In a big win for architects, the US House of Representatives passed the Senate version of H.R.2353, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act on Tuesday. Architects across the country led the charge to pass this bill, highlighting its promise in discussions with their representatives. — AIA
The academic grouping known as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has long been regarded as the antithesis to the creative fields of art, music, and architecture. But the bill recently passed by the US House of Representatives allows states to use federal money to modernize Career Technical Education (CTE) curricula, which will soon include architecture.
"After years of discussion by architects and educators, AIA is pleased that its lobbying efforts have succeeded and that the bill on Career Technical Education has passed,” says Robert Ivy, FAIA, EVP/Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects. "It will encourage a more diverse workforce, fulfill the promise of design as the synthesis of art and science, and affect fundamental change in educational curricula."
This recent news will likely have an effect on how architecture is discussed in America's middle and high schools, as well as the allocation of funds towards architectural education.
7 Comments
STEM in architecture.
Hilarious.
the fact the AIA had to 'lobby' for recognition shows how disconnected The Field is from everyday life of people not in The Field. Goodjob. Architects continue to "lead" with words and no actions - and uhoh, did the lobbying effort just admit that architecture is a creative technical field...? will no one think of The Profession?!?
though, im all about architecture and design relative to our built environment filtering down to the middle schools education... thats where this needs to go. "architecture" as elementary education. we need more citizens capable of thoughtful discussions relative to buildings and design... and i do think architecture is a trade, the so-called professionals have been screwing it up for years
In a nutshell, herein lies the story of Architects having no spine, having no ability to lead... but always seemingly being willing to sell out in whorish desperation to the latest fad in the hope of a morsel of leftover work from an allied profession.
We aren't changing them, we are changing to be them. By allying ourselves with an ethos that ignores art, we are ignoring what architecture is based on, Vitruvius's "ultimate synthesis" written, oh, about 2000 years ago. In that he explained that architecture's fundamental building blocks are Firmness, and Delight (=Art). By aligning ourselves with an ideology that excludes Art, we are aligning ourselves with an ideology that isn't Architecture.
Failing to teach people the importance of art in architecture will only nurture a vibrant profession of basement drafts-monkeys making minimum wage, helping to populate our environment with freshman-level of cardboard buildings, and in doing so, strip our world beauty, history, and culture. Well done Architects, well done AIA, well done my fellow brethren, you should be so proud of all your hard work. In the next article we will learn to eat our young and pay the man for the HSW's to do so!
Pssst... Do you know what you get when you add "art" to STEM, STEAM. Link is here... http://stemtosteam.org/
This isn't rocket science! ;^) Let's try hitching our wagon to the right horse! One with Art.
Peace...
David Andreozzi, AIA, Andreozzi Architecture
Past National Chair of AIA CRAN, Current President of ICAA New England
dsra@andreozzi.com
Reference: Art vs Architcture
Your complaints about the profession stem (no pun intended) from neoliberal economics (capitalism), not the practice of art.
Most state institutions classify architecture in STEM under CTE curricula. All about funding the program because state pays a lot of attention to what they are going to make in return. They have an obligation to create and maintain their tax base.
Putting architecture in a job(s) related category increase their chances to collect and say, their program is making money. I don't think they really care if architecture is an art form or not. These institutions' hiring guidelines influenced by that and so it goes.
For many schools on the other hand, architecture falls into humanities. Majority private schools are in that category.
For a field like architecture always sitting on that fence, it should not be an issue. But this is highly controlling. It means limiting the being of architecture to a technological object.
This debate would be interesting discussion here about its aesthetics if it didn't come from increased tax base policies created by corporate people eyeing higher political places and seeing this as a win-win legacy. Everybody gets excited about "jobs," have you seen anyone arguing about humanity and winning lately?
Interesting times, we neither quite understand technology nor protect the cultural mechanisms.
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