good and the drl is a farily strong programme, but I would also want to hear about his vision for the school. I would hate for the rest of the AA to take on a DRL feel. I'm not sure how good he would be at creating a diverse field of research across the entire school.

And Jeremy Till...? Well, I sure hope he isn't picked. What is he even doing on that very short list? I read his bio and I feel I still have no idea what he is about. On a million committees but hasn't produced a significant body of work either academically (like Brett) or professionally (like Farshid). Maybe he is a strong manager and the search committee thought that would be a good to include.

Good luck to the current AA community in making a decision.

Hello: Yes I studied at the AA DRL a few years ago. Not too sure what their agenda is at the moment. The fact is that the real action at the AA now happens BOTH at undergrad and grad levels. And that's quite a shift in the history of the school that had traditionally only been a diploma (undergrad) school until recent years. There is some very interesting things happening throughout the school nowadays. I am not supporting Brett because he was my teacher. I think Farshid would also be very good although i don't think she hasn't got much sympathy for the graduate school programs, so maybe she would put the focus back on Diploma school. Difficult to say. Does anybody know when the results be published?

who was on the long list?

... results WILL be published.
sorry, bad typo. Why is it that i can't be asked to read my texts before posting them...?

That seems a little odd, doberman. Why would Farshid have less sympathy for the graduate programmes? Im sure the graduate school will still thrive. It seems that nearly everyone I speak to is going for postgrad study.

Doberman, I agree about reading the text before sending them:

Above, "preadk" should read "break". Sudden case of dyslexia mixed with a healthly dose of bad typing. Sorry.

Well i was once told that Farshid didn't regard the AA grad school very highly. Maybe that's just rumors, the fact is that nowadays the AA grad school is hard to ignore anyway as it's now playing a very significant part in the school as a whole and has acquired a very strong reputation internationaly. Maybe i'm just talking crap. I just think that Brett would probably have a more balanced view of the of the school and its various components and trends as he's studied in diploma school and is now heading the AADRL. He's kinda part of both worlds if you will. But then again Farshid is such an amazing person that she would probably make a great chairwoman as well. Tough call

sh*t, my typing still hasn't improved...

yes, fine, but again I ask..and have been searching without luck, who was in the first round of possible candidates. I think that information would add some interesting depth to the conversation. Why these three over the rest?

"Long list"?
The initial search for a chair at the AA was completely and totally open. Anyone could have submitted to aply for the position. So, no need to continue searching, threads.

Open but secret. We shall never know who applied, unless they tell us themselves. Most people don't want to advertise the fact they're going for a job - particularly if the odds are they won't get it.

Wednesday 11 May - Candidate Presentations:
10.00 Brett Steele
1.00 Jeremy Till
3.30 Farshid Moussavi and Kari Jormakka

Each of the candidates will be interviewed on AAFM Radio Bonfi by Ema Bonifacic.

Ludwig, thanks for the heads up . . . didn't know the AA had a radio station. How do students get involved?

The radio station is actually looking for contributions just email them at radio@aaschool.ac.uk

Official AA release
Chair Press Release

Candiate statements
Orange book of candiate statements

one should read the orange book it will be clear ...Farshid is a big no vote....

-----wants to keep my office practive very active
-----want to keep my teaching position at the gsd
------want to keep my office practice very active
-------want to merge the diploma and graduate school as a vertical studio [why bother with grad school then?]

and did i mention....
-------want to keep my office practice very active....

[but i will be at the members bar once a month--at least when i am in town--- to connect to the aa community]

nice links TED. just scanned the orange book, but I will get into it after some sleep tonight. thx

I don't quite get the concept of 'combining diploma and grad school together'... She does not bother to outline the exact technicalities and consequences of this combination nor what that would mean in terms of each individual program. Does that mean the end of some Grad School programs altogether? Seems to me that there might be a hidden agenda here. I strongly believe that diploma and grad school should inform each other (that's already the case anyway) but i also strongly believe they should be kept separate entities, each with different agendas and their own particularities.

some say that she is trying the AA as she is getting less and less impact on the FOA design (the few they have left).

i'm with doberman on the issue of integration...is already too integrated as it is, the way uk education is organised, there is a real shift of gears between dip and Ba, and i thionkthe AA should have the same

Brett Steele cleverly states
"I want now to direct my energy and efforts to the whole school, and will do so by bringing one other attribute I consider essential: my willingness to devote 100% of my time and career to this task during the next five years. The AA deserves, and should demand, nothing less."
Which I think it would be true.

why would you destroy the well estabiished great grad school to improve the diploma -- no sense. she really appears to want to make it the american standard, mentioning NAAB [you have to be kidding] and to so called strenghten the aa by creating liasons with the gsd? please. whose benifiting who.

my vote hands down is brett.

Interesting indeed.

Jeremy was our head of School in Sheffield (he was in fact my dissertation tutor) until this year. He's currently on a years sabbatical writing his book before (I assumed) returning to Sheffield.

If he were to chair at the AA it would be amazing - hes an incredibly intelligent man and I would think his very theoritical approach would suit the AAs ethos. I should think the course organisation would be suberb as well after seeing what he has done to Sheffield...

Interesting indeed....

before brett got involve with drl, the AA masters were relatively new and going no where. only look at the intensity in this guide and it will be clear that the 100% commitment is not just a cleaver statement but reflects how this fellow has worked his ass off all along.

After reading Farshid's statement my vote would definitely go to Brett too.

And true, to give the guy the credit he deserves, Brett has worked relentlessly to promote the AADRL and turn it into the world class program that it is.

My point was that if Brett does for the AA as a whole what he did for the DRL then it's probably very good news for the school. And he sure has the ability to do so. His record speaks for itself.

It looks like the framework that this Brett is proposing is less transparent. He seems to be proposing a new name for the role of chairman: director, then he proposes what is essentially a board of directors: Academic head and so on which make up the Consulting Management Group. It sounds like more levels of hierarchy and decision making that goes on at higher levels behind closed doors.

Also, the tone of his essay seems to be too centered on his course and is a little superficial for my taste. Thanks for uploading the DRL guide, Ive also been able to see that it is a very shallow course. Theres a lot of rhetoric but the results certainly do not speak for themselves.
Also, I get the feeling that a large part of this chat is being driven by his students generating gossip, rumor and propaganda.

anyway, doberman as an ex student, do you even get to vote?

I agree with TED. I really see no point in merging the grad and diploma schools. Although at times they may have similar areas of study, their objectives are very different. Having gone through the EmTech grad program it was great having the relationship with the Dip 4 unit, however we had very different objectives in our research. I wouldn't mind more collaboration but to destroy the grad school would be a nightmare. Going into this I thought Farshid had the lead but I think she just made a strategic mistake. This idea will piss off a lot of people and I can't see it drawing anyone to her side. With the grad school being 1/3 of the eligible voters, that was a pretty big population with whom to pick a fight.

I do slightly understand her point about making the AA grad school more in line with the American accreditation system but I actually like the fact that it is not. Unlike most American grad schools (where grad students are more often students who are pursuing a first professional degree, ie majored in something else in undergrad) the grad programmes at the AA are only open to architects (or engineers) who already have a professional degree. By making it more in line with the American system it would open the school up to a wider group of potential students, but it would also dilute the strength and level of discussion.

Having read all the candidates responses, I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. Farshid's administrative "jam sessions" sound like a nightmare and her merging idea is just simply a bad idea. Brett's responses were quite good. He is very good at marketing and that is one of the main jobs of the chairman (or director if that's what he wants the job to be called). however, he may be a bit too interested in marketing, IMO. Anyone whose seen a DRL presentation in the past few years will understand this. More time seems to be spent on catchy team names, flashy music videos, and slick graphics than actual content in many cases. That is not to say that the work is not good, often it is very good, but you have to wade through a media jungle to find it. Good work sometimes comes off as superficial because of the media clutter and I'm not sure that this is the right model for the AA. But that is actually a small worry of mine. He does work hard and would probably be good for the school.

Lastly, I'm not sure what to say about jeremy till's comments. Maybe it was because it was 3am but I simply could get through them. Nothing caught my attention. It just seemed full of token phrases meant not to rock the boat to much. He is most probably a great educator but I couldn't really see his vision for the school. Maybe his lecture or radio interview will clear things up.

It will be interesting to see what happens in two weeks.

One more thing. So far this thread has been all non-AA or past-AA commentors. Are there any current students out there who have an opinion on the current canidates?

No i don't get to vote. Just voicing an opinion, hope you don't mind...